Ashgabat: attractions, photo and description. National museum of turkmenistan

Museum of Ethnography and Local History of Turkmenistan of the State Museum of the State cultural center Turkmenistan was opened in 2009 on May 18. The three-story building adjoins the main building of the museum. On the first floor of the museum there is an exhibition dedicated to nature Turkmenistan, on the second - the ethnography of the Turkmen people.

The Department of Nature and Local Lore consists of eleven sections. The first section is devoted to the origin of the universe (where one of the valuable exhibits of the Kunya-Urgench meteorite museum is located) and the evolution of life on Earth, which presents fossils and imprints of ancient organisms found on the territory of Turkmenistan. Among them, it should be noted, the unique footprints of dinosaurs (about 150 million years old) found in the South-East of Turkmenistan (Khojapil plateau), the only traces of the ancient Arvan camel in the world (2.5 million years old), located in the Western Kopetdag , a fragment of the jaw with a tooth of the Forest Elephant and the mandibular tooth of the Khazar Elephant, which lived on the territory of Turkmenistan 100-200 thousand years ago.

The second section of the museum introduces the physical and geographical characteristics of Turkmenistan. Here are presented: a climate map and a map of water basins, soil monoliths and minerals of Turkmenistan.
From the third section to the tenth, the visitor gets acquainted with the regions of Turkmenistan. The journey starts from the Koytendag Mountains, which include karst Karlyuk caves, deep-water lake Kettekol and others. The north of the country is represented by the dioramas Kaplankyr and Sarykamysh Lake with its flora and fauna. In the south of Turkmenistan there is a unique place - Badkhyz and the reserve of the same name, created in 1941 to preserve wild asses. In this section, a magnificent diorama introduces you to natural monuments: Lake Yeroylanduz and wild-growing pistachio woodlands. There is also a collection of insects and arachnids.

One of the largest dioramas is dedicated to the Kopetdag mountains, where an animal and vegetable world mountains: bezoar goat, argali, Persian leopard, marten, Brown bear, wolf and birds - griffon vulture, goshawk, partridges and others.

80% of the territory of Turkmenistan is occupied by the Karakum Desert. The diorama dedicated to this landscape includes: goitered gazelle, caracal, corsac fox, tolai hare, gray monitor lizard, dune cat, beauty bustard from the Red Book, etc.

One of the valuable exhibits of the Department of Nature is the Turanian tiger presented in the Amudarya diorama.
Turkmenistan lies on the path of seasonal migrations of many species of birds, inhabitants of the tundra, northern seas, lakes, rivers, forests and steppes. The exposition of the museum presents 109 species of birds, many of which are listed in the Red Book of Turkmenistan and the IUCN.

The exposition ends with showcases dedicated to nature protection and portraits of biologists of Turkmenistan.

The ethnography department widely discloses the traditions and customs of the Turkmen people and presents the way of life, National clothes, crafts, military weapons, musical instruments, silver jewelry.

The exposition is based on ancient historical data, which are the sources of life and activity of the Turkmen. To this end, at the beginning of the exposition, the most early period development of culture with its inherent characteristic features. This ancient historical monument, located in the north-west of Ashgabat, is known as the Jeytun culture, dates back to 3 thousand BC.

The first city on the territory of Turkmenistan is Altyndepe, dating back to the Bronze Age. This is where they start Agriculture, craft and art. Chapter ancient history ends historical monument 2nd millennium BC e. - the state of Margush.

Turkmen youths were always distinguished by their courage and were famous for their skillful use of weapons. The museum exhibits a shield, spear, chain mail, steel sabers, swords, and knives of the 18th-19th centuries, as well as firearms used in battles.
The main occupation of the settled tribes was agriculture, to which the diorama is dedicated, reflecting the pre-sowing harvest in the foothills of the Kopetdag. Here and in separate showcases, tools and objects used in agriculture are presented.

The production of vegetable oil from sesame and cotton seeds was widespread, for which an oil churn was used - "juvaz", driven by domestic animals - a camel or a donkey.

Water has always been valuable for the Turkmen people. In the villages there were yashuli who determined with accuracy where it was possible to dig a well or kyarizes (underground water galleries). One of the showcases shows special accessories for digging a well. Residents of the Amudarya districts used various water structures to irrigate fields and gardens: djikyrs and depmenoba, with the help of which river water rose to the level of crops. In the exhibition they are presented in life size.

The main occupation of the Caspian inhabitants was fishing, reflected in a separate diorama.

Nomadic tribes were engaged in cattle breeding and hunting. The showcases show traps, shots, other accessories and information about the hunting dog – tazy and falconry.

The life-size exposition presents a tamdyr - a clay oven for baking national bread, which is still used by the people at the present time. The white yurt in festive decoration attracts the most attention. Here you can get acquainted with such carpet products as a sack - a wall-mounted bag for dishes; chuval - a wall-mounted bag for clothes; akjayup - a family heirloom; umur-duman - for decorating the ceiling and floor carpets.

The Turkmen people have their own historically established customs and rituals during the wedding. One of the large, colorful dioramas of the exposition tells about this.

The horse for the Turkmen was like a member of the family. The exposition of the museum is decorated with the Akhal-Teke horse, the pride of the Turkmens, on which you can see silver jewelry specially designed for horses.
Since the time of the Silk Road, the Turkmen people have been engaged in sericulture, but the fabrics woven by Turkmen women are distinguished by a special national color, unlike the fabrics of other peoples.

Carpet weaving originates from ancient times. With the help of ordinary tools - keser (knife), darak and scissors, Turkmen women from the wool of Sarja sheep have created and are creating real masterpieces of art.

They are distinguished by a special palette and grace national decorations, made of silver with gilding and decorated semi-precious stones. Jewelry was worn not only by women, but also by men.

The clothes of women, children and men from five velayats impress with their diversity, color and purpose. Most showcases are dedicated to them. The exposition ends with a display of national musical instruments– dutar, gidzhak, gyrgytuduk, dillituduk, etc.

An amazing state located in Central Asia traces its centuries-old history from the second millennium BC. Since October 1991, Turkmenistan has withdrawn from the Soviet Union and gained the status of an independent state. To date, this secular state is the only one in the world that provides its citizens with a limit on the free use of housing and communal services.

For a long time, during the reign of Niyazov, Turkmenistan was closed country with a rigid dictatorship of power, only from the second half of the 2000s, with a change in the political course, the tourism direction began to develop again.

Thanks to its original culture, which is practically not subject to Western influences, many objects that are the property of the nation have been preserved in the country, including three objects that are included in the World Heritage List:

• The ancient city of Parfavnis.
• Ruins of the city of Merv.
• The ancient city of Kunya-Urgench.

Officially, the crater formed due to the activities of Soviet geologists is called Darvaza, by the same name of the village next to which it is located. An underground void filled with gas was discovered while drilling exploratory wells in the year 71 of the 20th century.

It was planned that after arson, the gas would burn out completely in a few days, thus securing local residents from harmful fumes, but for almost half a century the fire has not died down for a single minute. The dimensions of the crater are impressive - 60 meters in diameter and almost 20 meters deep. The village itself, which gave the name to the "demonic" crater, was demolished in 2004.

The cave, located at the foothills of the Kopetdag mountain system, 120 kilometers from the capital of the country, became widely known in the 18th century.

Due to the special microclimate, the lake located in the cave has a constant water temperature of about 36-37 degrees, saturated with a number of chemical elements that have a beneficial effect on the human body. In the sixties of the last century, the cave was electrified and landscaped for tourists to visit.

National Museum of Turkmen Carpet (Ashgabat)

Turkmenistan has been famous for its carpet production for many centuries in a row, and it was in order to preserve glorious traditions that this museum was created in the capital of the country in 1993, which has no analogues anywhere in the world.

The exposition of the museum, numbering about 2000 carpets, including the smallest and largest handmade carpet in the world covers an area of ​​over 5000 square meters.

The largest museum of the country is located in Ashgabat on Archabil Avenue. At the end of the 2000s, the museum was subjected to large-scale reconstruction, new buildings were added, and the total area of ​​the entire complex was about 15 thousand square meters. The general fund of the museum includes over 130 thousand exhibits. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Turkmen State Circus (Ashgabat)

The uniqueness of the building lies in its unsupported structure and scaly coating. built in Soviet years, in 2008-2009 the circus went through a reconstruction process, and today its capacity is 1700 seats. Long 7 years, from 2001 to 2008 circus art, along with ballet and opera, was banned by personal decree of the President of the country.

In the capital, on Garashsyzlyk Avenue, there is the only puppet theater in the whole country, the repertoire of which includes about 40 plays. The building, built in the traditional style, in the first half of the 2000s, accommodates a total of up to 500 spectators.

Ruin ancient city located thirty kilometers from the modern city of Mary. The first settlers in the area of ​​the Merv oasis began to appear at the turn of the third and second millennium BC, and by the beginning of our era, Merv became one of the main cities of the Parthian kingdom.

The city received a second life after Arab conquests in the seventh century, reaching greatest flourishing by the middle of the twelfth century, when Sultan Sanjar made it the capital of the Seljukids. After the destruction in 1221 by the Mongols, Merv finally lost its former greatness and gradually fell into disrepair.

Since the end of the nineteenth century, archaeological excavations have been carried out on the site of the ancient city, as a result of which it was possible to discover:

1. Citadel of Erk-Kala.
2. Settlement of Gyaur-Kala.
3. Settlement of Sultan-Kala.
4. Citadel Shakhriyakh-ark.
5. Mausoleum of Muhammad ibn Zeid.
6. Settlement of Abdulla-khan-Kala.

A small city with a population of only 37,000 people has a thousand-year history dating back centuries. Exact date the founding of the city is not known, but the ruins of the oldest fortress "Kyrkmolla" date back to the 2-5th century BC.

During its centuries-old history, the city has been destroyed and reborn several times, like the mythical Phoenix bird. This continued until the 15th century, when the course of the Amudarya River did not change its direction, forcing local residents to long years leave these places.

Only in 1831, during the construction of the Khan-Yab irrigation canal, the surroundings of Kunya-Urgench began to be populated again. The first archaeological work was started in the late twenties of the twentieth century, by this time most of ancient monuments were completely or partially destroyed. In total, on the territory of Kunya-Urgench there are several dozen monuments of great historical and religious value.

The ancient city, founded by the Parthians in the 3rd century BC, is located near the village of Bagir, eighteen kilometers from the capital of the country.

During its long history, Nisa has experienced several ups and downs. Starting from the sixteenth century, life in the city gradually died out, and by the beginning of the nineteenth century the city finally turned into ruins.

The unique building, built at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, is located in Ashgabat and has a height of 95 meters. Inside the center is the largest ferris wheel closed type in the world.

By personal order of the first head of state in the late nineties of the last century, central square countries erected this monument.

A multi-level structure 95 meters high is installed on a mechanism that ensures the rotation of the entire composition in the direction of the sun, so that a full rotation around its axis occurs per day. In 2011, the arch of neutrality was completely dismantled in its old place and moved to Bitaral Turkmenistan Avenue.

The second tallest building in Turkmenistan is located in Ashgabat on the northern side of the Archabil Highway. The monument lined with marble has a height of 185 meters, and until the construction of the Ashgabat TV tower it was the tallest building in the country.

The largest mosque in the capital was built between 93-98 years of the twentieth century in the classical Ottoman style. At the same time, the mosque can accommodate within its walls up to 5,000 people.

The world's largest single-domed mosque, with a capacity of 10,000 people was built in the early 2000s in the village of Kipchak. The total area of ​​the mosque is 18,000 square meters. The height of the main building is 55 meters, the height of the minarets is 91 meters.