As compared to the

neighbouring Muslim

states of Central

Asia, Turkmenistan

slightly differs in

terms of its cultural

traditions. While

modern Tajikistan

and Uzbekistan were

populated by settled

tribes,

Turkmenistan’s

tribes were nomadic.

Even today after the

fall of the USSR

attempts to urbanize

the Turkmen have

not succeeded, they

never had formed an

ethnic group until

they were forged by

Joseph Stalin in

1930’s. Instead, they

are divided into

different groups or

clans that each has

its own way of

dressing and dialect.

For the nomadic

Turkmen, the only

piece of furniture

worth having was a

carpet. Turkmen are

famous for their

Bukhara rugs and

these rugs that were

sold (and not made)

in Bukhara are

colourful rugs that

help distinguish one

clan from another.

Turkmenistan is also

a Sunni Muslim

country. Although

they are holy and

spiritual, they are not

exactly militantly

forced to be

religious. Of all the

Central Asian

countries,

Turkmenistan had

also been the one to

sustain its traditional

way of dressing.

Most men wore

baggy blue

pantaloons tucked

into clumping knee-

high bots, a white

shirt under a cherry-

red and gold-striped

heavy silk jacket,

and topped by a

shaggy wool hat

while women are

less showy and wear

heavy, ankle-length

silk dresses of wine

red and maroon

hiding spangled,

striped trousers

beneath.

Turkmen’s spoken

language developed

on the dialects of

Turkic tongues,

western oguz

dialects in particular.

It was also

influenced by

kipchak and old

Uzbek (chagatai)

languages.

One of the greatest

poets, Fragi

Makhtumkuli, who is

also the father of

Turkmen Literature

is known to be a

tragic figure. Having

to live a life that

revolved around a

loveless marriage

and the loss of his

two sons,

Makhtumkuli wrote

classical forms of

writing for home-

spun wisdom and a

simplicity of

language that

contributed greatly to

his popularity.

Seitnazar Seyidi and

Kurbandurdy Zelili

are considered

Makhtumkuli's

successors.