Turkmenistan
Current time in Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Culture Human Rights Report For the nomadic Turkmen the only piece of furniture worth having was a carpet or three. Easily transportable, the carpets served not just as floor coverings, but as wall linings for the yurt, providing a highly decorative form of insulation. Turkmen textiles artisans have gone quite commercial over the last hundred years: most 'Bukhara' rugs, so called because they were mostly sold, not made, in Bukhara - are made by Turkmen. These days the swish Ashghabat Carpet Museum or the Tolkuchka market are good places to see these mostly red, mostly geometric, entirely beautiful rugs. Though Turkmenistan is predominantly a Sunni Muslim country, the religion is not militantly or strictly enforced. Centuries-old tribal loyalties are at least as important as Islam; even the most urbane Turkmen retains allegiance to his tribe, while in the more remote regions tribalism dominates to such an extent that each tribe is easily distinguished by dialect, style of clothing and jewellery and the patterns woven into their carpets. Of all Central Asian peoples the Turkmen have kept the most traditional dress. While under threat from shell-suit pants and polyester jackets, it's still common to see men in 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. Women are less showy and wear heavy, ankle-length silk dresses of wine red and maroon hiding spangled, striped trousers beneath. A woman's hair is always tied back and concealed under a kercheif or scarf. | |
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