Country Name
Turkmenistan, also known as Turkmenia.
Location
Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north and east, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, and the Caspian Sea to the west.
Capital
Ashgabat.
Reason for Naming the country
The name of Turkmenistan, Turkmen, or Türkmenistan can be divided into two components: "Türkmen" and the Persian suffix "-stan" meaning "place of" or "country". The name "Turkmen" comes from Turk, plus the Sogdian suffix -men, meaning "almost Turk", about their status outside the Turkish dynastic system.
However, some scholars argue the suffix is an intensifier, changing the meaning of Türkmen to "pure Turks" or "the Turkish Turks."
Flag
The Flag of Turkmenistan was adopted on February 19, 1992, The current flag was adopted on January 24, 2001.
The flag consists of a green background with a vertical red stripe
near the hoist side, the red stripe containing five carpet guls (patterns used while manufacturing carpets) is stacked above two crossed olive branches;
a white crescent moon and five white five-pointed stars appear in the upper field, to the fly side of the red stripe, The red and the green colors featured on the flag have historically been highly revered by the people of Turkmenistan.
The five carpet guls represent the country’s five major tribes: Teke, Yomut, Saryk, Chowdur, and Arsary.
The addition of the wreath, which is against the country's heraldry rules, symbolizes Turkmenistan's “status of permanent neutrality."
The waxing moon is a symbol of the hope of a bright future for Turkmenistan, and the five stars represent the nation’s five provinces.
Language
Turkmen is the official language of Turkmenistan, although Russian still is widely spoken in cities as a "language of inter-ethnic communication". Turkmen is spoken by most of the population. Other languages spoken in the country are Russian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Tatar, Ukrainian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Northern Kurdish, Lezgian, Persian, Belarusian, Erzya, Korean, Bashkir, Karakalpak, Ossetic, Dargwa, Lak, Tajik, Georgian, Lithuanian, Tabasaran, Dungan.
Religion
There is no official religion in Turkmenistan.
Although most of Turkmenistan’s population is Muslim, there is a general low adherence to the religion in the country. Muslims in Turkmenistan do not strictly attend religious services. Most of the population are Muslims adhering to Sunni Islam.
Another minority religion in Turkmenistan is Christianity and Jewish, Christianity is the largest minority religion in the country, while the majority are Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, or Lutherans. Smaller Christian communities are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Baptists, and Pentecostals. A small population in Turkmenistan identifies as Jewish while others identify with Hare Krishna and Bahá’í faith.
Currency
Turkmen new manat (TMT).
Time Zone
+05:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional secular republic.
Climate
In Turkmenistan, the climate is arid continental, with cold winters and hot sunny summers. The weather is unstable due to different air masses, so there can be cold spells as well as heat waves. Much of Turkmenistan is occupied by the Karakum Desert, where the temperature in summer can reach as high as 50 °C (122 °F). In winter the average temperature in January drops below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) in the north, while it rises to around 5/6 °C (41/43 °F) in the south. Snowfalls may occur, but they are generally not sufficient because of the aridity of the climate. Summer is hot everywhere: the daily average temperature in July is around 27/28 °C (81/82 °F) in the north and on the shores of the Caspian Sea, while it can even exceed 30 °C (86 °F) in the center and south.
The best times to visit Turkmenistan are spring and autumn especially the months of April and October, bearing in mind that in any case, it can get cold at night, especially in the north, and hot during the day, especially in the south.
Commentaires