Turkmenistan: Political System
According to EQUZHOU.NET, Turkmenistan is a presidential republic. At the head of the state is a president. The parliament is a unicameral system, but has a weak position given the extensive powers of the president. The People’s Council is the highest legislative body.
The official name of the country is:
| Turkmenistan Jumhuriyäti |
National anthem
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the national anthem of Turkmenistan is called “GARASSYZ, BITARAP, TÜRKMENISTANYÑ DÖWLET GIMNI” and was written by Veli Muchatow. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Turkmenistan politics, and acronyms as well.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Turkmenistan.
1st and 2nd stanza of the national anthem
| Türkmenbasyn guran beýik binasyBerkarar döwletim, jigerim – janym.
Baslaryn taji sen, diller senasy Dünýä dursun, sen major, Türkmenistanym!Janym gurban sana, Erkana ýurdum Mert pederlen Ruhy bardyr Königs. Bitarap, Garassyz topragyn nurdur Baýdagyn belentdir Dünýan önünde. |
In the English translation
| The great creation of TürkmenbasyNative land, sovereign state
Turkmenistan, light and song of soul Long live and prosper for ever and ever!I am ready to give life for native hearth The spirit of ancestors descendants are famous for My land is sacred. My flag flies in the world A symbol of the great neutral country flies. |
Turkmenistan: Known People
Musician
- Sergej Artenjewitsch Balasanjan (1902-1982) was a Turkmen composer.
- Veli Muchatow (born 1916) is the composer of the Turkmen national anthem.
Politicians and rulers
Saparmurad A. Niyazov (born 1940) has been the head of state and government of Turkmenistan since 1992.
Writer and poet
- Omar Chajjam (11th century) was a poet, philosopher and mathematician of Turkmenistan.
- Fragi Makhtumkuli (1770-1840) is the most important Turkmen writer.
Theologians and philosophers
Zarathustra (around 630 BC – approx. 553 BC) was an ancient Iranian philosopher from the area of today’s Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan: animals
Mammals
In the desert-like steppes of Turkmenistan one can find jerboa as well as larger mammals such as goiter gazelles or Asian donkeys.
Jerboa
The jerboa are a family of rodents (Dipodidae (in the order of the rodents (Rodentia). The most common jerboa in Central Asia is the grouse jerboa) (Dipus sagitta)
The fur of the grouse jerboa is light orange on the upper side in winter and gray-beige in summer. The underside always remains white. The strong hind legs have three toes and each of these is studded with bristles, which gave this jerboa its name. The animals are found in semi-deserts, where they need sufficient cover from bushes. If they flee, they can jump up to 2 m long – hence the name. At night they look for berries, seeds and insects. During the day, they hide in the undergrowth or dig small tunnels. The Lichtenstein jerboa (Eremodipus lichtensteini) and the comb-toe jerboa (Paradipus ctenodactylus) also occur in Turkmenistan.
Goiter gazelles
The goiter gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa) are a type of gazelle from the family of horned bearers (Bovidae). Their name comes from the cartilaginous thickened larynx of the male, which he uses to increase the volume of the rutting calls.
This species of gazelle has six subspecies, most of which are light brown to sand colored. On the other hand, your belly is lighter. Goiter gazelles are somewhat more robust than other gazelles and reach a shoulder height of 50–65 cm with a weight of 30–40 kg. Normally only the bucks have the horns bent backwards like a lyre, whereby the females are usually hornless. The goiter gazelles belong to the fast land mammals with speeds around 70 km/h. The animals inhabit the steppes and semi-deserts of Turkmenistan as well as Transcaucasia, Palestine, Arabia, Iran and Azerbaijan, up to the Gobi desert and the north of China.
Asiatic donkey
The Asiatic donkey (Equus hemionus) is similar in appearance to the African donkey (Equus asinus) – the original form of the house donkey – but also has many characteristics that are reminiscent of a horse.
With a head-torso length of over 200 cm and a tail length of 40 cm, a shoulder height of 95 to 135 cm and a weight of 200 to 260 kg, the Asian donkey is slightly larger than a domestic donkey.
The top of the summer fur of the animals is gray, pale yellow to ocher or red-brown in color, while the underside, the lower neck and the legs are whitish or partly cream-colored.
The long-haired and thick winter coat, on the other hand, is darker in color. A dark brown line stretches across the back, 6 to 8 cm in summer and 7 to 9 cm wider in winter.
Their diet consists mainly of grass that grows in the dry areas of the country.
Yellow
ground squirrel The yellow ground squirrel ((Spermophilus fulvus)) is a type of squirrel from the genus of ground squirrel (Spermophilus). The animals have a head-trunk length between 22 to 32 cm, with a weight of around 290 to 600 grams.
The tail has a length between about 7 to 8.5 cm. The color of her back is brown-gold with an ash-gray undercoat. You can find the animals in the west of Turkmenistan.
Their diet consists of the roots and tubers of desert plants. They hibernate from September to mid-May.
In addition to Turkmenistan, the animals can also be found east and north of the Caspian Sea in Russia, in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the west of Tajikistan and in isolated populations in northeastern Iran and northern Afghanistan.
Caracals
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a big cat of the genus Caracal in the family of cats (Felidae). The animals got their name because of the black color of the ears (Turkish karakulak = black ear). Because of its similarity to the lynx, it is also known as the desert lynx.
He lacks the whiskers typical of the lynx, nor does he have their stubby tail. The black and white drawing of the face around the mouth and eyes is striking. The fur of the animals is – depending on the region – colored ocher yellow, gray or wine red. The light belly side is slightly spotted. The head-trunk length of the animals is on average about 65 cm while their tail is about 30 cm long. Their shoulder height is around 45 cm and the male weighs between around 15 to 20 kg, while the females are smaller and lighter. They can meow, hiss and purr. Their diet ranges from mice to antelopes and birds.
The distribution area of the caracal extends not only over Central Asia but also over large parts of Africa. The animals are found in dry habitats such as semi-deserts, steppes and dry forests. In Turkmenistan, the animals can also be found in the extensive reed thickets along large rivers.
Karakul sheep
The Karakul sheep (Ovis orientalis) are steppe sheep with a height at the withers between 65 to 70 cm.
Their color is mostly black, while gray and brown animals are rare. The legs are black from the knee down. The bucks have horns, while the females are hornless or have horn stumps. The bucks weigh between 60 and 70 kg, the females between 40 and 50 kg. The animals mainly use their meat, milk, fur, wool and tail fat. The Karakul sheep is also important because the fur of the very young lambs is marketed as Persian (coats).
Wild boar
A detailed description of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) can be found at Goruma here >>>
Striped hyenas
A detailed description of the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) can be found at Goruma here >>>
Persian leopards
The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) is a subspecies of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in the genus of the real big cats (Panthera). There are fewer than a hundred of the Persian leopard in Turkmenistan – out of around 1,000 worldwide. The animals are threatened with extinction. The Persian leopards have a rather light coat and grow larger than other leopards. A detailed description of the leopard (Panthera pardus) can be found at Goruma here >>>
Tajikistan Wild Sheep
The Tajikistan Wild Sheep or Bukhara Urial (Ovis bochariensis) lives in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in addition to Turkmenistan – north of the Amu Darya and Pyanj rivers.
Afghan Urial Sheep
The Afghan Urial Sheep (Ovis cycloceros) – also known as Turkmenistan wild sheep – is found in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, eastern Iran, Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, Kashmir, Punjab and Balochistan.
Bezoar
goats The bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus aegagrus) is a subspecies of the wild goat (Capra aegagrus) in the genus of goats (Capra) and the family of horned goats (Bovidae). The Bezoar goat has a head-body length of 80 to 100 cm, a withers of 70 to 80 cm, and a weight between 25 and 45 kg, the females being significantly smaller than males. In contrast to the females, the buck has a beard on the chin. The basic color of the animals is usually reddish brown to yellowish brown. The males get a silver-gray coat in winter. A dark line runs from the neck to the base of the tail. The belly is dark brown and the legs are also dark brown in places.
The animals are found in the higher regions of the country.
Reptiles
Among the reptiles in Turkmenistan are various types of lizards and the following very poisonous snakes:
Asiatic sand-rattle otter (Echis carinatus).
A detailed description of this snake can be found at Goruma here >>>
Levante Otter (Macrovipera lebetina) – In Turkmenistan, one finds the subspecies Macrovipera lebetina turanica
A detailed description of this snake is found in Goruma here >>>
Central Asian cobra (Naja oxiana).
A detailed description of this snake can be found at Goruma here >>>
Turkmenistan: plants
The landscape of Turkmenistan consists to a very large extent of desert and steppe. Only grasses and shrubs that can get by with little rainfall grow there. In the higher elevations of the country, it rains more and so a greater variety of plants and trees emerges here, for example wild grapes, figs and pistachios grow here. Only about 3% of the area of Turkmenistan can be used for agriculture.
However, cotton has been planted with some success, but it has to be heavily watered.
A big problem is that more and more parts of the country are becoming desert. The soil becomes too salty and then hardly anything grows there and nothing can be cultivated. The local tamarisks, which are relatively resistant to salty soils and also tolerate alkaline soils, are an exception. In addition, the soil and groundwater are often polluted by too much fertilizer and pesticides.
However, there is more green on the approximately 980 km long Murgab River in the southeast of the country. The Murgab rises in the Selseleh-ye Safīd Kūh Mountains in Afghanistan and seeps into the around 400,000 km² Karakum Desert, which is almost entirely in Turkmenistan and covers around 80% of its area (488,100 km²).
