International Day of Museums is observed every year on May 18, the decision of establishment of this holiday was taken at the XI General Conference of International Museum Council on May 18, 1977.
For any country, the museum are original hallmarks helping to local residents and tourists to learn about national culture and history.
The history of museums has started in XV century in the world while in Turkmenistan, the first museum was opened in 1885 on the territory of Gyoktepe Fortress. The next step has been made after 11 years. Telegraph operator Anger, who passionately loved nature, lived in Ashgabat back then. Once, he addressed Head of the Caspian Region, General Alexey Kuroptakin with request to open a museum of zoology in Ashgabat. Preparation to the exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, where it was planned to send Turkmen carpets, national dress, jewelry, tools, dishware, has been ongoing at full pace in 1896. Unique mineral reserves of the region, rare representatives of Turkmen flora and fauna have been included to the list. Famous local historian Fyodor Mikhailov, who later was in charge of delivery of the exhibits to Nizhny Novgorod, has been gathering the collection for the exhibition. After the exhibition, he said that Turkmen exhibition hall has impressed the Emperor Nikolai II, who instead of proposed 5 minutes spent about half an hour inside the hall.
According to decision of Kuropatkin, the items returned to Ashgabat from the exhibition was the first items of Caspian Regional Museum, which with the time has become a big scientific and research center for study of ethnography, nature and history of Turkmenistan. At the beginning, only two rooms were allocated for the collection. Telegraph operator was the first director of the museum. He was issued with 500 rubles for the needs of the museum like for “heating, lighting and service”. The collection raised keen interest of the public and after some time, two-store building with 14 halls, which was located at the territory of Pushkin Garden, has been built. It also accommodate the first public library.
In 1925, it was renamed to Turkmen State Local History Museum and the section of visual arts has been opened in the museum in 1927. In 1939, this section has become a separate museum, which was located in Bahai Temple. Catastrophic Ashgabat earthquake has happened 9 years later, which the building withstood but was decided to be unsafe and the exposition of the museum has moved to temporary facility built in the same block, which served to the museum for half of the century.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the funds of the museum have been supplemented with exhibits from the museums of Moscow and Leningrad. Thus, 280 pictures, carpets and tapestry have come for storing to Ashgabat in summer 1941. Later, all these exhibits were handed over to Turkmen people as a gift.
Nowadays, the residents and guests of the capital can see the works of elder generations of Turkmen artists and sculptors in the Museum of Visual Arts, which was opened in February 2005. There are works of famous representatives of Russian and Soviet art, interesting works of western European masters dated by Dutch Golden Age among the exhibits.
Porcelain and china articles also raise keen interest of the public. Magnificent samples of fine technique are represented by porcelain sets made by Italian and German masters. There are also collections of ancient art from archaeological expeditions working in Turkmenistan, exhibition halls of India, China art and countries of the foreign east.
The State Historical Museum has been opened in Ashgabat in 1929, which starting from 1985, was united with local history museum and historical museum, which stores had thousands of exhibits related to various branches of science and culture, has been opened on their base.
The State Museum of the State Cultural Center of Turkmenistan has been ceremonially opened in November 198. It units the funds of several Ashgabat’s museums, which enhanced the protection and efficiency of work for registration and systematization of the exhibits.
The exposition, which includes 7 permanent galleries, has more than 130,000 exhibits including architectural rarities from Nissa and Ancient Merv, collection of ancient Turkmen carpets, rare samples of national dress and fabrics, items of traditional life, precious metal jewelry, weapons and awards. Museums of local history and Museum of the President of Turkmenistan have been opened on both sides of the museum in 2009.
The exposition of the Museum of the President has 10 sections. It exhibits the gifts presented to Turkmen leader by the government officials of foreign countries, citizens of our and other states, representatives of business circles.
The halls decorated with photos related to life and activity of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov as the head of the state are organically combined with audio and visual equipment of the latest generation, which helps visitors to receive visual imagination about major changes in Turkmenistan.
We cannot help mentioning National Museum of Turkmen Carpet, which has been opened in the capital in 1994. More than 2,000 articles are available for the visitors in new building of the museum since 2009, for example unique double-side and relief carpets. The collection includes several hundreds of the best carpets of Turkmenistan, the oldest of which is dated by the XVII century. Giant Altyn Asyr carpet, which was registered in the Guinness World Record Book in 2003, is among the exhibits. The area of this huge carpet, which was weaved at Baherden Carpet Art Factory, is 301 square meters.
This is not a full list of the museums of our country. Mary Regional United Museum, Bakhshy Museum in Dashoguz Region and Dashoguz Regional Museum as well as number of museums with beautiful samples of ancient, applied national craft in all regions of the country are very popular. The biggest museums are located in modern buildings, which were erected in the last years by individual projects.
The video is available here.
Roman Teplyakov
