Today, on the territory of the Ak Bugday etrap of Ahal velayat, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov took part in the opening of a new mosque, where Haji Arkadag gave sadaka-agzachar (charitable iftar). The deep meaning lies in the fact that the current opening falls on the month of Oraza and complements the cultural events on the occasion of the proclamation of the city of Anev as the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024. This is clear evidence of the continuity of exemplary primordial traditions and humanistic principles of our people.

    The construction of a new mosque in the Ak Bugday etrap thanks to the successful implementation in the country under the leadership of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of noble endeavors initiated by Hero-Arkadag is confirmation that at the present time good deeds continue worthily. This symbolizes the commitment of our hardworking people to good traditions passed on from generation to generation. Activities to celebrate these glorious events demonstrate that our country is following the path of harmonious development in all directions, and the values created by our people are recognized throughout the world.

    Haji Arkadag arrived at the territory of the new mosque. Here, the National Leader of the Turkmen people was met by the Mufti of the country, members of the Council of Elders of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan and the Council of Elders created under the Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children in Need of Care named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, respected representatives of the older generation.

    Coming out of the mosque, Haji Arkadag presented the Mufti of Turkmenistan on behalf of Arkadagly Haji Serdar with the keys to the vehicles intended for the new complex.

On behalf of the participants in the celebration, the mufti expressed deep gratitude to Haji Arkadag and Arkadagly Haji Serdar for their concern for preserving the primordial spiritual and moral values of the people.

Then Haji Arkadag, together with the participants of the celebration, proceeded to the room intended for sadaka.

Here, the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov spoke on the occasion of the significant event.

Having greeted those gathered, Haji Arkadag said that on this blessed day of the holy month of Oraza we are participating in sadaka-agzachar in the new mosque in the city of Anev.

    As Hero-Arkadag noted, building roads, bridges and mosques is considered a good deed among the Turkmens. This religious building, the construction of which began in the first days of Arkadagly Serdar’s accession to the post of head of state, meets modern requirements.

As Magtymguly Fragi wrote: «Remezan diýerler aýyň ýagşysyn». Therefore, it is very symbolic that the opening of the new mosque took place during the month of Oraza this year, marked by celebrations on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the poet and philosopher. The event itself demonstrates the continuity of the traditions of our wise ancestors - to do good deeds on blessed days and honour shrines, Hero-Arkadag continued.

The city of Anev has been attracting the attention of the world scientific community for many centuries. It has been declared the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024, and on the occasion of this glorious event, a launch ceremony of thematic events is organized. Numerous guests arrived to participate in it, noted the National Leader of the Turkmen people, emphasizing that the opening in these eventful days of a new modern mosque on the sacred land of Anev, combining in its appearance both ancient traditions and modern trends in the field of architecture, clearly demonstrates commitment to the sacred responsibilities.

    The total area of the religious building is 6 hectares, and 500 people can pray here at the same time. The height of each of the four minarets is 50 meters, the dome is 30 meters, which symbolizes the length of the month by day, and the 24 windows located at the base of the dome - the length of the day. The lamps installed in the mosque and sadaka room for 500 people are made in the shape of ears of wheat, as are the patterns under the dome and on the walls of the structure. This indicates that Anev is the birthplace of wheat «ak bugdaý» and the birthplace of agricultural culture, noted Haji Arkadag.

Focusing on the colour scheme of the ornaments inside the mosque and its premises, which are identical to the colors of the images on the Seyit Jemaletdin mosque, Hero-Arkadag emphasized that on the walls of the new mosque there are octagrams - the symbol of the ancestor Oguzhan, and in the upper part of its mihrab there is an illuminated large green inscription colours in Arabic «Alla». The symbolism of the times of Oguzhan also served as a prototype for the ornaments on the carpets in the mosque and the room for sadaka.

    Turkmens are people who protect and preserve their national traditions and customs, cultural values, an integral part of which is the Islamic religion. Her role is significant in education in the spirit of honesty, humanism and nobility; she encourages people to be virtuous. In the coming days, on the occasion of Gadyr Gijesi, the holy month of Oraza, similar new mosques will be opened in the regions of the country where prayers will be offered, Haji Arkadag continued.

As Hero-Arkadag Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted, the state provides great support to those who intend to perform the Hajj. Every year, thousands of our compatriots go on pilgrimage to holy places, and also fast, give sadaka-agzachar and read prayers during the month of Oraza. In Turkmenistan, the sacred holidays of Oraza and Gurban Bayram are celebrated at the state level.

May Almighty Allah fulfill your good thoughts and intentions and help you in good deeds in the interests of the state and society, Haji Arkadag wished and turned to the Mufti of Turkmenistan to read the «tebärek» prayer.

    Then the participants of sadak-agzachar, which is one of the rituals of the holy month of Oraza, were served dishes of national cuisine. Those gathered expressed gratitude to Hero Arkadag and Arkadagly Hero Serdar for their efforts to preserve the exemplary noble principles created by our people.

Next, the Mufti of Turkmenistan read the verse, offering prayers for the Almighty to accept the data in the holy month of Oraza Sadaka, to send good health and longevity to the Hero-Arkadag and head of state Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who shows tireless concern for the well-being of the country and the happy life of our people.

Addressing the participants of the sadaka-agzachar, Haji Arkadag wished that the Almighty would accept all the sadaka given and the prayers read.

Then the National Leader of the Turkmen people suggested discussing a number of important issues over a cup of tea. As noted, in ancient times Anev was considered a prosperous region. Nowadays, this sacred land, where agricultural culture first arose, is flourishing again.

The ruins of the structure, popularly called the Seyit Jemaletdin Mosque, are known to be located in the south of Anev. The inscription on the portal of the mosque indicated the name of the ruler of Horasan (1446–1457) - Sultan Abul-Qasim Babur and read: «This construction happened during the reign of the great Sultan, the ruler of his people, the refuge of the countries and the century of Abul-Qasim Babur Bahadur Han May the Almighty perpetuate his power and his kingdom». Other inscriptions provided information that the «House of Beauty» was built at his own expense by the vizier of the ruler of Horasan, Muhammad, in 1455–1456 in memory of his father Jemal-ad-dunya-va-d-din, Haji-Arkadag continued.

Historians confirm that Seyit Jemaletdin was an outstanding Islamic scholar and theologian, for which he was awarded the title «decoration of the world and religion», – noted the scientist Arkadag, focusing on various legends existing among the people about the Anev mosque, built of magnificent baked brick.

This building, which had excellent polychrome ceramic decoration, overlooked a spacious front courtyard. The square hall with a span of 10.5 meters was covered with a dome. In the thickness of the southern wall of the hall there was a mihrab decorated with tiles. On either side of it there were narrow niches with exits to the outside.

Noting that the decoration of the mosque had the greatest value and artistic originality, Haji Arkadag drew attention to the magnificent images above the arch of two writhing dragons, whose heads are facing each other. The image of dragons on the facade has no analogue in the decoration of architectural monuments of Central Asia, which is noted by both historians and ethnographers.

As the scientist Arkadag emphasized, there is a legend about those same dragons. So, one day, during the reign of a fair and wise queen, people heard a loud and alarming ringing of a bell. Gathering at the gate, they saw that the bell was being shaken by a huge dragon.

At the same time, he seemed to be pointing towards the mountains, then at two craftsmen with axes and saws standing in the crowd. The queen ordered the craftsmen to follow the dragon, which began to retreat into the mountains.

There they saw another dragon, who was experiencing terrible torment: he swallowed a mountain goat, whose horns were stuck in his throat. Brave craftsmen entered the open mouth, sawed through the horns and chopped the goat's carcass into pieces, freeing the dragon from torment.

Then the first dragon led the craftsmen to a cave full of treasures and allowed them to collect as much as they could carry. The next day, the residents were awakened again by the ringing of the bell. When they came out, they saw both dragons, who brought gold and many precious stones. Having laid all this at the feet of the queen, they retired to the mountains.

The queen ordered to build a large mosque with these jewels and depict donors - dragons - on its portal. According to legend, dragons were the patrons of the inhabitants of Anev, the scientist Arkadag completed the retelling of the legend.

As the National Leader of the Turkmen people said, in his book «Turkmenistan - the heart of the Great Silk Road» it is emphasized that the Seyit Jemaletdin mosque was destroyed by the Ashgabat earthquake in 1948. Under the ruins, there were also fragments of decor that had lain underground for more than half a century.

Only during the years of independence did domestic specialists manage to get out from under the ruins and piece by piece restore fragments of the magnificent work of fine art created by our ancestors, Haji Arkadag noted, emphasizing that the restored decorative elements of the Seyit Jemaletdin mosque are exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan. Scientific analysis of the images on the Seyit Jemaletdin Mosque in Anev confirms that they have similarities with Chinese fine art.

– A number of scientists suggest that this similarity indicates the existence of active contacts between Turkmen and Chinese masters in the Middle Ages. Of course, then this process was facilitated by the Great Silk Road, through which masters reached China, and Chinese came to our sunny land to visit glorious cities on Turkmen soil and exchange experiences, noted scientist Arkadag.

Looking back, we can say that the Turkmen-Chinese ties of friendship and brotherhood are rooted in the depths of history, Hero-Arkadag said, noting that in 49 BC, the ancestors of the Turkmens signed an agreement with the people of China, called the «Oath Treaty». Such an agreement testified to the closeness of the two peoples. It stated: «Let our sons and grandsons be faithful to this treaty from generation to generation».

– I would also like to note that the ancient city of Anev was declared the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2024 for a reason: according to the eastern calendar, this year is considered the year of the Fish by us, and by the Chinese people – the year of the Dragon, images of which were located on the portal of the Seyit Jemaletdin mosque, – emphasized the scientist Arkadag.

The given examples are covered in detail in the recently published book by Hero Serdar «Änew – müňýyllyklardan gözbaş alýan medeniýet», said Hero-Arkadag.

As the National Leader of the Turkmen people noted, the fact that this year is considered the year of the Fish in our country, and the year of the Dragon among the friendly people of China, is of great importance in the context of the increased attention of the world community to the ancient city of Anev. At the same time, this demonstrates that our people have maintained close cooperation, especially cultural ties, with the people of China, as well as with other peoples of the planet, since time immemorial.

The Seyit Jemaletdin Mosque, being one of such historical and cultural values of universal human scale, is considered inviolable.

Since the values next to the mosque are under protection, major reconstruction is impossible, and this is very important in terms of preserving it in its original form for future generations.

Speaking about this, Haji Arkadag addressed those gathered with a proposal, if approved, as a sign of respect for the ancestors and heritage of the past, as well as respect for the personality of those who left a bright mark on history, the new religious building erected on this sacred land should be called «Seyit Jemaletdin Mosque».

The venerable elders participating in sadaka-agzachar approved and supported the proposal of Hero-Arkadag, thanking for perpetuating the names of our ancestors, and expressed their best wishes.

Noting that today in the new mosque sadaka-agzachar was given, prayers were offered and verses were read in the holy month of Oraza, Haji-Arkadag wished: «May the Almighty accept our prayers»!

«Let the new mosque of Seyit Jemaletdin serve our people in good endeavors»! – said the National Leader of the Turkmen people and, wishing everyone success, left the scene of the event.