The 6th of October is a mournful day in Turkmenistan when the ceremonies in commemoration of victims of the disastrous Ashgabat earthquake take place throughout the country. On the Remembrance Day the flags were lowered throughout the country. The prayers for the peace of souls of our compatriots whose lives had been taken away by the natural disaster were offered up and commemorative sadaqahs were given in accordance with Muslim rituals and national traditions. 64 years have passed since this tragic event in the history of the Turkmen people that still echoes painfully in the heart of every citizen of Turkmenistan. On the night of the 5th and 6th of October of 1948 the earthquake razed the beautiful and blooming city and its vicinities to the ground bringing the bitterness of orphanhood and irretrievable loss.
In the morning on October 6, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the commemoration ceremony taken place at the Monument to the victims of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake.
The Chairperson of the Mejlis, Vice Premiers, the heads of military and law-enforcement agencies, ministries and departments, public organizations, the deputies of the National Parliament, priests and the elders gathered together at the square in front of the memorial complex. Among the ceremony participants were the heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to Turkmenistan. Following the call of their hearts, thousands of citizens of Turkmenistan came there on that day to commemorate the deceased relatives and loved ones, all compatriots who had passed away prematurely.
From the Palace Complex the President of Turkmenistan walked to the Memorial Complex.
Those present at the ceremony paid tribute to victims of the Ashgabat earthquake, one of the greatest earthquakes in the history of humanity, with a silence minute. The National Anthem of Turkmenistan sounded. The Mufti of Turkmenistan recited a prayer for the peace of the souls of those untimely deceased.
Then the Turkmen leader laid a wreath of flowers to the memorial complex and bowed his head in deep sorrow. As is known, the 1948 tragedy plucked the life of the grandfather of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Berdimuhamed Annaev, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, school teacher and enlightener, who had dedicated himself to the noble mission of educating and upbringing younger generation.
Then ceremony participants laid flowers to the memorial complex. Numerous bouquets of flowers covered the marble slabs of the monument within a few minutes.
An inexhaustible stream of people moved to the grand monument in mourning silence. The monument is crowned with a symbolic sculptural composition – a mother keeping a child in her arms as a symbol of the eternal triumph of the life. It is not occasional that the memorial complex was erected in the historical center of Ashgabat that has turned today into a wonderful white-marble city – the pride of independent neutral Turkmenistan.
Over 60 years have passed since the terrible natural disaster which had gone down to history of mankind occurred on the night of the 5th and 6th of October. Within a few minutes it razed the city and its suburbs to the ground burying hundreds of thousands of human lives under the ruins and crippling thousands of people. During the days of the Ashgabat earthquake citizens of Turkmenistan and brotherly peoples of different countries demonstrated fortitude, humanism, compassion and mercy towards the suffering country and its citizens. Working day and night tirelessly and demonstrating patience and endurance, our courageous people together with all peoples of the great country who had come to the aid restored the city in a short period of time.
Today, due to the large-scale urban-planning programme pursued by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the main city of our country has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a symbol of the new historical epoch, the epoch of power and happiness.
On that day the commemorative ceremonies, public prayers and sadaqahs took place in the capital and regions of the country. Bunches of flowers were laid to the memorial complexes and monuments throughout the country.
In the morning on October 6, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov attended the commemoration ceremony taken place at the Monument to the victims of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake.
The Chairperson of the Mejlis, Vice Premiers, the heads of military and law-enforcement agencies, ministries and departments, public organizations, the deputies of the National Parliament, priests and the elders gathered together at the square in front of the memorial complex. Among the ceremony participants were the heads of the diplomatic missions accredited to Turkmenistan. Following the call of their hearts, thousands of citizens of Turkmenistan came there on that day to commemorate the deceased relatives and loved ones, all compatriots who had passed away prematurely.
From the Palace Complex the President of Turkmenistan walked to the Memorial Complex.
Those present at the ceremony paid tribute to victims of the Ashgabat earthquake, one of the greatest earthquakes in the history of humanity, with a silence minute. The National Anthem of Turkmenistan sounded. The Mufti of Turkmenistan recited a prayer for the peace of the souls of those untimely deceased.
Then the Turkmen leader laid a wreath of flowers to the memorial complex and bowed his head in deep sorrow. As is known, the 1948 tragedy plucked the life of the grandfather of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Berdimuhamed Annaev, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, school teacher and enlightener, who had dedicated himself to the noble mission of educating and upbringing younger generation.
Then ceremony participants laid flowers to the memorial complex. Numerous bouquets of flowers covered the marble slabs of the monument within a few minutes.
An inexhaustible stream of people moved to the grand monument in mourning silence. The monument is crowned with a symbolic sculptural composition – a mother keeping a child in her arms as a symbol of the eternal triumph of the life. It is not occasional that the memorial complex was erected in the historical center of Ashgabat that has turned today into a wonderful white-marble city – the pride of independent neutral Turkmenistan.
Over 60 years have passed since the terrible natural disaster which had gone down to history of mankind occurred on the night of the 5th and 6th of October. Within a few minutes it razed the city and its suburbs to the ground burying hundreds of thousands of human lives under the ruins and crippling thousands of people. During the days of the Ashgabat earthquake citizens of Turkmenistan and brotherly peoples of different countries demonstrated fortitude, humanism, compassion and mercy towards the suffering country and its citizens. Working day and night tirelessly and demonstrating patience and endurance, our courageous people together with all peoples of the great country who had come to the aid restored the city in a short period of time.
Today, due to the large-scale urban-planning programme pursued by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the main city of our country has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a symbol of the new historical epoch, the epoch of power and happiness.
On that day the commemorative ceremonies, public prayers and sadaqahs took place in the capital and regions of the country. Bunches of flowers were laid to the memorial complexes and monuments throughout the country.