Turkmenistan: landmarks, animals & facts for kids

Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia. It borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran, and it has a long coast on the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water. The capital, Ashgabat, lies near the mountains on the border with Iran and is famous for its gleaming white marble buildings.

Turkmenistan is known for the vast Karakum Desert, beautiful horses and carpets, and huge reserves of natural gas. On the globe you can find the Darvaza gas crater, nicknamed the 'Door to Hell', a giant pit in the desert where natural gas has been burning for decades, glowing brightly at night.

Geography and nature

The Karakum, or 'Black Sand', Desert covers most of Turkmenistan. Along the southern border rise the Kopet Dag mountains, and in the east the great Amu Darya River flows towards the Aral Sea. The Karakum Canal, one of the longest irrigation canals in the world, carries river water across the desert to farms and cities. Summers are very hot and winters can be cold. Desert animals include gazelles, monitor lizards and Asiatic wild asses, called kulan.

People, languages and culture

People speak Turkmen, a Turkic language written in the Latin alphabet, and Russian is also used. Most people are Muslim. Turkmen carpets, woven in deep reds with patterns called güls, are famous, and five carpet patterns appear on the national flag. The Akhal-Teke, a slim horse with a shiny, metallic-looking coat, is a national treasure. Families bake chorek bread in clay ovens and enjoy plov, a rice dish with meat and carrots. Weddings and horse races are big celebrations.

History in a nutshell

Ancient cities such as Merv and Nisa grew up on the Silk Road, and Merv was once one of the biggest cities in the world. Persian, Arab, Turkic and Mongol rulers came and went over the centuries. In the late 1800s the Russian Empire took control, and in 1924 the area became a Soviet republic. Turkmenistan became independent on 27 October 1991. In 1995 the United Nations recognised it as a permanently neutral country.