The Turkmen Carpet Festival is traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday in May. It includes an exhibition of carpets and carpet products and the 24th meeting of the World Association of Turkmen Carpet Connoisseurs. This festival is a special recognition of the nation's unique cultural heritage of hand-made carpet weaving, honoring the skilled craftswomen whose talent creates beautiful carpets. It serves as a prime example of preserving traditional decorative and applied arts and enduring cultural and spiritual values.

The ceremonial events were preceded by an exhibition at the National Museum of Turkmen Carpet, showcasing classic and modern original carpet products. The exhibition presented a colorful picture of the meticulous yet joyfully creative work of carpet weavers, highlighting the sequential stages of carpet making in an improvised village set up on the museum's adjacent square.

The masterpieces of carpet weaving reflect the Turkmen worldview, pride in the past, and present, and dreams for the future. The main patterns, known as carpet gels, have become integral elements of the state symbols of the independent neutral homeland, symbolizing unity, beauty, the harmony of traditions, and modern experience. Notably, the new Ashgabat International Airport, which opened in September 2016, is included in the Guinness Book of Records for its architectural feature of the passenger terminal. It is called "The Largest Gel".

compiled by Babajan PIRINYAZOV,
student of the Magtymguly Turkmen State University.