Turkmenistan
is an amazing country that honors its customs and traditions. The
capital city of Ashgabat captivates residents and guests with its
modern marble infrastructure and even
entered the Guinness Book of Records! Living in the capital, many people prefer to
wear national clothes, adhere to traditions and customs. Especially, traditions
are honored in villages and in small towns.
Today
we will tell you how to behave in the house of locals.
We like to hold lunches and dinners in local
families
during
tours, so that guests of the country can plunge into the real life of people
and learn more about them. We have given some tips on how to behave when
visiting a local family:
- Be sure to take off your shoes on the doorstep, as in Asia it is not customary
to walk
shoes at home;
- Older men should be greeted with both hands, and women should
not be
greeted by
shaking hands;
- During the meal, the tablecloth is placed on the floor and
everyone sits around it.
Sometimes tapchans (wooden table with pillows made
of planks on a goat with a headboard) are placed in houses. Tapchans are often placed on
the street during the warm season;
- Men put their feet under their body, something similar to the lotus position
and women
fold their legs under their body, as I sit in the photo :))) ;
- Before you start eating, you need to wait until the eldest in the family tastes
the first piece and only after that the rest can start eating. It
means of
a respectful attitude towards elders;
- You need to break off bread only with two hands;
- You can not throw out bread, and also leave food in a plate. It is considered
disrespectful to the family, and can also bring hunger into your
life.
Another
interesting custom is that, when guests come, the hostess
of the home (wife)
bites the tip of her scarf and walks like this whole evening,
thus,
showing respect for her husband with her silence and the entire subsequent
conversation with the guests, first of all, will be accompanied by her husband.
This is an old custom that has been followed for many years, both in remote
places and sometimes in large cities. But, this does not mean that men in
Turkmenistan terrorize their wives and force them to do so. In fact, all
traditions and customs are honored with deep respect from both the man and the
woman.
By
the way, many people believe that there is no foreign TV
channels in
Turkmenistan and only local TV channels
are broadcast. This is a big myth. Anyone can connect cable TV and watch
foreign channels as well as the Russian and the European
ones.
Therefore, all residents of Turkmenistan are aware of world events and news.
Recently,
we were asked a question about alcohol in Turkmenistan. Yes, the country has
alcohol and even has its own production. Drinking
alcohol depends
on families, as in all countries. Since there are many religious
people in
the country, alcohol is not common.
The
next tradition is the wearing of headscarves that
are differ
by region. By the color of the scarf and the manner of tying, you can determine
from which region the woman is from. For example, tahya, a common headdress in
the form of a small hat for both girls and men. Unmarried women wear tahya, and
married women wear other types of headdresses.
There
is a dress code in schools for wearing green dresses and braids among girls,
and in universities girls wear red dresses. After graduation, they can move on
to their free style. The wearing of traditional headdresses as well as national
clothes is not mandatory in the country.
Before saying goodbye in your
language,
tell them in Turkmen language. Be sure, they will be
very happy:
Sag
bol! – Thank you!
Kabul
bolsin!
– All the best!
These
are the unusual traditions and customs we learned in Turkmenistan. But
this is
only a small part. In fact, there are a lot of customs
and traditions we
can talk about for hours))
Soon
we will make
a big post: “Rumors
and Reality”.
It will be interesting!
If
you want to learn more about this amazing country, we will be happy to organize
a tour for you!
