Melon Day is an annual national holiday in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

devoted to festivities to celebrate the country's

muskmelon ''Cucumis melo'', also known as melon, is a species of '' Cucumis'' that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. The fruit is a pepo. The flesh is either sweet or bland, with or without a musky aroma, and the rind can be smooth (such ...

, in particular a recent crossbreed product named " Turkmenbashy melon" (after Turkmenistan's first president), which is praised for its aroma, taste and massive size. It takes place on the second Sunday in August. This holiday was established by Turkmenistan’s then-President

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov; tk, Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, in Cyrillic: Сапармырат Атаевич Ныязов (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006), also known as Turkmenbashi, was a Turkmen politician who rule ...

in 1994, who preferred to be known as Turkmenbashy ( tk, Türkmenbaşy), or head of the Turkmen people. The day's celebrations feature a large display of the fruit in all its varieties, as well as a series of dance and music events, in the country's capital,

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

. In his address to farmers in 2004, President Niyazov said: "Almighty God has turned Turkmen soil into a fertile source of an abundance of the tastiest fruits. Among them are Turkmen melons, which are the result of farmers' hard work and which have a unique taste reminiscent of the fruit of

paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

." In newspapers Niyazov was quoted as saying, "The Turkmen melon is the source of our pride. Its taste has no equals in the world, the smell makes your head spin." Melon Day is among 24

public holidays A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

of Turkmenistan – typical titles of which are Drop of Water is a Grain of Gold Festival, Festival of the Poetry of Magtymguli, Good Neighborliness Day, Race Horse Day, and Carpet Day.

References

External links

Niyazov's address on the occasion of the Turkmen Melon Day
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Turkmen leader inspires devotion to melon

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, August 11, 2003.
Turkmenistan celebrates 'Melon Day'

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

, August 11, 2002.
Turkmenistan celebrates Melon Day

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera M ...

, August 23, 2005. Public holidays in Turkmenistan National holidays Melons August observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Observances about food and drink Sunday observances

See also

References

External links