Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex (People's Memory) is a memorial complex to the honor of those killed in the

Battle of Geok Tepe The Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881 was the main event in the 1880/81 Russian campaign to conquer the Teke Turkomans. Its effect was to give the Russian Empire control over most of what is now Turkmenistan, thereby nearly completing the Russian c ...

in 1881, in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. It is in the southwestern part of

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 ...

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 s ...

History

Construction began in September 2012 by the Turkish company

Polimeks Polimeks İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş. is a Turkish holding company based in Istanbul. Polimeks, established in 1995 and grew to become one of the world’s leading construction companies, in recent years transformed into a global investment holding ...

. On October 5, 2014, the memorial was given the official name the Halk Hakydasy (People’s Memory). The memorial complex opened on October 6, 2014, on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profes ...

. In 2020, the

diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

of the victory in the Great Patriotic War was celebrated with a

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the la ...

and festive celebrations at the complex. This was the first ever Victory Parade to be held since Turkmen independence was attained, being held in front of a square at the complex. Soldiers of the

Armed Forces of Turkmenistan The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri), known informally as the Turkmen National Army () is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Ground Forces, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces, ...

took part in the parade, which was attended by President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profe ...

and Russian Deputy Minister of Defence

Alexander Fomin Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin (russian: Александр Васильевич Фомин, born May 25, 1959) is the Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Biography Alexander Fomin was born on May 25, 1959, in Leninogorsk. He attended the Mil ...

Architectural ensemble

The memorial complex covers 650 thousand square meters, being 916 meters long and 626 meters wide. The complex includes a monument erected in honor of the Victory in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), an ...

(1941-1945), and the memorial perpetuating the memory of the heroes who died during the battle near Geok Depe and the casualties of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. Also built in the memorial is a museum. There are buildings for the Muslim rite

sadaqah or Sadqah ( ar, صدقة , "charity", "benevolence", plural ' ) in the modern context has come to signify "voluntary charity". According to the Quran, the word means voluntary offering, whose amount is at the will of the "benefactor". Etymol ...

. Near the monuments are fountains, lawns and flower beds, paved paths, installed decorative lamps and benches. At night, the complex is illuminated by searchlights.

Monument Ruhy Tagzym

A monument dedicated to the victims of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. The bronze sculpture is 10 meters high, mounted on a marble podium, rising above an area of 24 meters, a monument built on the initiative of

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 ...

as a mighty

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

tossing the world on its horns, and the bodies of the dead people, and on top a woman, with her last desperate hand movements saving her baby, lifting it over the ruins of the city. Until 2012 it was in the central square of Ashgabat. The basis of the design of the monument
image
is an ancient legend about a fantastic bull holding the Earth on its horns, and its bellowing is heard as underground earthquake noises.

Monument Baky şöhrat (Eternal glory)

Monument to those who fell in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. Until 2014 it was called the "Eternal Flame" and was in the center of Ashgabat; it was dismantled in the reconstruction of the park area. The new monument is significantly different from the former; four 27-meter high steles embodying the unfolding flower, were replaced with five steles with a base in the form of an eight-pointed star. The monument was unveiled in 1970 in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Victory.

Monument Milletiň ogullary (Sons of the nation)

The monument depicts the

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

bowing her head and holding her son in an arm. Until 2014, the monument was in the center of Ashgabat. It was built in commemoration of the heroes of other battles for the

Motherland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

(Turkmenistan).

Museum "Watan mukaddesligi" ("The sanctity of the homeland")

The museum has two halls - Ýer titreme (Museum of the earthquake) and Sowes (War Museum). The hall dedicated to the memory of the defenders of the fortress

Geok Tepe Geok Tepe ( tk, Gökdepe) is a city in and the administrative center of Gökdepe District, Ahal province, Turkmenistan, north-west of Ashgabat. The city is built around a former fortress of the Turkmens which bore the same name. The city lies al ...

, is the layout of the fortress, the real cold and firearms, clothing and military equipment, combatants, archival documents and photographs, diorama of the

. In the room dedicated to Turkmen citizens who fell in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is an exhibition of works of Turkmen painters, graphic artists, sculptors, and ceramists. A separate exposition hall has reconstructed pictures of the Ashgabat earthquake, photographs and exhibits of documentary chronicles.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Memorial Park in AshgabatAsgabat Memorial Park
Monuments and memorials in Turkmenistan Museums established in 2014 2014 establishments in Turkmenistan Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Museums in Turkmenistan Tourist attractions in Ashgabat