
Turkmenistan is holding lavish celebrations to mark Eid Al Adha, a holy holiday for the entire Muslim world. Early in the morning, National Leader of the Turkmen People, Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty (People's Council), Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, arrived at the Turkmenbashi Spirituality Mosque in Kipchak, one of the largest religious buildings in the region, to perform the Eid prayer.
Members of the Khalk Maslakhaty Council of Elders and the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children in Need, as well as the heads of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in the country, participated in the joint prayer. Following the service, Haji Arkadag, along with foreign diplomats and elders, visited the resting place of the first President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, where, in accordance with national traditions and the canons of Islam, memorial verses from the Holy Quran were read.
The festivities continued with a visit by the National Leader of the Turkmen people to the construction site of a new, majestic mosque in the city of Arkadag, designed to accommodate 30,000 worshippers. There, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov inspected the construction progress, diagrams of the internal systems, samples of marble paving, prayer rugs, and sketches of calligraphic decorative inscriptions for the walls and mihrab.
The Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty emphasized that the mosque is being built using high-quality materials supplied from neighboring and friendly countries, symbolizing the strength of good-neighborly ties. In a conversation with foreign ambassadors, the Chairman of the Khalk Maslakhaty recounted the history of the country's spiritual revival, recalling the construction of the first iconic mosques of independent Turkmenistan, including the Şehitler Mosque and the Ertugrul Gazi Mosque.
On the same day, a festive Kurbanlyk-Sadaqah was held at the Markaw Cultural and Entertainment Center on behalf of the National Leader of the Turkmen People, bringing together Turkmen elders and representatives of the diplomatic corps.
Addressing the gathering, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov emphasized that sovereign, neutral Turkmenistan has created all the conditions for the careful preservation of religious and national traditions, as evidenced by the current Hajj of approximately three thousand Turkmen pilgrims to the sacred Kaaba in Mecca.
Foreign diplomats called it a great honor to share this blessed holiday with the Turkmen people, expressing admiration for the scale of the country's urban development and spiritual projects. Following the meal, verses were recited and prayers were offered.