Giant statue of national poet Magtymguly installed in Ashgabat

Next year Turkmenistan will mark the 300th birthday anniversary of national poet Magtymguly Pyragy. On this occasion, a monument made of over 1,000 tons of bronze was installed in the southern part of the Turkmen capital on one of the heights of the picturesque Kopetdag mountains.

The sculpture created by Saragt Babaev will be 60 meters tall, a local culture ministry source told Daryo.

The composition will adorn the green cultural and park complex, which is currently being designed by Vozrozhdenie (Russia).

On Monday, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported that Igor Bukato, who heads the company, reported to Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, head of the Halk Maslakhaty (People's Council), on the work he had done.

The head of Turkmenistan's highest representative authority suggested applying innovative technologies, in particular "using modern lighting and laser beams to project the immortal poetic lines of Pyragy onto the hills".

Magtymguly's legacy is also honored in Uzbekistan. One of Tashkent's main streets is named after him, and a bas-relief of him was installed there in 2017. His book "Elinga bakhsh ayla" (Devote yourself to your people) was recently published in Uzbek.

Historians say documentary evidence has survived that Magtymguly once studied in Khiva and Bukhara and considered Alisher Navoi his mentor.

Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat