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The population of Darvaza is 350 inhabitants. Most of them are
Turkmens of the Teke tribe. The word Darvaza is translated as the
"Gates". At the Darvaza settlement many people continue
their half-nomadic lifestyle by setting up yurts in front of their
simple houses. A yurt (in Turkmen Ak Oy) is a traditional Turkmen
dwelling of round shape made of a wooden framework and covered with
a felts called Koshma. The diametre of a common yurt is from 4 m
for a simple "Gara Oy" to a festive and luxurious 9 m
"Ak Oy" set up only for special occasions. The yurt has
a round hole in the middle of roof for ventilation. Lighting is
natural / through this hole, by lamp, candle or by generator. A
Yurt takes 3-4 hours to assemble or disassemble. The Turkmen nomads
have been using yurts since the 6 century. It matches well with
local climatic peculiarities. The microclimate in yurt is favorable.
It is chilly in summer and warm in winter.
Staying in a Yurt one can feel life style of Central Asia nomads,
traditional Turkmen hospitality and kindness and taste traditional
Turkmen cuisine, mainly based on meat - pilav, Turkmen bureg, chorba/
lam soup and refreshing soft drink Chal.
Darvaza is also rich in high quality sulphur. In 1928 a sulphur
factory was founded here. At that time Darvaza was connected with
Ashgabat only by air. Due to costly transportation in 1961 the factory
was closed. This area is also rich in gas and oil. In 1978 all gas
deposits have been preserved here.
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