The State Museum of the State Cultural Center of Turkmenistan is running an exhibition to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Ashgabat earthquake.
The themed exhibition is split into four sections.At first, visitors are offered to step back in time to the pre-war city with black-and-white photographs depicting its architecture and pulsating rhythms: a government building, cozy streets, old structures, park areas...
In startling contrast are photographs showing the tragedy.The unique shots capture the great fortitude of the city’s residents, who courageously coped with the aftermath of the deadly earthquake that hit the city on the night of October 6, 1948.
The exhibition features paintings from the Museum’s storerooms that continue the same theme. One of them shows the Seyit Jamal ad-Din Mosque in Anau destroyed by the devastating earthquake. Archeological artifacts, exhibits from the Museum’s ethnographic collection, videos, and prints make up an organic whole, lending additional insight into dramatic pages from the country’s history.
A diverse section that provides a life-affirming finale to the exhibition is devoted to the present-day white marble-clad capital, whose impressive landmarks have earned a spot in the Guinness World Records, and whose ongoing architectural megaprojects have become a visual symbol of the country’s innovative development.