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turkmen sarra region is situated in godless time province in the northeast of iran it is home to a formerly no magic group of peoples with a long tradition and history the tuckman. hot dry summers and bitter cold winters dic take down lives for only a few weeks a year the hells come to life with the pale green of spring it's said to be the most beautiful time of the year. traditionally it's also the festive season. of a top ten near the border of turkmenistan is a ten hour drive from tehran. over the last century a town of five thousand inhabitants has grown around what was once

a line stop watering sight. no morals to the tuchman poet marked can be found everywhere in the region. more than twelve million turkmen live in central asia half of them in the young republican turkmenistan. these nomads who were famous for their love of horses only began settling in fixed locations joe nine hundred twenty s. . today their daily lives of the nearly two million iranian turkmen differs little from those of their fellow citizens but the turkmen still trying to preserve many of their control traditions. even the youngest practiced the customs of their ancestors dressed in their traditional costumes their helping hand out invitations in the town to this day when wedding is a grand event for the entire community i must say i met with they say it's going to

be a totally traditional wedding it said the family is financially very well off. that's when a wedding like this is best of course otherwise they wouldn't be able to afford to make so much effort in the past turkmen wedding would be celebrated for months today it's just a week. or so i've heard that the family wants to uphold the old traditions for example that the bride will be brought on a camel and they'll be old turkmen games of wrestling. so. it will be a wonderful tradition always back then these customs are all very old. here on the outskirts of mar of a top there lies the family business belonging to uncle gauguin live. the track to

dealership panda joining repair shop has allowed gold canada valjean to achieve wealth and social standing. to get there many iranian turkmen still earn a living from agriculture and livestock farming. or is sponsibility for the family owned business will soon change hands today some caught him. batters the families only he must marry first it. has. the words i've been telling carbon for years good marriott. after his military service i tried time and time again telling him come on get married. but cut him kept saying i have other plans i want to study and work. and so he

first completed his degree. he only wanted to get married when he felt the right time had come. but having said afterward i went on and on like this. you know because. you know if as i do this wish is that my son marries a girl from a good family as one of the presenting but now his wish is about to come true at twenty nine kadam has kept his family waiting long enough five months ago he met him his bride to be. sello darling how are you. what are you doing. now no news here. for now i'm looking forward to

later. have fun at your family's place. by. min then michelle. in the very first time i saw her photo on the internet i knew once that this was the woman i wanted to marry. well maybe there are folks drawn to her at first sight and i hoped it would work out with. me going through. the exit i felt straight away that god found my better half. it's an ongoing is the one that's how much i felt drawn to her. for this just a few days till the wedding gone bad is among the most important turkmen cities and this is where khartoum and mar him have arranged to meet and go shopping together a decade ago such a meeting between an unmarried couple would still have been unthinkable today it is

considered acceptable when chaperoned by their family. just like her him my him ms ali comes from a tradition bound family modesty and decorum are a top priority only answer the wedding will the couple be permitted to spend time with each other alone. and on the good. side i received his proposal via the internet. and he was determined to meet me in person at the heart of us and i mean the man i'm trying since i didn't even know him i ignored it at first i was. mad at them. first the proposal and then the couple gets to know one another this is not unusual in turkmen culture. intentions must be honorable. even a low key meeting can be deemed indecent. so cut him quickly let it be known that his intentions were to marry. him warmly

have given. i told my family that he's called curran he comes from more of a topic and wants to marry me. which as a staff. it was clear that i would only marry him the father requirements were met . perhaps a. if a drug problem car doesn't have a good job is this family financially well off when the after. decent boy my family found out all that for me i was worried because i hardly knew him and knew so little about him. that's how i made my serious intentions clear from the start. i insisted that we should speak for a few days and slowly get to know each other. we

turkmen belong to one of three large tribes in the hollow the job for the tech her family belongs to the judge does does mine that makes things easier because we understand one another better. i insisted that i meet her in person of course i wanted someone from the family to chaperone her heaven forbid i didn't want her to think badly of me so finally we sat together and talked one day. after a while i realized we had a lot in common and i felt more and more of a bond with him that a we started. well best for them all. soon thereafter karriem told his family that they wanted to get married and his

family had already turned down three previous candidates but he was able to win them over to my hand. with this purchase of expensive jewelry condoms families confirming their approval . of the wedding plans. have a yes this yeah. now we will just have to set a date for the wedding of course our families will have to agree. but ted this book will not. only family lives in a collage about two hundred kilometers south of mount of a topic. according to tradition it is the elders the axe a cow who must approve of a marriage. grandmother bibi and the eldest and other first to arrive at the house

of my family. and. the local clerics are also members of the access for centuries they decided on all tribal affairs and they still play an important role in the tap and community the negotiations are led by caroms uncle bakhtiari sort of dark. gathered here today to ask for the bride's hand in marriage so today we will tell the bride's father but our son loves his daughter we want to inquire if they find as worthy that's why we the council of elders are convening to discuss it. my hymns older sisters are working in the kitchen. turkmen households are in the women's hands men do none of the cooking. simple but nutritious dishes are typical fare such as czech dema the turkmen

national dish. counter thought it sounds obvious. but it does. what it is that is. actually sauteed the chicken we add water and let it simmer for two hours i can watch it be thin lamb for three hours. and read at the end we had rice that we've soaked in water. and color in terms little has changed from an attachment still it is nomads but the world beyond the kitchen has kept moving forward yet it was not.

in the old days a wedding couldn't take place without the consent of the ox or car. that's how much elders were respected. the bride and groom had no say in it palatable to today the young people are included in the cards decision you're throughout africa. but anyone who thinks the men decide while the women coke is mistaken the women also have a say the most important question is decided by condoms grandmother b.b. and my hymns mother. this year the men that we've traveled far to enter into a union of families with you we ask you from our hearts to grant this god has granted this. kind of the middle toy in our ancient wedding traditions handed down to us by our

forefathers comprise our turkmen identity our originality and difference to other ethnic groups that i'm fortunate that we keep moving further away from our old traditions never that should be outlawed that. the families of mar him and cart him these traditions are a matter of honor. good after the elders have given their approval we bread and salt after about the go p. is tired from then on my i am using gauge and everyone can now see that she's engaged. to a colored braided band symbolizes the bridal couple who according to the elders wishes are now intertwined with each other for i have a. very happy with my choice and i'm looking forward to our wedding. after the engagement ceremony martin will remain with

her family friend the other week but on the day of the wedding she leaves the home where she was born to start a new life in matter of a topic. but there is still a lot to do before the wedding. in our color my him goes through her dowry one last time together with her family. and an entire household has been amassed over the years they don't want. last and where daughter to lack anything in her new house. also drove. the army in turkmen culture the mother starts assembling the dowries of her daughters when they're still young girls. i mean that what exactly each daughter receives depends on the family's financial means a lot what's important is that the number of items must always be divisible by two

valley just as the bridal couple consists of two people so there must be two of everything. some of this tradition applies not only to us but to all turkmen. who the last met told him and i thought one quite a name one whether rich or poor or a qur'an is always part of the down. men are muslims part unlike the majority of iranians they don't follow the shiites but the sunni branch of faith. you know my town was several days before the wedding they come and fetch my dowry and take it to my new home so that everything's in place after our wedding. halls that i mentioned. a few days later that moment has come. him sisters in arms make sure the down is carefully loaded onto the truck.

the other eight daughters of the family are already married so the ms alice are used to goodbyes though it doesn't make it any easier. i mean. it's strange to see that everything's gone now. of course i'm looking forward to the wedding but at the same time i also feel sad. just like my mother who can hardly hold back her tears. come out i. can name was sam met horseman said i hope everyone has a nice time at my wedding and that they'll remember it for a long time especially the girls i hope they like my wedding and want to get married like this too. the trunk can

soft him out of any topic it's the first of many goodbyes from him. in matter of a top am grandmother bibi supervises the construction of the the traditional tuchman tent. today they are just an old custom but for centuries these mobile units provided shelter for entire extended families against the harsh weather on the plains even though they are built of lightweight wood that the family burns dried frankincense to ward off bad luck after all a wedding will take place in this year and. play out.

eighty one year old go home a distant great-aunt was born in a. little look at the own yesterday i've been putting up your it since i was ten and got married when i was ten. people my age still know how to do it but the youth of today don't any more. nor a divider from here to the middle the adult slept on one side and the children on the. here at the front is where my four daughters in law slept. here due to the one hundred relatives came we kill a sheep we came the liver and heart here and grill the meat outside for the guests times were good back then. the next day marks the start of the three day waiting celebration current will go and collect his bride tomorrow today everything revolves around him it's his

bachelor party. like god i've hardly got any stress as far as my wedding is concerned my family my friends and neighbors are taking care of everything i just hope now that everything is to the guest satisfaction and that the wedding is a feast of joy and of all things good and beautiful here that's what matters most to me and that i'm. doesn't need to lift a finger of course he wants to look good too in a tight fitting suit out of a hollywood film.

the cars are waiting for him and his friends. in on are of the groom the plane outside the city gates has been turned into a wrestling arena this afternoon. his family has invited everyone to the goresh a form of traditional wrestling. the wedding is the most festive moment in a turkmen man's life alongside his circumcision. family have spared neither efforts nor expense to celebrate their son's marriage in a fitting manner even the mourners have come not just as spectators. now for the. i'm the only son in the family. and you know it was image so we have

only this one wedding to son of break ins and. yet so we've decided to celebrate this wedding with all the frills it will lack for nothing. after all everyone will be there you know the old the young the divide which you mention has about four thousand guests coming and they are coming to just have an evening meal and then go home again. in infamy and we want these to be celebrations that will overwhelm everyone. as well as. cornish is an expression of the turkmen national identity as a warrior people and a traditional part of the wedding celebrations but it's an event for men only.

to contest the opponents time and in class around each other's bodies which they are allowed to hold on to. not must be tight. was not. what. the rules are simple you score points by forcing your opponent to touch the ground with any part of their body.

whoever lands on his back first as last. i. think. the clerics also engage in a contest of strength before the crowd. wrestling in moms that custom exists only among the tuchman. has the afternoon progresses more and more visitors come to watch the guard ash

whether with or without an invitation nobody wants to miss the event. the wrestling matches continue until the sun goes down. in a matter of a tap and that evening the guests are served check damn our volunteers help to make sure that all the hungry guests a fat. cat and parents will be spending an equivalent of thirty thousand euros on their sums wedding my custom many guests give small wedding gifts of money which are all recorded. dear friends and guests welcome.

come in and take a seat. after the meal there is entertainment like most everywhere this includes music and dancing. the family has opted for a modern selection. am . that i was. thinking of at all we took one display our customs at weddings especially to close the music. we get together a tall can live our traditions. getting married here is not a private matter the upholding of tradition as

a matter of cultural politics and primed. to. bear the torture meant we modeled our wedding on ceremonies from the past. and of course we hope that others will model their wedding on our. dorm bali because our most important custom is still a traditional wedding would be you know. it is the night before the actual wedding ceremony. last minute preparations are underway. traditional garments such as the colorful headscarf so brought out and give to bans are being braided. in every day life and culture is usually handed down from generation to generation by the women of the family mastering a traditional art is still seen as a virtue among men women and increases the chances of a young woman find. in

a good match. the first written records that describe these no matter what people date back to the tenth century the turkmen were feared as proud and daring warriors from the backs of their horses they conquered large territories. and independent state turkmenistan did not come about until the fall of the soviet union in the early one nine hundred ninety s. . to this day turkmen rarely marry outside their own culture. him out of a top pair the second day of wedding festivities is getting underway it's the day of the. unbridled procession inside the yurt of presents for the bridal family of being blessed with singing and offerings. the groom and his entourage are dressed

in turkmen costumes including the telapak the traditional sheepskin hat. in the past the camels and horses were decorated today it's the cards as soon as the gifts have been blessed a convoy will head to akhalaia to collect my. shortly before they leave gifts are brought out of the year it intended for the family of the bride in exchange for their daughter. khartoum joins the wedding convoy. but it is us who did thank you. very much and i am very happy that soon she will be mine for have our my name and. meanwhile in mar him is the center of attention. friends and family have come to dress her for the

farewell. a wedding. jory of entropy gold and silver weighs just over ten kilos and no effort suspended to impress the groom to be. you know what i want most is for car him to be proud of me we're going to spend the rest of our lives together i'll do everything i can to be the best bride. motorcade has finally reached. carmel have to be patient a little longer. is not allowed to see my him right away he must first pay his respects to a family. and

then the time has come to fetch his bride from the house of her parents. we've brought you this church topping the cloth was made in mecca medina and in our holy places it's been handed down by the elders for many years and will now make you a bride. outside anticipation is rising my hymns nephew is also here to say goodbye.

i'm less. than my own. my name is just a few months older than me. you know which is another reason why we're closer than is usually the case with aunts and nephews. she's like a sister and best friend to me we grew up together obama's election a. lot and can tell you the truth i'm very sad she's leaving. the same time i'm glad she'll be happy i'm happy for. me and it's not the only one who's struggling to maintain his composure.

if. it's here and not out of course i'm very sad that i have to leave my family and move to an unfamiliar place. it will take me a long time to get used to it i didn't have time for follow my saw but i'm also very much looking forward to my new life. taught him and i'm very happy to have found such a wonderful husband and i'm leaving with mixed feelings here. yukio. after

a two hour drive the wedding convoy reaches the outskirts of mount of a topic. here my hymns last test awaits our. highlight that is celebrated by the wedding guests with exuberance. in the past it was customary for the bride to travel the entire distance on a camel today most weddings do without this tradition as it's too expensive and complicated and especially for the bride rather uncomfortable. i.

on the back of a camel my him has to prove that she's a true tuchman in the turks and tradition camels have long played an important role as a pack animal that enjoys even the most strenuous of loads it in part is a masculine ideal but usually the camel is regarded as the symbol of the modest girl of a good family and her hard working mother even in the twenty first century these role models still hold sway. anyone who defies them risks losing the support not only of their own family but the entire community. today mar him has demonstrated that she is willing to accept the role that has been assigned to her. inside the wedding yet the bridal couple is welcomed with traditional singing. meanwhile more. guests

a gathering outside. get set handed over inside the unit and immediately unpacked and sorted quite a task considering there are about a thousand guests. the bridal couple spends the afternoon with close family. only in the evening when all the guests have arrived in the gifts have been unwrapped him become a married woman. for the tax man it is not just the ring on her finger but more importantly the ring on her head clearly visible for everyone to see the so-called unargued that makes my him a wife. card

a man now lead his bride out of the your but. they are married. the ring still takes a bit of getting used to for the young bride from now on she must wear it every day . in an uncle's garden the bridal couple presents themselves to their guests. at least for tonight the traditional part of the wedding is over him and caught him can now enjoy the celebration. because. just.

everyone applause of clothes. i can hear you. come on everyone up close. i'm very pleased that everything i had hoped for has finally come true all that's missing now is grandchildren. and that the. current wedding is also an emotional moment for his uncle was. that about arthur michel if i could being able to share and express my nephew's joy with friends and the family is really indescribable. and on itself if i'm not a loss for words to describe this truth. that you know i have so many people from the heart of model of a top a all these kind. they are my treasure. they are my light that i have that i'm i am i let you know i want to find. a

local politician bakhtiari said a gun knows how to win over the community. now the more relaxed part of the celebrations can begin. despite iran's strict morality laws the celebrating and dancing goes on until night into the night but not before the eyes of the public only close family will be that. in the early hours of the morning quiet has finally returned to modify a top aide. but there's one last ritual to come. on that first shared day of marriage my him and can him celebrate the damage as sarah.

anita translates as hand to hand it's a ritual intended to remind the young couple of the duties of match. i hereby give kyron to. you my am i give to current. i wish you both much happiness and your mutual path through life. may god well that yeah. it's hard. with a piece of sugar my human car to make a valid marital happiness may their future be equally sweet. to me. by marrying my him and cut him have now attained the status of full adult hood.

they are now deemed to be in charge of their own family's fortune and destiny. separation and divorce is frowned upon in turkana concha told death do us part a commandment that carries weight to this very day. in the co-pay down mountains lines the grave of khalid nabil purportedly a christian missionary who converted to islam. here the couple is alone for the first time in days. and the fight to go with. the. yes to it feels like the first day of my life it feels so good so new. i'm here to pray that my life will always stay the way it is now. and that i'll

stay together with current until the day i die. for them. if you only knew the little bubble you know. get over gets an amazing feeling that our beginning a new life with my wife now a good life. i've never felt anything like it before. but. the celebration has come to a happy end the many days of festivities and rituals are what makes a turkmen wedding ceremony a special event. it is a moment of lived tradition and a celebration of cultural identity within the multiethnic state of iran.

eco africa. in guinea. yes so camera. and hopes to save the country's mangroves. the coastal forests are being used production they're also being damaged by cattle heads. yes in canberra. in thirty minutes w. . takes

good personally. with a little gender fifty one stories that make the game so special. for all truth. because more than football long line what's the connection between bread. and the european union he knows contests b.t.w. correspondent and avid baker john stretch this line with the rules set by the team. cuts. stepping recipes for success strategy that made a difference. baking bread on d.w.

. cuts. this is t.v. news a live from berlin a wave of easter sunday bombings in sri lanka prompts international grief and condemnation the death toll stands at two hundred seven with hundreds more injured seven blast ripped through luxury hotels and churches and faith explosion came during a police raid officials have made several arrests and have blamed religious extremists we'll have the latest from colombia. keep it.