Our Heroic Arkadag:
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
-Today we are proud of the fact that hundreds of melons registered worldwide in the Horticultural Science Reserve are the sweet gifts of
the Turkmen land, the national Turkmen melons, are the agricultural heritage of our people.
History:
During the revival of the new era of the powerful state, as a result of the programmatic activities carried out in the agricultural sector of the country’s economy, abundant harvests of vegetable garden products, fruits and vegetables are produced in the country. They are the food of our people and they increase the fertility of our country. The harmonious combination of farming traditions of our ancestors with the achievements of agricultural science is a solid foundation for success in the industry.
Under the leadership of our Esteemed President, the largescale efforts in agriculture are yielding good results. Successes in obtaining abundant harvests from the land fully testify to this. Melon as a crop of the Turkmen soil traces its history back to ancient times. When talking about melons in general, it is necessary to recall the words of famous scientist N. I. Vavilon, who wrote in 1935: “All Central Asia, as well as Turkmen, is considered the homeland of melons. There are different types of melons. In Turkmenistan, especially in the lower reaches of the river, valuable varieties of melon crops are concentrated, which reach a huge weight and are distinguished by their high quality at that time.
As it was said, that the person who first grew the melon was farmer whose name was Mezit. Mezit started to grow the first sweet melons, that’s why he was sent to the prison but then he got out of prison. That’s why every person who tasted it should say these words: “ Shirin-nabat, Mezit azat Pygamber Hudaya salawat”(“Sweet – candy, Mezit azat thanks to Prophet Mohammed”). With these words people asked from God and from god’s messenger to make Mezit free.
Since ancient times the melon was considered to be a daily product. It was clear that the melon was grown in those times as its seeds were found in Gawurgala. From these times the gardening was noble profession. There is a historical proof in Turkmenistan and Iran when sasanid’s king Hysrow I ruled, there was no tax for gardeners.
The Arab-Persian sources of the Middle Ages are wonderful, and they are generous with information about the mind-boggling variety of Turkmen melon species. Al-Istahri described it: “If the melons grown in Merw did not have such a wonderful taste, they would not have been sent to Iraq in sliced form”. In Karvin’s letters we can find: “Merw’s pears, grapes, melons are considered the most tasty. They dry it, and call it “kak”, also they boil melon’s source and make juice from that.
Aafiz’s contemporary Ibn-Battuta, an Arabic historian, glorified Koneurgench melons so: “There is no melon in the whole world, both in the east and in the West, that can compared to Khorezm melons. Melons have blue rind and red flesh. These melons are very sweet and that they dry them in the sun, is the most surprising thing. Then they put sliced melons in a basket, just like we put chopped fruits, and Halach figs, and send them from Khorezm to far countries like India and China.
Muhammad Isfizari also wrote in the XV century: Merv’s melons are exported from its territory, and they are mainly among the food commodities sought by wealthy households. For example: Horosans sultan wasn’t satisfy with Hyrat’s melons and they bought them from Merv the distance was 360 km. Dried melons weren’t so difficult, but carrying fresh melons were so difficult. Despite that situation, people managed to carry peaches, grapes, melons from Central Asia.”
When the French traveler Francois Berne visited India in the second half of the 18th Century, he noted that the summer markets of Delhi were full of fruits and vegetables brought from Central Asia.
Large quantities of walnuts, pistachios, almonds, plums, blackberries, peaches, grapes, as well as excellent melons were sold through winter. In the 13th century, the Chinese traveler Chang Te brought melons to his homeland from Turkmenistan. The first harvest in China was not bad, but in the latest years melons resembled cucumbers in taste. Scientist K.Popov also remembers a similar story. He ate a melon grown in the Crimea, and he also compared it to the taste of cucumber. All these testify that nothing can be compare to the smell and taste of melons, which absorb the smell and essence of the Turkmen land.
Once upon a time, the founder of the Great Mogul Empire, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, was one of the rulers of Maverannahr (the province between the Amiderya and the Syrderya). He received a gift of melons from his beloved country in 1518, when he was the ruler of India. The unusually sweet taste of melon aroused all his senses. He writes in his wonderful work “Baburnama”: “They brought me a big bowl of melon. When I cut it and started eating it, I was so moved by it that I started to cry”. Yes, melons have a unique sweet smell that is unique to the country. Melons adorned the headdresses of Arab caliphs, Chinese emperors , and Indian emperors. Melons were the most delicious food of Great Sultan Sanjar Turkmen, Bayramkhan Turkmen and other Turkmen rulers. Turkmen melons were also taken to Europe, where only the richest people could afford them. The rulers of Europe had a lavish ceremony of tasting the Turkmen melon, to which only people close to the rulers were invited. According to legend, the Roman emperor Claudius Albinus ate some melons for breakfast. Turkmens were considered experienced gardeners even in the early times. When academic P.S. Oalas was in Yaik(the Urals) twice, in 1769 and 1779, he noted that Turkmens there “held a large part of the melons”.
Melons eaten with bread was considered a stople food, while watermelon was eaten to quench thirst. By the end of the 19th century, it was noted that melons “were the food of the greater part of the population”. Sometimes melons were the only source of sugar (melons contain about 18 percent sugar). Watermelon, especially cantaloupe , was one of the staple foods of the summer months. Melons are not only delicious, but they are often eaten with bread. The people of Tejen have used melons to treat various diseases in practice. Turkmen melons are amazing in taste, and everyone who eats them at least once shakes their head with delight. For example, Boulonger, a French officer who visited Turkmenistan at the end of the 19th century, eats melons. He later wrote in his book “Merve Travels”. “The melon is tender, melts in your mouth, very tasty and sweet. It is a special kind that cannot be found anywhere else”.
In medicine:
Turkmen found a branch of a sycamore tree in the desert and planted a melon on it. The root of the plant, which going tens of meters deep into the soil, feeds not only itself, but also the garden seed, by drawing from the underground water. Watering was not necessary when the melon was grown in this way. Melons cultivated in this way, possessed the healing properties of the bark, which, in general, has been known for its healing properties since ancient times. Abu Ali ibn Sina mentioned in his famous “laws of medicine” that melon, flesh and rind is cleansing for the body, it is useful in the treatment of intestinal diseases, and it’s a cleansing agent for the urinary tract. It is also written in the famous book mentioned above that the boiled melon cleanses the urinary tract and expels small stones from the kidney in folk medicine, melon is used to treat constipation, anemia, liver and kidney diseases. Melon can also be used in the beauty industry(cosmetics). It also helps to clear blemishes and brighten the face. A number of melon legends can be seen as a result of the hard work carried on by our noble farmers for generations.
Vaharman.
If you pay attention to the names of the varieties of sweet-tasting melons that grow in the fertile land of Turkmen or, in the farmer’s language, there is a great meaning and history behind each of them. For example, the farmers tell about the origin of the name of Vaharman melon as follows: Babadayhan, the god of agriculture, cultivated a wonderful seed of melon in the field. One day, while wondering, through the field, he saw some yellow melons and while he was about to pick them, the melon burst, and from then on the melon was called a watermelon. Of course, the origin of the word “ vaharman ” may be different, but the excessive sweetness of the melon may be the basis of this legend.
References
- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Medical plants of Turkmenistan – Ashgabat, 2010.
- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. A blessed Turkmen cuisine – Ashgabat, 2010.
- Mammetkulov. K., Vusupova. B. Ailments of horticultural plants and the safety precautions to prevent them. Ashgabat, 2018.