A woman's hair is always tied back and concealed under a kercheif or scarf. Surprisingly for a country that is mostly uncultivable desert, some of the more interesting Turkmen dishes are vegetarian. Herb-filled pastries and cornmeal pancakes are common in the markets. Porridges with mung beans, or of cornmeal and pumpkin, or of rice, milk and yoghurt, can make a meal. Economic and political stagnation has had a major effect on Turkmenistan's food industry.
Restaurants are scarce and the fare is generally miserable .
Events Turkmenistan isn't known for its jolly street parades. It's an Islamic adaptation of pre-Islamic vernal equinox or renewal celebrations and can include traditional games, music and drama festivals, street art and colourful fairs. Under the dictatorship of President Saparmurat Niyazov, the government of Turkmenistan in 1998 continued to deny its citizensnearly every civil and political right. With no political opposition, no freedom of assembly, no opportunity for public debate, and a Soviet-style secret police, very little information on human rights abuses was available. One of the poorest of the former Soviet republics, the Central Asian nation worked to keep human rights off the agenda as it courted foreign investors eager to exploit its untapped natural resources, especially oil and gas.