Ashyk Aydyn Pir

This part of the geography of Turkmenistan was also inhabited by a master of music and song, whose real name was Shikhabeddin Abu Hafs Omar bin Abdullah as-Suhrawerdin - Ashyk Aydin Pir. His mausoleum is located near the fortress of Akjagelin in the heights of the ancient Shahribossan. The place has become a popular destination for poets, musicians, creative people, historical lovers and tourists, including foreign guests. The period in which Ashyk Aydin Pir lived and created dates back to the XI-XII centuries.

Many orientalists have paid close attention to the image of Ashyk Aydyn Pir. While some of them portray him as a mythical hero, others acknowledge that he was a very talented, knowledgeable figure and had great respect among his contemporaries, and that, if necessary, he could influence the mind of his interlocutor. According to the well-known orientalist ethnographer V.N. Basilov, Ashyk Aydyn was well-versed in the complicated profession, and his subordinate, who came to him with bad intentions, sometimes fainted during the conversation.

As some scholars have pointed out, this image is also likely to be related to the mythical image of Gorkut Ata. In the popular belief, a man who wants donate his destiny to song or music had to go to the tomb of Ashyk Aydyn Pir, sing in the dark, and play the dutar.

Ashyk Aydyn, who is considered the pir (saint) of music among the people, has always been in favour of a just solution in public relations and by supporting the poor people. It is worth noting that Ashyk Aydyn Pir was a man of many facets, a man of natural talent, a man of fine art, and a man of philosophical thought. So people from different places came to the wise man and asked him for advice.

In Dashoguz province, his statue was erected and a mosque was built in memory of the great master. Next to them stands a statue of a dutar, a national musical instrument. The sculpture dedicated to the Turkmen national musical instrument dutar is a symbol of the Turkmen love for music and respect for the traditions of music.