Flag of Turkmenistan

The flag of Turkmenistan (Türkmenistanyň baýdagy) features a white crescent (symbol of Islam) and five stars representing the five regions of the country and the Five Pillars of Islam. Placed upon a green field is a symbolic representation of the country's famous carpet industry. It was introduced as the flag of Turkmenistan on 27 September 1992 to replace the Soviet-era flag which consisted of a red background with two light blue bars in the middle. The modified version with a 2:3 ratio was adopted on 23 January 2001. State Flag and Constitution Day is celebrated on 18 May.

It features a green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to those on the flag of the United Nations; a white waxing crescent moon, typical of Turkic and Islamic symbology, and five white five-pointed stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe.

The green and red colors appear in this flag because they have been venerated historically by the Turkmen. The waxing crescent moon symbolizes the hope of the country for a shining future and the stars represent the five provinces (welayatlar) of Turkmenistan: Ahal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap and Mary.

The five traditional carpet designs along the hoist make the flag of Turkmenistan the most complex national flag design in the world. They represent the five major tribes or houses, and form motifs in the country's state emblem and flag. These Turkmen tribes in traditional order (as well as top to bottom) are Teke (Tekke), Yomut (Yomud), Saryk (Saryq), Chowdur (Choudur), and Arsary (Ersary). The middle design may also represent the Salyr (Salor), a tribe that declined as a result of military defeat before the modern period.

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Turkmenistan ( or ; Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ashgabat is the capital and largest city. The population is about 6 million, the lowest of the Central Asian republics, and Turkmenistan is one of the most sparsely populated nations in Asia.

Turkmenistan has long served as a thoroughfare for other nations and cultures. Merv is one of the oldest oasis-cities in Central Asia, and was once the biggest city in the world. It was also one of the great cities of the Islamic world and an important stop on the Silk Road. Annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, Turkmenistan figured prominently in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Central Asia. In 1925, Turkmenistan became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR); it became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.