Ganlygala

Ganlygala lies in the Sumbar valley among the western foothills of the Kopet Dag. The river flows west toward the Atrek through a landscape of mountains, orchards and old fortified sites. The valley has a long history of settlement, with ancient burial grounds bearing witness to communities that lived here thousands of years ago. The eighteenth-century Turkmen poet Magtymguly Pyragy spent much of his life in the Garrygala, Atrek and Gurgan regions. A member of the Gokleng Turkmen, he learned first from his father, the poet Döwletmämmet Azady. His verse drew on religious learning and local oral traditions, and became a lasting part of Turkmen literary culture.