A Turkmen Fairytale

So I don’t have any really interesting stories this month and I tough I’ld tell you about a farytale that is centered aroud my village! I may have mentioned before, but I live near one of the Turkmen historical sites. It’s known as the Old Mosque of Anew, but locals call it Sanjemal Edin. Sanjemal Edin in unfortunately now in ruins as it was destroyed in the 1948 earthquake that destroyed Ashgabat and the surrounding areas. Before the earthquake though it was famous because it was the only mosque in the world that was adorned with two entwined Chinese style dragons, no other mosque in the world has animals decorating the outside. So this mosque was very unique. I asked my host family about the dragons last week and my host mom told me an interesting story. Sanjemal Edin is named after the sultan who once lived there, Sanjemal Edin. Sanjemal was a very kind and wise sultan and beloved by everyone who lived in Anew. The people of Anew knew that the mountains near Anew were home to two ferocious dragons and they fear going into the mountains. One day as the dragons were eating their dinner of mountain goats when suddenly one of the dragonsbegan to cough wildly. The horned mountain goat she had been eatingwas stuck in her throat and she was choking! The other dragon wasdistressed because his mate was dying. Not knowing what to do he flewdown to the village to implore the people for help. He pleaded with the people to help him, but they all ran away from the dragon out of fear. Finally he pleaded with Sanjemal Edin to help his mate and he agreed to go with the dragon to the mountain to help his mate. When Sanjemal Edin saw the dragon in pain and unable to breath he knew what the problem was and he climbed in the beast’s mouth and sawed off the horns of the goat so she could breathe again. The dragons were so thankful for Sanjemal Edin that they rewarded him for his kindness by showing him where he could find hoards of gold, silver, and jewels in the mountain! The dragons also promised to protect Sanjemal Edin and his descendents and from that day on there was a beautiful friendship that formed between the dragons and the people of Anew. When Sanjemal Edin was dying and building his mosque he decided to decorate it with the likeness of his two protectors and they stayed there until 1948. While the dragons no longer guard the entryway to the Mosque the people of Anew still remember their faithful protectors.