Ashgabat celebrates 30-day countdown

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Bengaluru, August 19: President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov led the '30 Days to Go' celebrations as Turkmenistan gears up to host the Ashgabat 2017 5th Asian Indoor and Marital Arts Games, the biggest multi-sport event ever held in Central Asia.

From inspecting some of the 400 different varieties of melon grown in the country to mark Turkmen Melon Day to attending a dinner with an Asian theme and then a concert featuring the British singer John Newman, President Berdimuhamedov enjoyed the proceedings.

Earlier in the day, over 100 national and international media were taken on a tour of a number of attractions around the capital, Ashgabat, as the Executive Committee continues to put the final touches on the Games which will be attended by more than 6,000 athletes from 65 delegations from Asia and Oceania.

One of the highlights of the day-long event was an acrobatic show by a renowned horse-riding troupe called Galkynysh, which means renaissance in Turkmen.

The men and women of the group performed daredevil feats while riding the country's famous Akhal-Teke horses in a circular hall at the International Equestrian Centre.

Their skills on and sometimes off the horses received a huge ovation as the celebrations provided a wonderful insight into what we can expect from the event that will run from September 17 to 27.