Turkmenistan is a rather quiet country in the grand scheme of things, but just yesterday President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov held a lavish ceremony to launch a $1.5 billion resort on the shore of the Caspian Sea. Thousands of people, including business men, students and locla residents attended the opening. The resort in the mostly desert nation, is said to be an attempt to diversify the country's economy away from their dependence on gas and oil revenues. It also served as a chance for the President to point out his country's open door policy, and willingness to do business with other countries, including the U.S.

The rug behind President Berdymukhamedov, seen in the picture to the right, is of traditional Turkmen design with repeating guls (rough translation = flowers)

Similar rugs can be found using the keyword Bokhara, Tekke and Yomud to name a few.