The ‘patriarchal’ traditions of the region seem to be increasingly shifting towards the female faces of the local ‘dynasties’. This is confirmed by the sudden emergence from the shadows of Oguldžakhan Atabaeva, sister of theTurkmen President, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, and daughter of the President-father Gurbanguly.

During Ramadan, the forces of order are deployed in force around Islamic places of worship, where the ‘official’ imams do not tolerate any form of dissent towards President Berdymukhamedov. But the increasingly widespread ‘danger’ is the theft of shoes, which forces many worshippers to return home barefoot.

From Kazakhstan to Tajikistan, procedures have been adopted throughout the region to change the spelling of surnames by eliminating the patronymic forms imposed during tsarist and Soviet domination, in order to recover Turkic or other ethnic roots. However, only a few personalities have taken this step, perceived by many as an unnecessary complication.

With Russia's doors increasingly closed, many workers from the region have left for South Korea. But Central Asians seeking prospects in Western countries are also increasing, often ending up as victims of unscrupulous exploiters. Turkey as an intermediate destination where they stay for a few years hoping then to reach Europe or America.

For the past few years, the Christmas symbol has been installed in the central part of the capital of Turkmenistan on New Year's Eve, drawing more and more street kids, a sign of the contradictions of a country that fails to take care of some of its children.

The former president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, despite having handed over the office to his son Serdar, still glories in the title of ‘father of the fatherland’ and in his honour, a brand new smart-city is being built under the name Arkadag. And he has called for the construction time to be shortened so as to settle a greater share of new inhabitants and attract more investment