In ancient times, the people residing in the region of present-day Turkmenistan discovered natural underground water resources. They dug wells along the Kyariz channels to use for irrigation in the challenging desert climate. Cherkez Niyazmamedov shared legends about Kyarizes in an article published on Neutral Turkmenistan.

Turkmen people have a rich history of efficient water usage. They built advanced irrigation systems to conserve water and continue to adopt modern technologies to manage resources. Turkmenistan's prosperity is linked to its economic growth and responsible water usage. We should learn from our ancestors' practices, such as the highly effective kyarizes irrigation system that has existed for centuries.

In ancient times, the Kopetdag Mountains were a peaceful place where people lived harmoniously. A clear, cold river flowed into the region from distant mountains, providing water for fields and gardens. However, one summer, people noticed that there was less water. Those with power took the water, leading to better harvests and making them richer. People climbed up the mountain to investigate and discovered a cavern with a snake swallowing the river. A young man named Kyariz suggested hiding the water through an underground channel, thus creating the first kyariz.

People in the foothill zone of the Kopetdag Mountains practice irrigation, using kyarizes as their water source. The first kyarizes in Southern Turkmenistan were built in the mid-first millennium BC. Kyariz builders enjoyed respect, and the Turkmen people practiced a cult of the patron of good construction. Kyarizes are a complex hydraulic facility representing a well system connected by underground galleries, and their construction was a time-consuming and dangerous task.

Legend attributes the construction of kyarizes to Alexander the Great's period. When Alexander stopped at the wooded spurs of the Kopetdag Mountains, he organized a campaign to pacify the population, resulting in the construction of multiple kyarizes.

An old man named Murat, a kyariz master, once told Alexander the Great that their professions were different. While the old man dug kyarizes to find water to irrigate the earth, Alexander trampled it, turning it into a desert. Alexander took an interest in kyariz construction and endowed all kyarizgens with equal rights with the military leaders.

Kyarizes were invented by our ancestors to collect water from underground horizons to waterless places. They were the only source of drinking water in desert areas. Today, some of the kyarizes built by our ancestors continue to work. Kyariz water meets the best drinking water standards and is supplied for drinking to the population.

Taking good care of kyarizes is the preservation of the unique ancient technology of groundwater extraction, the transfer of the practice of operating kyariz systems to future generations, and the safeguarding of them as the national historical heritage of the Turkmen people.

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