A resident of the village of Bagtyly, Sarygul Matieva, celebrated her 117th birthday in January 2025, which makes her the oldest woman in Turkmenistan and in the world. This was reported by today's newspaper «Turkmenistan».
According to official documents, Matieva was born on January 1, 1908, to Rejep-aga and Ogul-eje. In her youth, she worked in agriculture, survived the years of the Great Patriotic War, working in the rear.
Sarygul Matieva married fellow villager Mati Bozaganov, together they raised six children. Today she already has 43 grandchildren, 97 great-grandchildren and 9 great-great-grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 1982.
It is noteworthy that in her youth, Sarygul was a rider and participated in horseback riding. Her passion for horse riding arose after the famous Ashgabat-Moscow horse race of 1935, when Turkmen horses covered 4,300 km in 84 days.
According to Sarygul's youngest son, Guych Matiev, the secret to his mother's longevity is an active lifestyle and a positive attitude. «You don't need to sleep a lot – you need to move constantly. You can't sit in sadness – sadness ages a person. There must be a goal in life,» he conveys his mother's instructions.
For comparison, according to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), which keeps track of supercentenarians, the oldest person in the world is currently recognized as 115-year-old Brazilian nun Ina Canabarro Lucas, who was born five months later than Sarygul. Earlier, another centenarian was registered in Turkmenistan – Ajapsoltan Hajiyeva, who lived 122 years (1900-2022).
