Published by
Reuters
Reuters
ASHGABAT (Reuters) – Turkmenistan marked a new holiday on Sunday dedicated to its national Alabai dog breed, to which its longtime leader has already erected a gilded monument and written an ode. The new holiday took place on the same day as a festival celebrating the Akhal-Teke horse breed, which Turkmenistan also considers part of its national heritage. The Alabai day included a contest to find the best of the large shepherd dogs. President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who has run the isolated desert nation of 6 million since 2007, awarded the top prize for courage to a border guard service d…