Magtymguly Pyragy Cultural Park Complex (Turkmen: Magtymguly Pyragy» medeni-seýilgäh toplumy) is a park complex located in the Büzmeýin District of Ashgabat, on Archabil Avenue. Opened in 2024, the park was named after a poet Magtymguly Pyragy. The cultural and park complex covers an area of more than 41 hectares.
Magtymguly Pyragy (Persian: مخدوم قلی فراغی Makhdumqoli Farāghi; Turkmen: Magtymguly Pyragy, IPA: [ˌmɑʁtɯmɢʊˈɫʊ ˌpɯɾɑːˈʁɯ]; c. 1724 – 1807), born Magtymguly, was an Iranian-Turkmenspiritual leader, philosophical poet, Sufi and traveller, who is considered the most famous figure in Turkmen literary history.
Magtymguly is the greatest representative of Turkmen literature, credited with the creation of Turkmen written literature, and whose literary form became a powerful symbol of the historical and the incipient national consciousness of the Turkmen people. He is part of a unique period in the cultural history of Central Asia, with his exceptional talent projecting his personal poetic synthesis onto the next generation of poets of the region. The poems of the Turkmen poet have been translated into many languages of the world, including English, Russian, Kyrgyz, Romanian.
In a wider context, Magtymguly is often placed alongside major figures of the Turkic literary world such as Hoja Ahmad Yasawi, Yunus Emre, Ali-Shir Nava'i and Fizuli.
Magtymguly was born in Haji Qushan, a village near the city of Gonbad-e Qabus in the modern-day province of Golestan, Iran, the northern steppes of which are known as Turkmen Sahra (Turkmen steppes). It was part of the extensive Safavid Empire in the first half of the 18th century.
Magtymguly's name, signifying "slave of Magtym," derives from one of the revered lineages within the Turkmen community. In addition to his given name, the poet adopted a distinctive pen name or makhlas, "Feraghi," in his literary works. It comes from Arabic and means "the one separated from" happiness, or union with his beloved.