Turkmenistan

Lorelei on the wall at Merv

Turkmenistan was an extremely interesting country to visit. I knew almost nothing about the country beforehand. It's famous for how closed off and secretive it is- our guidebook called it "the North Korea of Central Asia" and warned about frequent police stops and bugged rooms. Our short trip there was a series of surprises and adventures, starting with crossing the border. We had to drag our suitcases about a mile through "no man's land" between the two border stations.

Once we made it through the border crossing, we met our tour guide, Ena. We all really liked her.  She was young and sweet, and having gone to school in the USA for a year she spoke English well and was more Westernized. 

At Nissa being follwed by the camera crew

The two historic highlights were Merv and Nissa. Merv had several sites, but my favorite was the massive mud fort, which basically looked like a crater. We got to climb up the remains of the old walls and enjoy the dramatic scenery.  Nissa was a more complex and rich location near the capital city of Ashgabat which we had a very detailed tour of the different semi-constructed rooms. We were also being followed by a camera crew who wanted to interview us for a tourism channel, but we refused since we weren't sure what they would use it for. 

Overlooking the city at night

Ashgabat itself was fascinating. A fairly new city, it's filled with massive buildings, monuments, fountains and hundreds of lights. The buildings are all required by law to be faced in white marble and are very spread out along wide roads. The whole place felt oddly abandoned as we didn't see many people out on the streets. The city is entirely for the glorification of the government, and the cult of personality that surrounds the President is widely felt.

However, outside the modern and wealthy looking city, the rest of the country is still fairly impoverished, despite the fact they get many resources such as gas, water, flour, salt, etc. free. 

Gas crater at night

One of my favorite experiences of the whole trip was the night we spent at the gas fire crater in the desert of Turkmenistan. The result of a natural gas drill accident, the crater is basically a big pit with flames coming out. We had two nice drivers who set up camp for us and made us a delicious dinner and breakfast. It was a wonderful evening sitting out by the giant "campfire" in the middle of the desert. 

Day 6: Tuesday, August 13, Bukhara – Mary (Turkmenistan)- Ashgabat

•  Leave Bukhara to drive to Farab. Leave shopping items with Bek to take to Tashkent
• Cross border. Long walk across no man’s land. Very interesting experience!
• Meet guide Ena Shamuratova 
• Drive to Mary (300km) through Karakum desert
• Explore Merv –oldest heritage city. Great Kyz Kala (girls) and Little Kyz Kala (boys), Mausoleum of 2 Askhabs, Giaur Kala (fabulous mud fort, climb up onto it for great views), Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar. Stopped by herd of camels.
• Late night flight to Ashgabat
• Ashgabat –incredible white marble city –we couldn’t get over the feeling that we had stepped in to a deserted white “Emerald” city of Oz.

Day 7: Wednesday, August 14, Ashgabat- Derveze Gas Crater

• Drive to Nisa. (Asked to do a TV interview with Tourist Channel. Initially said yes but decided it was a bad idea as not sure how it would be used. Camera crew still showed up and not happy to hear us say no. Tried to persuade us but Ena told them no)  Ruined capital of Parthians: fortress, citadel, temples and tombs (III BC). Very atmospheric. One of the hottest days.
•  Niyazov’s (1st president) Mausoleum 
• Blue Mosque with 3rd largest carpet –new and very grand.
• Take 2 jeeps and drive 280 km across Karakum desert.
• Derveze Gas Crater

Day 8: Thursday, August 15, Derveze Gas Crater-Ashgabat

•  Campfire cooked breakfast –excellent
•  Revisit crater
• Leave crater. This night in the desert was one of the the top highlights of the trip.
• Visit clay and water crater and stop to look at gypsum covered plants in desert (took back sample to show to my geology teacher)
• Stop before Ashgabat for car wash (fined if have dirty car in the city) and snacks
•  Sightseeing tour of Ashgabat –Park dedicated to Turkmen horses (10 horse statue),
• Park of Independency –fountains and statues
• National History Museum
• Gulistan/Russian Bazaar
• Night tour –drive around Ashgabat ending at Wedding Palace. The city has completely amazed us and the country is absolutely fascinating with the cult of Turkmenbashi (Felt deserted. Full of traditions. Free water, electricity, petrol, flour, salt for all and $200 per month for kids under 3 years!)

Day 9: Friday, August 16, Ashgabat-Dashoguz –Kalas (Uzbekistan)

• Early morning flight to Dashogus
• Drive to Konye-Urgench: explore Turabeg Khanym Complex, Sayid Ahmed Mausoleum, Gutlug Timur Minaret, Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum, Kyrk Molla (Forty Mullahs Hill), Il-Arslan Mausoleum. Meant to be 2nd most important place to go on Hajj after Mecca. Busy with genuine pilgrims but not as spectacular as some of the other monuments and rather dusty and unkempt.