Adventures of Barbara Keck: February 2018

Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan is the last stop on this tour of Central Asia and the Silk Road.

A bit of geographical information about Turkmenistan: it is twice the size of Great Britain, with a total population of 7 million, of whom slightly less than 1 million live in the capital city of Ashgabat. The Karakum dessert occupies 90% of the country.

Turkmenistan’s President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, is easily recognizable because his image is EVERYWHERE. Even in public toilets. His nation holds the 4th largest natural gas reserves in the world, with a pipeline project to China completed and one to India in the works. All those white marble buildings = money from natural gas. Problem is, there is a bit too much state control over freedom of speech and blocking Facebook, Whats App and YouTube doesn’t sit well with me.

We drove to the border at Dashaguz. After clearing into Turkmenistan, our first visit was to the ruins of Yzmukshir Fortress.

The ruins of Yzmukshir Fortress, located about 15 miles from where we entered Turkmenistan at the border city of Dashoguz, sits in its lonely and unexcavated splendor near cotton fields and grazing fields for camels and other livestock.

It is hard to convince a driver to let us take photos of these fields,
because there are children working in them. (Bad PR...)

Very few tourist groups go to see this fort that thrived in Parthian times (3rd century AD) and later, with impressive gates, towers, an enormous moat and high walls ... maybe because of the terrible stretch of road leading thereto? But it was a bustling part of the Silk Road!

You may notice the colorful cloth pieces tied to the tree at this Fortress. An explanation from our local guide, Bava: “Here, local pilgrims when they go to some kind of holy or sacred sites, after they pray & leave their wishes, they also leave small pieces of the clothes, scarfs & etc. that they wore to the site. They think that at night angels will come and find out about their wishes & prayers and deliver them to God. These are pre-islamic traditions which were inherited from Buddhist traditions and still practiced

(Oct 20) TURKMENISTAN AIRWAYS. What an experience! Our group flew from the airport at Dashoguz to Ashgabat. Seating was 3 each side. Including my row and the row in front, meaning 12 seats, there were 7 lap babies, and lots more throughout the plane. People stood in the aisles during landing, babies crawled under the seats, and there were no lap belts supplied for the lap babies. I was too transfixed to be horrified. An amazing travel experience. Am NOT joining this frequent flyer program!

Ashgabat -

a pretty and modern city, all dressed up in white marble!

(October 20). The drive from Ashgabat airport to our hotel was amazing. This is truly the city of night lights. Our hotel, the Yyldyz (pronounced Yell Duz) Is a 24 story luxury hotel built on a hill overlooking the city, in 2013. By far the most luxurious hotel we stayed in during our trip through the 4 ‘Stans. It is owned by the government of Turkmenistan, so of course there is no access to Facebook, WhatsApp, or YouTube. Which is very annoying and indicates a little more government control than is tolerable to someone who grew up in a free country like the USA. Nonetheless, it was beautiful, and here are a few views of the hotel outside and inside, and the view from my room windows on the sixth floor.

Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, is known for the incredible number of buildings with white marble facades .. government buildings, mosques, museums, apartment buildings, shopping centers. It was leveled by an earthquake in 1948 so almost everything is new. Situated between the Karakum desert and the 10,000 foot high Kopet Dog Mountains, it’s very close to Iran.

(October 21 in Ashgabat). Without a doubt, the architecture in Ashgabat is astounding. I’m just posting a few photos here: the Palace of Happiness (marriage registry and wedding venue), the international Airport shaped like a bird, and the Ministry of Health shaped like a caduceus (a cobra wrapped around a shepherd’s staff). Some photos cribbed from the following website, which I highly recommend you spend a few minutes with:https://varlamov.ru/1747480.html

Imtermational Airport

Palace of Happiness

Ministry of Health

(October 21, 2017) The carpet museum has a great exhibition of carpets from all five regions of Turkmenistan, each of which has its own classic designs. Our charming guide stands in front of the largest handmade carpet in the world. Some carpets are woven so tightly that they are waterproof. Carpets showing an image of a Mosque are never to be walked on and can only be used for prayers, and the Mosque must point in the direction of Mecca. Antique carpets used to have one million knots per square meter; nowadays 250,000 knots is more usual. Carpets are such a part of national pride that the five classic regional designs are featured on the Turkmenistant flag... and car license plates!

largest handmade carpet in the world!

The one I brought home was verified by the museum to be genuine and hails from Haly, the region near Ashgabat, and has about 3000,000 knots per square meter according to the shop lady.

So much fun at the big shopping mall, where our group went to shop for carpets, and have dinner in one of the many restaurants there. Like everything else in the city, it is sparkling and white and monumental in scope. And like every place everywhere, children love to have their face painted like Minnie Mouse, and proud parents love to have them photographed by foreign visitors. Then of course, there is the ice-skating rink right outside our restaurant window, for our entertainment.

For me, the old packaging and food processing guru, no trip to a country is complete without a visit to the local supermarket. This incredible and modern supermarket is located on the bottom floor of the shopping mall. Fantastic and colorful packaging, smells, and sights.

This city presents a light show that I believe is unparalleled, even exceeding the bright lights of Las Vegas. The lights are all LED, and programmed to change colors continuously. That first photo is of the world’s largest indoor Ferris wheel...

Our daytime city tour included a stop at the Ertuğrul Gazi Mosque, which honors Ertuğrul , the father of Osman 1, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. With four minarets and a central dome, it is a prominent landmark in Ashgabat and much in use to this day due to its central location. The interior features many fine stained glass windows, reminiscent of the blue Mosque of Istanbul.

The Oguz Khan monument is the largest fountain complex in the world. He was the leader of the Oguz tribe of Turks; the memorial also has statues of his six sons. There is a belief that all Turkmen of the world originated with Oguz Khan. He had six sons, each of whom had four sons, and the 24 tribes that were then created are said to be the source of all Turkmen people. Hmmm. Anyway, this fountain is solar powered and the complex includes 27 synchronized, lighted and fully programmable fountains.

(October 22 in Ashgabat). Another dining option: in a Yurt that’s been modified for feeding tourists...

A trip to the Jygyldyk Bazaar to look at handicrafts, stalls of traditional clothes, new and antique jewelry, and lots more. The highlight was an explanation of some folk remedies, well done in English by our guide’s 15 year old daughter.

Turkmenistan is the only nation in Central Asia that does not eat horse meat. The beautiful Akhal-teke horses are a highly prized and ancient Turkmen breed. We visited the stables near the Hippodrome where races are a popular entertainment. Statuary of horses are everywhere. We did nit visit a horse cemetery, where deceased horses are wrapped in cloth and buried with great care... that’s how venerated these animals are in Turkmenistan!

(October 22, Ashgabat). So thrilled to see a puppet show in the theater devoted to this performing art form, in the middle of Ashgabat. Puppets transcend all cultural barriers!