golden statue of a former Turkmen president with a personallity issue
In 2015 we travelled through the so-called ‘Stans’, the name given to the old Soviet Republics in Central Asia. We spent six weeks on a loop from Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan, with a sidetrip to Almaty in Kazakhstan, and then back through Tajikistan. We omitted Turkmenistan, because at the time you would only receive a three-day transit visa, or a ten-day visa with obligatory security accompaniment – not to protect you, but to protect the people of Turkmenistan from the potential bad influence of foreigners. And in any case, there probably wasn’t a lot to do in Turkmenistan anyhow.
Fast-forward eleven years, and we have changed our mind, opportunity-driven by the people of Nomadmania, with whom we have earlier travelled successfully through, shall we say, less touristic places, like Syria and Bangladesh. They have organised a one-week trip to Turkmenistan, short enough to compromise on group travel – there are 15 of us. They take care of visa and other permits. They arrange transport and hotel accomodation. No worries, and an excellent distraction, having been preoccupied with moving house for the past few months.
So mid-March we fly to Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital dubbed the marble city – the reason for this nickname will no doubt become apparent further along this blog. From there we travel to Turkmanbashi on the Caspian, and then inland to the apparently spectacular Yangykala Canyons, one of Turkmenistan’s most striking natural sites. The old Silkroad town Merv is part of the program, as well as Ancient Nis, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. And we end up at the Darvaza gas crater, a oil exploration project gone wrong. The origin of the crater remains covered in uncertainty, but the most likely story is that an exploration well in 1971 blew out, and that nobody has since managed to extinguish the fire; others claim that it has been lit on purpose, to prevent methane entering the atmosphere. However, we may be too late for the full spectacle, as efforts to diminish the flames appear to have been partly successful.
Keep on following the blog, and we will find out. Back at the end of March, to continue the house settling in process.
But first: some history
