a Turkman
Is it worthwhile visiting Turkmenistan, admittedly not the most touristic country in the world? Obviously, it depends on what you want to achieve, but for most people it probably isn’t. Most of the places on our itinerary weren’t that impressive, there are better canyons, better deserts, better mountain villages and better lakes at the bottom of a cave to be experienced elsewhere in the world. My highest hopes were for the Darvaza Crater, a long-burning oil exploration disaster, but in reality the flames are a lot less impressive than what I have seen on photographs; perhaps the fire is finally dying out. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites Old Nisa and Merv, hmm, they are OK, but again, you will find more inspiring examples of capitals of ancient civilisations elsewhere, and besides, mud bricks don’t conserve well over time.
you think you are the only tourist, but you are not: several 4WD convoys at the Yangykala canyon
and what to make of this, accomodation in the middle of the desert
hmmm, for wildlife there are also better places
unless you are into buying cheap, yet excellent caviar
and for the food you also don’t need to come here, really
Gonur Depe is impressive, remnants of 5000 year old dwellings as far as the eye can see
and numerous fire places, linked to the earliest Zoroastrism
my first attempt to photograph the presidential palace
Having said so, Gonur Depe, also World Heritage Site, was mightily impressive, just because it is so old, from at least 5000 years ago – I don’t think I have ever been in a place that old, let alone one that is so well-preserved. And it has to be said, Ashgabat is something special, a weird collection of white marble buildings, with some architectural highlights, even though they cannot hide the soullessness of the city, its sterility which after a while develops into an antipathy for the extravagance. Not in the least if you then visit other parts of the country, where poverty is all too obvious, and neglect of basic infrastructure a painful reminder of diverging priorities between a fabulously rich country’s elite and the rest of the nation.
Something that could not have been more obviously demonstrated than at the Nowruz celebrations, where thousands of people had been mobilised to entertain a small group of officials and invited diplomats, but from which the vast majority of the population – except a few happy tourists – had been excluded entirely.
road repairs under supervision: even this was a subversive photograph, according to our driver, as there was a policeman involved
some parts of this country are actually quite normal
and this, too, is something you’ll find everywhere in the world
the good old Soviet heritage is also present in other areas
one Turkmen element I haven’t discussed are the horses, apparently of top quality, and held in high esteem in the country
the other ‘world-famous’ cultural thing are Turmen carpets – although quite a few other countries in the region could make a similar claim
For us the reason to go somewhere is, apart from the sites, more often an attempt to get an impression of the local culture, by trying to talk to the people. Even that is problematic here, as you are not normally supposed to venture on your own, without your assigned guide, and even if you do, as we managed in Turkmenbasy and again in Ashgabat, the people are not particularly communicative. And I don’t think that is because of the language. Fear, perhaps? They don’t see that many tourists, after all, so there must be a certain curiosity? But people in the street avoid eye contact, turn the other way. And then you wonder why there would be so much police on the streets – which we are absolutely forbidden to photograph -, even though this is supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world, and with a massive electoral support for its leaders?
the current president, Berdimuhamedow ‘fils’, is everywhere, to start with on the front page of every edition of the local newspaper
but also on portraits in every slightly public building
Right. Erika Fatland, a Norwegian journalist who wrote an entertaining travelogue about the ‘Stans’, the Central Asian former Soviet republics, called this one Absurdistan. She may have a point.
the Turkmen flag is quite attractive, but why do we need so many?
