apartments in Balkanabat, as everywhere in Turkmenistan – outside Ashgabat – with lots of satelite dishes, as if we have hit on the headquarters of the secret service
Balkanabat is a surprisingly large town, bigger than Turkmenbasy. And there is very little to do in terms of touristic attractions. A modern Orthodox church, with a basic, equally new iconostasis; a new mosque with four minarets and gold-glittering domes. All not particularly attractive.
the very modern Orthodox church
and its less than impressive iconostasis, equally modern
the enormous mosque of Balkanabat
inside woemn only allowed in the men’s area to clean…
these are the khrushchevkas – low rise apartment buildings from the Soviet era
three different examples on top of each other
every balcony closed in by the occupants, in their own specific way
just a little space to look outside, and check on those funny tourists below
one of the more photogenic ones – I think
It is spread out, wide avenues, and government buildings are, as everywhere, modern, white with lots of glass, and sterile. In between, and around, are the apartment buildings, very much Soviet style, four to five stories high so that you don’t need to install a lift. They are called khrushchevkas – the ones I have always called palatis, for the die-hard followers of this site -, and originate from the 1960s, when the Soviet Union needed to build fast, for all the people who were transferred from the countryside to the cities, to work in the factories. I am being told, by a Russian on our tour, that these started with a surface of 5 m2 per inhabitant, one-room flats (and one room means just that, one room, not one bedroom). Later the allotment became more generous, to seven meters, even more, but for all intents and purposes, these were extremely small apartments. Many of them had a small balcony, which was often closed in by the occupants to create an extra room. And that is where my fascination comes from: each individual had his own way of closing the balcony, sometimes using bricks, sometimes windows, we have seen many different forms. Which in my view makes these buildings unique, each and every one of them.
Stalinist architecture is equally basic, but with external balconies
and, if you are lucky, even a sunroof over the balcony
yet, this looks very much like a closed-in balcony, as well
Balkanabat also has this fabulous sculpture honouring the explorers – the geologists going out into the desert in search of the wealth of the country, I suppose
Balkanabat is, obviously, connected
We also come across many Stalinist architectural apartment buildings, indeed, stalinkas, like the ones in Turkmenbasi. They are all surprisingly aligned in terms of colour, white buildings with green roofs, and some of them actually have outgoing balconies, including the occasional sun roof. Interesting architectural style, definitely recognisable. But not enough to keep us in Balkanabat any longer than necessary.
next: Nokhur village
