the strange but interesting Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan wasn’t all that high on my wish list of countries to visit, but I’m glad that I accepted the suggestion of a friend that we visit last month.  All that came to mind was the famous gas crater burning methane for the last 50 years (the so-called Gateway to Hell), but it turns out to not only have some great ruins (Old Nisa, Konya Urgench and Merv all being UNESCO-listed sites) but also a fairly interesting modern culture.

One of the most sparsely populated nations on the Asian continent, mostly desert, It became independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 (having also been under the Oghuz, the Seljuks, the Mongols … but with a largely nomadic population who never really kow-towed to anyone).).  I suppose you could call it a benign dictatorship; no-one except the president is allowed to stand in its rare elections, but a good share of the country’s very great wealth (from its oil and gas deposits) is shared with the population in its pretty centralised economy.  I quote (loosely) from Wikipedia:

‘In 2002 an alleged assassination attempt against president-for-life Niyazov led to a new wave of security restrictions, dismissals of government officials, and restrictions placed on the media.  Still today there is no access allowed to Facebook, YouTube, etc.  Since the death of Niyazov in 2006, Turkmenistan's leadership has made tentative moves to open up the country. His successor, President Berdimuhamedow, repealed some of Niyazov's most idiosyncratic policies, including banning operas and circuses for being "insufficiently Turkmen", though other such rules were later put into place such as the banning of non-white cars.  A declaration of "permanent neutrality" was recognised by the United Nations in 1995.’

We started our trip in the capital, Ashgabat.  Destroyed by an earthquake in 1948 (which killed over two-thirds of the city’s population), the current buildings are almost entirely modern.  But more than the new look, you notice the unique style, with all buildings constructed in white marble (imported from Italy), and of course the white cars (and only those under a certain age allowed), in the city.  Whilst monuments are all around this “marbleous” city, there is very little traffic and even fewer pedestrians.

Outside of the capital, the main sights are various ruined settlements, one of which is the former Silk Road site of Merv.  First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, by the beginning of the 9th century, it was the capital of the entire Muslim world, and by the 12th century was possibly the largest city in the world.  At different times a centre of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism as well as Islam, it unfortunately fell victim to the Mongols, who almost totally destroyed it, in 1221.  So today it is an extensive site but all in ruins; my visit was improved, however, but the presence of a herd of some 100 camels on one side of the site!

 From there we took a night train up to the north of the country, to visit Konya Urgench.  Another great Silk Road city destroyed by the Mongols, this place was revived and regained its previous status. It was described by the 14th-century Berber traveller Ibn Battuta (I’m currently reading his account of his travels) as "the largest, greatest, most beautiful and most important city of the Turks. It has fine bazaars and broad streets, a great number of buildings and abundance of commodities" – but was then sacked by Timur, from which it never really recovered.

The most impressive monument remaining is the Turabek Khanum Mausoleum, built some time in the fourteenth century.  Although quite damaged (see the destroyed outer dome in my photo), it still has some spectacular mosaics in place.  A 60 metre high minaret from the same period was also impressive.

& finally to the famous gas crater.  Maybe not as spectacular as I’d imagined, but still I’m glad to have seen it, as I learned that in 2022 the president ordered that the fire be extinguished ‘for environmental and health reasons’.  In my top photo you can see a crane by the right hand side of the crater; this was driven there by one of the workers on a nearby drilling site, one of whose colleagues told me that their work (to locate and empty the chamber of methane gas fuelling the fire) should be complete within three months.  I wish I’d thought to ask them whether I could look around the drilling site, which might have been interesting, but it does look as though the pronouncement is being acted upon.

The other thing I should note about this trip is the hospitality of the people.  We visited a couple of markets, and stopped at some roadside fruit stalls, and each time we had bags full of produce pressed into our hands with no payment wanted.  Why is it that poor people always seem to be the most generous?