ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: MONUMENTS TO INDEPENDENCE, A WEDDING, AND A MONUMENT TO EGO

Many countries have a Monument to Independence, but Turkmenistan's, which commemorates their independence from Russia on October 27, 1991, is just as unique as you would expect it to be in a country full of unusual, mind-blowing monuments. Like many other monuments in Ashgabat, the tower is 91 meters (299 feet) tall in honor of the year of independence. Inside there are exhibition halls depicting the history of the region--which we did not have time to see.

Supposedly the architectural style was inspired by traditional Turkmen yurts and traditional female headgear. The spire also looks like the minaret of a mosque. On the other hand, I've read that the monument is sometimes referred to by visitors as "The Plunger," and I think it looks like an alien's helmet:

We were very fortunate when we were there to see a large gathering of real live people!!!! This was by far the largest group of locals we saw during our time in Ashgabat. They were celebrating the wedding of the couple in the center of the photo:

It was fun to see the guests wearing their beautiful traditional clothing, which is similar in style to what we saw them wearing in the street (when we saw anyone), but perhaps a little more ornate:

The car (white, of course, like everything else in the city) was all gussied up for the special occasion as well:

TURKMENISTAN GHOST TOWNS: ANCIENT NISA AND MODERN DOWNTOWN ASHGABAT

On a cold, blustery day we visited Old Nisa, an ancient fortress built in about 250 BC and, as of 2007, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located about 10 miles southwest of Ashgabat, it is just over the border from Iran.

This area was a major world power between the 3rd century BC and the 3rd century AD and formed a barrier to Roman expansion while at the same time serving as a major crossroads and trading center.

A barren, desolate place, it is hard to imagine a thriving trade-based community here. Heck, we weren't even seeing tourists other than those in our own group. (Of course, that's how it was no matter where we went in Turkmenistan.)

ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: TWO MOSQUES

Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque (aka Gypjak Mosque) is the largest mosque in Central Asia and the main mosque of Turkmenistan. "Turkmenbashi" means "head of the Turkmen" and was the title the first president, Saparmurat Niyazov, gave to himself. In fact, it was he who ordered this mosque to be built and who chose the village of Gypjak for its location, about 5 miles outside of Ashgabat and "coincidentally" his birthplace.

The gold-covered dome is 164 feet wide. By way of comparison, the dome on the U.S. Capitol is 135 feet wide.

ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: THE HALK HAKYDASY MEMORIAL COMPLEX

The grandiosity of the "tourist sites" in Ashgabat is hard to describe. Everything is SO over the top. 

Take, for example, the Halk Hakydasy ("People's Memory) Memorial Complex, a vast park that covers almost 7,000,000 square feet or 160 acres. It is 3,000 feet long and 2,000 feet wide. By comparison, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is just 146 acres, and Tienanmen Square in Beijing is a puny 4,700,000 square feet. 

It took only two years to build this memorial park, which was opened in 2014. So far it features three monuments to the dead: one to honor the victims of the 1948 earthquake, one to honor soldiers killed in World War II, and one to honor those killed in a 19th century battle. There is also a museum, which we did not have time to visit.

The earthquake memorial is the most outlandish of the three monuments. A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck 15 miles southwest of Ashgabat in October 1948 at 2:17 AM, causing extensive damage and many deaths in the city. As Turkmenistan was under strict Soviet control at the time, the actual death toll was never disclosed, but estimates are as high as 110,000, which would be over 20% of the population at the time. One website lists it as the 6th most deadly earthquake in the history of the world. Casualties included the mother and siblings of the future president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, leaving him an orphan (his father had died in World War II). 

How did eight-year-old Saparmurat survive when the rest of his family did not? One source I looked at said he was out taking a walk. What an eight year old is doing taking a walk at 2:17 AM is a mystery to me. There is also a rumor that the earthquake was caused by the first testing of an atomic bomb by the Soviets. Who knows?

The 110-foot-tall earthquake memorial, a marble podium topped by a bronze and gold sculpture, was created in 1998 during Niyazov's presidency to be part of an earthquake memorial located elsewhere in the city. It was moved to its current spot in 2014. It shows a large bull shaking the world between its horns and a dying mother lifting her golden child above the rubble-covered globe. The child is said to be none other than (guess who!) the future president, Sapamurat Niyazov. Though unlikely, this divine rescue is more believable that the early morning walk theory.

ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND OUR GLAMOROUS HOTEL

So . . . you don't know where Turkmenistan is? In fact, you didn't even know there was a country called Turkmenistan? Don't be embarrassed--until a year ago I didn't either. On the map below, you can see the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara in the pink country of Uzbekistan, the city of Mary in the southeast side of Turkmenistan, and the capital city of Ashgabat in south-central Turkmenistan, just 25 or 30 miles from the border of Iran. Does that help?

SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT TURKMENISTAN:

• With 5.5 million people, Turkmenistan has the lowest population of the Central Asian countries. 

• Turkmenistan was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1881, became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1925, and gained its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

• Jim, the tour company owner who was accompanying us on the trip, said Turkmenistan is a very controlled country. He called it "The North Korea of Central Asia" and gave these two examples: no one is allowed to be out at night, and visiting Russians, including our trip doctor, are kept under guard at the train station and not allowed to leave. (Apparently they hold a grudge against Russia for its former occupation.)

• It has the sixth largest deposit of natural gas in the world and extensive oil reserves. Citizens have been getting free water and natural gas since 1993.

• Since its independence in 1991, there have been only two presidents. The first, President Saparmurat Niyazov, ran unopposed in 1992 and declared himself "President for Life" in 1999. He served until his death in 2006. During his reign he did things like ban dogs from Ashgabat because of their "unappealing odor"; make his birthday a national holiday; outlaw opera, ballet and circuses for being "un-Turkmen like"; rename all the days of the week and months of the year after his family members and friends; close all hospitals outside the capital so that everyone had to come to Ashgabat for medical care; and close all libraries outside the capital to force people to read the Qu'ran and a book he had written himself and made part of the national education curriculum. Niyazov had a Russian wife and one son. Guess where they lived? Russia! They rarely came to Turkmenistan.

MARY AND MERV, TURKMENISTAN

Our first of two stops in Turkmenistan, the fifth and final "Stan" on our itinerary, was the city of Mary. "Mary" is quite an unusual name for a city deep in Islamic territory, and as it turns out, Mary has an unusual history.

In the 11th century, one of the local tribes converted to the Eastern Christian Church. According to their tradition, Mary the Mother of Jesus is buried here. (There are several other groups that dispute this.)

Clearly, however, Islam has a strong presence here now. I wish we could have stopped to visit this beautiful building, the Gurbanguly Hajji Mosque:

Construction began in 2001 but was halted due to lack of funds. Eventually the president of Turkmenistan (more about him in a future post) donated enough money from "the President's Charity Fund" to complete construction, and in appreciation, the mosque was named for him.

The modern city of Mary is built near the ruins of the ancient city of Merv, one of the oldest oasis cities on the Silk Road and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It shimmers like a mirage on the edge of the horizon:

TRAVELING ON THE ORIENT SILK ROAD EXPRESS TRAIN

After leaving Bukhara, we boarded the Orient Silk Road Express one more time and headed towards Turkmenistan for the last leg of our trip (at least the organized tour part):

I had grown a bit fond of our Silk Road Express train. Yes, it's true. 

I had become more or less accustomed to its clankety-clank noise, cramped quarters, and interrupted sleep. I looked forward to the welcoming entertainment as we disembarked in each train station. I'd grown fond of the twice-a-day clean up of our room and the relatively decent meals. Then there was the view out of our window--mile after mile. I truly do miss that. It was always changing, and even when it didn't, it changed with the time of day: