Fuel cost 15p/litre for petrol and diesel and driving is still on the right. The clocks did not change on arrival in the country so we are still 4 hours ahead of London.
The hot, boring drive from Turkmenbasi Port to Ashgabat took 11 hours after which a very hot group arrived at the Ak Altyn Hotel together with the local guide for the country, Kurban. On the way we stopped so that the truck could be power washed as dirty vehicles are not allowed in the capital city. Anita went to the bazaar with the guide to change money for all of us as the banks were closed. After a shower we all went to a local restaurant for a meal and some of us ended up pointing to food on another table indicating to the waitress that that was what we wanted as the menu could not be understood.
The following day we had a bus tour to the Arc of Neutrality, the Independence Monument, the Palace of Happiness and a Ferris Wheel. The Arc of Neutrality was erected in 1998 to indicate that the country did not want war with anyone. The Independence Monument was erected in 1991 to celebrate the independence of the country . the Palace of Happiness is a wedding venue which has seven halls for simultaneous weddings and includes in it shops for wedding dresses, clothes, photographers, altogether a one stop wedding experience. Next door was the Ashgabat Hotel for the use of the wedding parties. The Ferris Wheel was an air conditioned enclosed double wheel, the biggest of its type in the world. being enclosed seems to defeat the thrill of a ferris wheel as I used to know it, air-conditioned pods did not feel the same.
The city was very clean (most of the cleaning seemed to be done by women) and had plenty of green spaces. The President decreed that each person should plant one tree (the population exceeds of 6.5 million) and each bride a tree also. The tree planting around the capital is obvious to everyone and is actually a very good idea. Most of the government buildings and new apartment blocks were faced with white marble giving the name ‘the white city’ to the capital. Every two or three blocks of flats have their own shopping centre and children's playgrounds, bus stops are air-conditioned as well. Even the kerb stones are of marble! There were few people or cars to be seen while we were about but this was explained in that people worked during the day (all inside?) and it was too hot to go out so most people went out in the cool of the evening. Turkmenistan has the 4th largest reserve of natural gas in the world so money is readily available because of this. People here have free gas, electricity and schooling. At least the President does not keep it all to himself!
The original Ashgabat was an important Islamic centre on the Silk Road which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1948 when 110,000 people were killed, two-thirds of the population. Noting of the ‘old Ashgabat remains today. The country has been ruled since 2007 by a ‘President for Life,’ Saparmurat Niyazov.
Turkmenistan is a country (or the sight of Ashgabat) which seems to have brought out different feelings from the travellers in the truck mainly due to the fact that it has a president for life. We had already seen the effect of this person when a whole port is closed down just because he is in town. In Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, roads are closed 30 minutes before he drives through and curtains have to be closed in all windows facing the street as well. Our truck had to be water washed before entering the capital as no dirty vehicles are allowed there. As for Ashgabat itself it is a showcase of white marble buildings, fancy type buildings, marble kerbstones, and where the class system still exists if one walks down the back streets and sees the differences in the houses and roads. There was a night curfew (we had been told) and the hotel disco closed at 11 pm but I am not certain if it only applied to foreigners or the population as a whole.
In the evening I went by car to some of the places we visited during the day just to see how the places were lit up.
Before leaving at midday on 31st Maggie, Anita and myself managed to hire a taxi to take us out to the camel market. The taxi business is strange as well. There are government taxis which have to be phoned for. Normally one steps out in the street and waves down any car. If the driver wants to pick one up a price is arranged and off one goes. There are no taxi signs to be seen on the cars. The camel market is a huge new construction well out of town and the place sells just about anything. Apparently only the ordinary people go to this market, the upper wealthier class would never be seen there!
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| Desert transport cafe |
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| Street washing with five vehicles in a line |
The city was very clean (most of the cleaning seemed to be done by women) and had plenty of green spaces. The President decreed that each person should plant one tree (the population exceeds of 6.5 million) and each bride a tree also. The tree planting around the capital is obvious to everyone and is actually a very good idea. Most of the government buildings and new apartment blocks were faced with white marble giving the name ‘the white city’ to the capital. Every two or three blocks of flats have their own shopping centre and children's playgrounds, bus stops are air-conditioned as well. Even the kerb stones are of marble! There were few people or cars to be seen while we were about but this was explained in that people worked during the day (all inside?) and it was too hot to go out so most people went out in the cool of the evening. Turkmenistan has the 4th largest reserve of natural gas in the world so money is readily available because of this. People here have free gas, electricity and schooling. At least the President does not keep it all to himself!
The original Ashgabat was an important Islamic centre on the Silk Road which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1948 when 110,000 people were killed, two-thirds of the population. Noting of the ‘old Ashgabat remains today. The country has been ruled since 2007 by a ‘President for Life,’ Saparmurat Niyazov.
Turkmenistan is a country (or the sight of Ashgabat) which seems to have brought out different feelings from the travellers in the truck mainly due to the fact that it has a president for life. We had already seen the effect of this person when a whole port is closed down just because he is in town. In Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, roads are closed 30 minutes before he drives through and curtains have to be closed in all windows facing the street as well. Our truck had to be water washed before entering the capital as no dirty vehicles are allowed there. As for Ashgabat itself it is a showcase of white marble buildings, fancy type buildings, marble kerbstones, and where the class system still exists if one walks down the back streets and sees the differences in the houses and roads. There was a night curfew (we had been told) and the hotel disco closed at 11 pm but I am not certain if it only applied to foreigners or the population as a whole.
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| The Arc of Neutrality |
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| A statue of the old President on top |
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| Views from the Arc |
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| The top of the Independence Monument |
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| The Independence Monument |
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| The Independence Monument |
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| Independence Monument Statue |
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| Independence Monument Statue |
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| Independence Monument Statue |
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| Independence Monument Statue |
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| The Wedding Palace |
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| One wedding room inside the palace |
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| A lady cleaner |
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| The Arc of Neutrality |
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| The Wedding Palace |
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| Add caption |
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| The Independence Monument |
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| Statue at the Independence Monument |
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| Ashgabat Hotel |
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| Lambs in the boot ready to take home |
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| Maggie and Anita |
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| The Bazaar |
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| At the Bazaar |
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| Which one shall I buy? |
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