May 3, 2016 - In Ashgabat

Tuesday 3 May 2016 In Ashgabat Today is our last day in Ashgabat before we leave Turkmenistan to fly to Baku in Azerbaijan. We woke up pretty late and had a leisurely breakfast then went back to the room, packed up our bags, had a bath, then checked out. After leaving our bags at reception, we headed out to the market – Lynn’s watch battery had died and David needed a new watch band. We soon achieved these small tasks then bought a couple meat filled pastry things (same as yesterday) – delicious again. We then set out to walk around and...

May 2, 2016 - Ashgabat to Darvaza Gas Crater

Saturday 30 April 2016 Out of Ashgabat After breakfast today we headed off in the bus for activities outside Ashgabat. The first place we went was a thermal underground lake where we went swimming in a warm sulphur spring. This place was about an hour to the west of Ashgabat and once we arrived, we walked down 360 steps smelling the sulphur all the way, got changed into our swimmers in some very basic change cubicles and spent 20 minutes in the water (longer was not encouraged due to health issues). We amused ourselves by recalling some...

Apr 29, 2016 - Ashgabat to Mary, Turkmenistan

Wednesday 27 April 2016 Ashgabat to Mary, Turkmenistan We packed up this morning and, after breakfast, we were picked up from the hotel and we drove to Mary (pronounced Mah-rih), about 6 hours to the east of Ashgabat. On the way there, we stopped at the Shrine of Seyit Jamal addin, which was destroyed in the 1948 earthquake. Pilgrims visit this site and there were a number of them there today, paying respects. Photos show the destruction. A new mosque (quite small) has been built on the site so worshippers have somewhere to pray. We then...

Apr 26, 2016 - In Ashgabat

Tuesday 26th April 2016 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Had breakfast in the hotel this morning and met at 9:00am for our visit to the Nisa Fortress UNESCO World Heritage Site, about 16km from the city. The weather today is fine and warm. The Nisa Fortress was built in 323BC after Alexander the Great’s death. It was part of the Seleucid Empire and the Parthian Kings who lived here ruled over this area for the best part of 600 years. The Kings brought the Hellenistic culture to this area and conquered Iraq, Syria, Palestine and the Caucasus as well...

Apr 25, 2016 - Istanbul, Turkey to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Monday 25th April 2016 Istanbul, Turkey to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan After waiting in Istanbul Airport for about 8 hours, we left for Ashgabat in the middle of a wild thunderstorm. The Turkish Airlines flight was full and we were both pretty tired but ate dinner and napped too. We arrived in Ashgabat at about 2:30am and checked through immigration with visas (pretty extortionate at $US109 each), picked up our bags which had arrived correctly (amazing) although Lynn’s bag was very wet – must have sat uncovered during the Istanbul storm and...

Jun 3, 2015 - Turkmenistan

OK, my apologies in advance. This is probably the sloppiest entry I will ever write, and I probably won’t have the heart to try to improve on it in the future. Two things initially shadowed our time in Turkmenistan, arriving as we did in the capital of Ashgabat. First and foremost, I was suffering some serious stomach pains and gut reactions which would mess up anyone’s travel plans. Second, Fran made the mistake of checking our bank account while in Iran, and because of the US sanctions, Schwab was forced to shut down our accounts until we...

Nov 4, 2013 - Ashgabat - The Marble City

"Tolkuchka Bazaar - An archetypal Asian bazaar as Cecil B. de Mille would have created it." Sadly all that is left is the animal market and a row of rug sellers within a giant complex that could have been built for Walmart. The city itself appears new born since much of it was destroyed in a 1948 earthquake that took over 100,000 lives, a third of the population. It is a desert city reborn in marble and gold and black granite. It has to be seen to be believed. However, I have to say that it is much more tasteful than I had expected. And...

Nov 1, 2013 - Konye-Urgench

Salam - This is the last of two full weeks among World Heritage sites. What a gift. The remains of Konye-Urgench consist of just a few buildings but each is memorable. The first is the Turabeg Khanym Mausoleum/Throne room. Outside you get to see the construction of the double dome since part of the outer dome has collapsed. Inside is one of the most beautiful interiors I've seen in Central Asia - a giant calendar in dark blue and white tiles. Then a long walk to the Gutlug Timur minaret that soars 64 meters. The minaret dates to the early...

Oct 31, 2013 - Derweze - "The Gates of Hell"

The middle of the Karakum desert. Entry into Turkmenistan took almost five hours. About the same and as bureaucratic and mindless as the entry into Uzbekistan. At leas it didn't take two days. The Gas Crater at Derweze is evidently the result of Soviet gas exploration in the 1950s (if Lying Planet can be believed). The Wikipedia article seems to be more accurate - "The Derweze area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas.[1] The ground beneath the drilling rig...

Nov 26, 2012 - Turkmenistan

Meine zweite Reise nach Turkmenistan. Diesmal geht es nach Ashgabat, nach Mary und Turkmenabat. Ashgabat wie immer unglaublich abgefahren - die Stadt wächst und wäschst, überall die weißen Marmorbauten, neue Prunkbauten und Ministerien, ein Riesenrad, und alles nachts in bunten Farben beleuchtet. Die Stadt ist sauberer als sauber, nirgends liegt ein Blatt oder geschweige ein Papierchen. Im Gegensatz dazu Mary und Turkmenabat, zwei klassischen zentralasiatische Provinzstädte, wie man sie auch in Kasachstan oder Usbekistan finden kann. Als...

Jun 26, 2012 - Bogged

Today was pretty stressful. Basically we stopped for lunch beside the first river we'd seen for days. Only problem was the truck got bogged. No problems plenty of trucks were passing on the road, one would surely help us. Except that the first truck to help got bogged and bogged out truck even more. We had lunch, expecting to be rescued soon. The heat was starting to get to us all. A lack of shade and drinking water were the real killers. Matt and Ellen worked tirelessly digging to get the truck out, with the sand mats they carry for these...

Jun 25, 2012 - Another gate to hell

Today was a rather long drive through the Karakum desert. The road got worse as we went and it seems that driving whichever side on the road has less bumps and potholes is the correct way of driving. We stopped in the middle of nowhere for lunch made out of the trucks, camp kitchen. Other than a few photos of the occasional feral camel and the vastness of the desert the real treat are the Darvaza craters, where we camped overnight. The craters were made by Russians, looking for natural gas. The first one was filled with water. A little...