Category Archives: Turkmenistan
Dreaming Under a Multitude of Stars
Konye-Urgench (“Old Urgench”), once one of the greatest cities on the Silk Road, was the architectural inspiration for much of the region until it was finally laid waste by Timur in the fourteenth century. The hypnotically elaborate facades of this style exude a deep perception of geometry, proportion, and color that is utterly captivating. PerhapsContinue reading “Dreaming Under a Multitude of Stars”
In the Light
Darkness envelopes the cool desert night with only the flickering of the crater to guide our way.
Into the Realm of Hephaestus
Riding on the Edge of the Abyss
Our Land Rover sits a little too close for comfort on the very edge of one of the ‘mud holes’ at Dervaza (Turkic for “The Gate”) on the Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan border. These enormous sinkholes go down for hundreds of meters and open up into vast pools of molten earth. One has to take care of theContinue reading “Riding on the Edge of the Abyss”
Oasis of Sand
The ancient Silk Road city of Merv in the Karakum desert (Turkic for “Black Sand”) reminds me of a bit of the fate of ancient Carthage. Tracing its origins to the 3rd century BC, it was the largest city in the world in the 12th century only to be razed to the ground some 300Continue reading “Oasis of Sand”
The Pious Payout
When Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedovmade completed his first Hajj, it was the perfect time for citizens of Mary to ask him for the funds needed to finish the building of Mary’s mosque. The money was awarded and the inauguration of the Hajj Gurbanguly Mosque commenced two years later. The President proclaimed its’ opening was “evidenceContinue reading “The Pious Payout”
Friday Evening Traffic Jam, Turkmenistan Style
Don’t you just hate it when you’re on your way to visit a ancient city that’s been abandoned for 500 years and you’re held up by a herd of camels? Yeah, me too. I mean who wouldn’t want to just gawk at these magnificent ‘ships of the desert’ as they slowly made their way alongContinue reading “Friday Evening Traffic Jam, Turkmenistan Style”
The Sincerest Form of Flattery
The Ertuğrul Gazi Mosque, said to be patterned after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, sits at the end of a grand boulevard of parks that are almost as empty as the mosque itself. Large enough to hold 5,000 worshipers, it sees only a small fraction of that since it’s ‘unlucky’ or ‘haunted’ due to aContinue reading “The Sincerest Form of Flattery”
Pendulum of Reflection
Most Persian-style mosques are famed for their ornate surfaces and the interior of the Krezrety Omar mosque in Ashgabat certainly lives up to that rich history. What really catches the eye though is the unusual chandelier underneath the central dome. Oscillating, mesmerizing, and constantly reminding the faithful that the sumptuous surroundings are a mear diversionContinue reading “Pendulum of Reflection”
Foreclosure of a Dream
This unusually ornamented Lenin statue, one of the few still left standing in Central Asia, presides over the dismantling of his utopian vision. Perhaps it too will someday be glossed over in a sea of white marble, relegated to a brief moment of history.
Hidden in Plain Sight
It’s sometimes hard for the eyes not to focus on President Saparmurat Niyazov’s shining doppelgänger in Independence Park. Gold, however, eventually looses its luster (or in post-presidential times gets replaced) and we have to look closer for the timeless, more subtle, effects at play. Do you see them? How many Rub el Hizb can youContinue reading “Hidden in Plain Sight”
farflungistan 