Turkmenistan

We spent two days in Turkmenistan.  Our Uzbek guides called this country the 'North Korea' of Central Asia.  It is the 7th least visited country in the world. The 2015 World Press Freedom Index ranked Turkmenistan 178 out of 180 countries -- ahead of only Eritrea and North Korea.  

Our morning in Merv seemed ordinary enough.  Many people are cotton farmers which felt like home to me!  This ancient city was a very important stop on the Silk Road.  Those 'hills' behind me are not hills but are parts of the old city wall. 

The city was huge! 

 People were friendly.  The women wear scarves but there are forms inside to give the scarves an interesting up-lifting shape. 

I was very touched by this shrine at one mosque.  Women who are praying for a baby often visit here and tie a cloth on a tree to ask for a special blessing. 

Notice the blue headed shape in a type of cloth sling....that is supposed to be a baby.  Very creative prayer idea. 

We left Merv and spent the last afternoon on the train before arriving into Ashgabat, the capitol city.  It is known as the 'White Marble City' and for good reason as it has 540 buildings encased in white marble. By the way, they are listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the highest density of  white marble buildings in the world.

This one is a mosque that cost $130 million dollars and supposedly can hold up to 20,000 people.  George was skeptical of that number. 

On the grounds of the mosque there is a mausoleum which holds the remains of Turkmenistan's first president.  Besides the marble, they are also quite fond of gold leaf!  Are you starting to notice something weird?  Ashgabat is a city of over 727,000 people.  Where are they?

The new president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow enjoys having gold statues of himself all around the town.  Here he is standing tall and casual with his coat over his shoulders.

 And here is the new president looking warlike on a golden steed!  The building to the left is the "Palace of Happiness' 

It's a wedding venue complete with a room where each newly married couple is required to have a photo taken in front of a photo of the president.  Definitely a 'cult of personality' around this guy!  Radio Free Europe has nicknamed him the 'photo-bomber-in chief''. 

 Inside this circle is the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel....another Guinness Book of records winner! 

This is the independence tower...they became free from the USSR in 1991 

 Turkmenistan has been declared by the UN to be a 'neutral' country like Switzerland and this space ship like structure is the "Neutrality Tower." 

 The country received recognition in the Guinness Book of Records another time for this star on their TV tower - it is the largest architectural star in the world. 

 And another recognition for this - the largest fountain complex in the world. 

 Notice the 8 lane divided highway and the white marble lamp posts. George estimates that he saw 50 people all day long.  The group stopped at a market but were told not to take any photos and not to try to buy anything with US dollars.  The guide assured that secret police were watching.  Weird country!

The white marble buildings in this photo are beautiful new apartment complexes with  lovely gardens and playgrounds. But where are the people?

This group, who were all dressed alike, came into the museum and allowed the group to take their photo. 

I spent the day sick in the hotel and this is the view I had all day. No cars.  No one played tennis or was on the golf course.  No one swam or walked around in the manicured gardens.  It felt a little eerie!  We were told not to leave the hotel grounds on our own.  A doctor from the hotel came to check on me but when he found out that my husband was out, he beat it back to the door and said I could call again when my husband came back. 

The place is a combination of Disneyland or Las Vegas or Dubai and Pyongyang, North Korea.  

But it does have a spectacular hotel!   That structure between the trees is our hotel. 

It was even more stunning on the inside!  White marble and gold!  I do sense a theme here. 

Although it was the weirdest country I've ever been in, I'm really glad we got to go.  Now we can add 5 'stan' countries to our list.  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.  I don't think that we will be adding Pakistan or Afghanistan any time soon!