The most curious of the Asian republics, Turkmenistan resembles an Arab Gulf state without the money. Money. Most of the country consists of an inhospitable lunar-like desert called the Karakum, which conceals unexploited oil and gas deposits. Turkmenistan is sparsely populated and its people, the Turkmen, are only a generation or two removed from being nomads. Turkmenistan is as much a culture as a country, since the Turkmen have never formed a real nation and have allowed their cities to become predominantly populated by other peoples.
Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to November)
Staying in a traditional yurt in the village of Darvaza and going to the nearby Darvaza Gas Craters-an enormous inferno like a volcano at ground level Visiting the vast Karakum desert Enjoying some of the best scenery in the country at the Kugitang Nature Reserve-complete with dinosaur footprints and incredibly caves with stalactites Taking a tour around the historic city of Merv-a huge site of vast complexity, which juxtaposes time scales and cultures Avioding the thousand-plus indigenous species of insects, spiders, reptiles and rodents-including cobras, large black scorpions, tarantulas and prehistoric-looking monitors-at the Repetek Desert Reserve
Read works by Turkmen poet Magtymguly Feraghy. Sacred Horses: The Life of a Turkmen Cowboy by Jonathon Maslow is a good, if abrasive, account of this naturalist’s visits to the Karakum desert
Listen City of Love by Ashkhabad, a five-piece Turkmen ensemble
Eat diorama (bread with pieces of boiled meat and onions), shashlyk (lamb kebab) and plov (rice, meat and carrots)
Drink chal (fermented camel’s milk) for breakfast in the desert, and tea, which you’ll be offered at every juncture throughout the day
Salam aleykum (‘peace be with you’ in Turkmen
‘Bukhara’ rugs; camels; deserts; hardcore’ yurts ; the personality cult of leader President Turkmenbashi (Turkemenbashi translates as ‘leader of the Turkmen’Â)
Merv is Turkmenistan’s only Unesco World Heritage site; the Karakum desert has recorded air temperatures of over 50c (122F), and the surface of the sand sizzling at a soul-scorching 70 (158F)
The Turkmen people are a highlight of the country. Friendly, curious and with a great sense of humour, they can make even the bleakest parts of the country great fun.Turkmen are generally very traditional and family-oriented without being overly conservative. Despite Sovietisation, women who live outside Turkmenistan’s towns are generally homemakers and mothers, and the men the breadwinners.