Turkmenistan Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Few places are as physically bleak and barren as Turkmenistan, which is mostly scrubby desert that becomes a blast furnace in summer. The only visual respites from this bleakness are the beautiful Turkmen carpets displayed in markets, homes and museums.

You're also likely to see some pretty surreal structures, especially in the capital, Ashgabat. Former President Niyazov, who was a kind of modern-day feudal lord, embarked on a lavish building spree, erecting monuments to himself and to his visions of grandeur for the country.

This extravagance is hardly worth the trip. We do not recommend a visit to Turkmenistan. The country shares a long border with Afghanistan, a nation in chaos whose troubles could easily infect its neighbors.

Even after the situation in Afghanistan settles, Turkmenistan is likely to attract only the most adventurous travelers or those businesspeople vying for the chance to tap Turkmenistan's considerable natural gas reserves.

Geography

History

In ancient times, Turkmenistan was part of the Parthian Empire, which at its height encompassed most of the land between Syria and India. By the second century BC, a network of trade routes, known as the Silk Road, had been established through the region, carrying Chinese silk, jade and spice to exchange for European glass, textiles, gold and silver. The trade route—and the area's prosperity—collapsed when the Europeans discovered a sea route to Asia around the tip of Africa.

Central Asia witnessed repeated invasions, conquests and domination over the centuries by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Arabs, Genghis Khan, Timur (Tamerlane) and eventually the Russians. The first Russian incursion into the area under Peter the Great's reign resulted in the massacre of their troops by the khanate of Khiva in 1717.

It was a long time before the Russians achieved military victory in the area. In the 1880s they brutally eliminated the last of Turkmen resistance and expanded their influence to roughly match the borders that comprised Soviet Central Asia. This great push south (toward India) greatly alarmed the British and resulted in what was called "the Great Game"—the imperial struggle for control of land and influence in Central Asia during the second half of the 19th century.

Central Asia continued under Russian control after the Communist Revolution in 1917. In the late 1920s, Joseph Stalin divided the region into five ethnic republics and established the boundaries of Turkmenistan. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Turkmenistan elected to become a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, in confederation with many of the former republics of the U.S.S.R.

Turkmenistan has economic potential—its gas reserves are among the largest in the world. However, the authoritarian leadership of President Saparmurad Niyazov, who was the communist boss before the fall of the Soviet Union and was elected president after independence, complicated its future. Although Niyazov said that he planed to boost the role of his country's parliament, there were no tangible signs that he had relinquished his iron rule by the time of his death in December 2006. His successor President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow continues to rule the country with near totalitarian power.

Snapshot

Potpourri

Turkmen are from five major tribes, Tekke and Yomud being the most dominant. The Turkmen national flag includes an image of a carpet with five different patterns, one representing each tribe.

The literacy rate in Turkmenistan approaches 100% for those over 15 years of age.

Tekke carpets are often called "Bukhara" because that is where they were collected and distributed during the heyday of the Silk Road. Most carpets are wool and have geometric patterns, as opposed to the floral design of many Persian and Chinese rugs made of silk.

Young women with two braids and a small scarf are unmarried; those with one braid and a big kerchief have been wed.

Ancient Merv was the center of the Nestorian Heresy, which held that there were two essential natures of God (human and divine), rather than the three of the Trinity. Merv also was the scene of history's worst recorded massacre—ancient chronicles tell that its 1,200,000 residents were put to the sword in a single night in 1122 by Mongol invaders.

Earthquakes are relatively frequent and powerful. Two giant quakes with a magnitude of 10 in 1895 and 1924 flattened Krasnovodsk (now called Turkmenbashi) and Ashgabat, respectively. A 1948 quake, measuring 9 points, destroyed Ashgabat in less than a minute.

Yurts, the traditional tents—they have a collapsible wooden frame and are covered with reeds and felt—are still used today. The tents are erected in front yards and used as summer houses.

The Kara-Kum Canal provides only some of the nation's fresh water: A major source of drinking water is Azerbaijan. Tankers ship water across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenbashi daily.

National dress can be gorgeous. Men wear high, shaggy sheepskin hats and red robes over white shirts. Women wear long sack-dresses over narrow trousers (the pants are trimmed with a band of embroidery at the ankle). Female headware usually consists of silver jewelry, decorated with coins and pendants. Other silver, in the form of heavy bracelets and brooches set with semiprecious stones, completes the ensemble.

The Turkmen are famous for their horsemanship, horse breeding and training. They have presented Akhal-Tekke horses to a number of visiting dignitaries.

Toi are big festivals held to celebrate weddings, births, harvests and other family and social events. Horse racing, wrestling matches and other games mark the occasions.