Impressions of Turkmenistan

I read the letter from, and had a different view than, the traveler who came away with a negative impression of Turmenistan (March ’14, pg. 23). I too did the 5 ’Stans, traveling as part of a group with Zegrahm Expeditions (888/979-4421) in May 2006.

In Bukhara, Uzbekistan, a few hours before we were scheduled to fly, we learned that the Turkmenistan Minister of Tourism had denied entry of our Uzbek Air charter flight. I didn’t ask how, but Zegrahm managed to get our air visas changed to land visas, arranged for a bus, and off we took for the border.

We left the Uzbek border by bus and pulled up to the Turkmenistan border, where it took two hours of official nonsense for the 15 of us to gain entry. Our Kazakh guide was not permitted entry, even though he had the proper visa.

We drove past Merv in the dark to the city of Mary where we stayed overnight. In the morning, with a new local guide, we started through the desert toward Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan.

At the time of my visit, the things we saw in Ashgabat fit into the category of a dictator (Turkmenbashi) gone wild with power and money from oil and gas to fulfill his fantasies. How else can you describe the experience of walking through a megalomaniac’s dream of a marble city in the desert, with huge pictures of him hanging on most buildings, which were in various stages of construction?

In the main square, a golden statue of Turkmenbashi stood on top of a 50-foot pedestal, rotating to face the sun. One unexpected sight was a 50-foot-high book with pages that turned — a monument to the “Ruhnama,” a “book of wisdom” written by Turkmenbashi that all students were required to study. Huge statues dotted this area.

The main mosque was beautiful. About the museums, I was not as critical as the above-mentioned writer.

We stayed at a Sheraton that was no longer connected to the Sheraton chain of hotels. By accident, we found out that all the key cards on our floor were the same, opening each other’s doors.

The market on the outskirts of town was fascinating, with rural people selling and buying clothes, utensils and food. The animal market was wonderful. We were there on sheep day and saw hundreds of sheep for sale.

Would I go back to Turkmenistan? No. Am I glad I went? Yes.

MARILYN ARMEL

New York, NY