The 5 Stans of the Silk Road

[RooFlyer]

Next stop, the National History Museum. An enormous building, but only a small portion is for public displays. The view out from the front:



The central hall. Red granite columns and floors - made a bit of a break from polished marble.



We were shown around by a guide, whose English was very hard to follow. But this I think is the world's biggest carpet ... with the current President shown at the front



Now, (for once) I won't attempt to explain the history of the region ... incredibly complex, and needless to say, incredibly old.

Just outside Ashgabat is the ruins of 'Old' Nisa, the capital of the Parthians and which flourished about 250BC to about 150AD. It was destroyed by an early earthquake. We visit the site tomorrow, but the best relics we saw in the museum came from there.

Most notably, some gorgeous ivory rhytons - or wine drinking vessels. Apparently they found ?hundreds of large wine holding vessels and dozens of these rhytons, so the culture sounds well lubricated. These are all from the 2nd century BC














When we exited, there was a changing of the guard ceremony, which was a bit far away, but good goose-stepping viewing (off to the left).

 

[RooFlyer]

Mid afternoon and our local tour leader decided we should try for the cable car again. And we were successful - no road blocks.

its quite a long ride, and goes from 200m at the base to about 1300m at the top, about 1/3 the way up the range. The top of the cable car is in the 'no mans land' between Iran and Turkmenistan - you pass over barbed wire fences etc along the way.. The border is along the crest of the range behind. Cost was the equivalent of US$1.50.

We go over several undulating hill-tops on the way up:





The lookout at the top. Very expensive ice-creams!!



Panorama from the top:



A few zooms into the city of marble:



'Olympic' Stadium:






The no-mans land fence (the border is a number of miles up the mountain.

 

[RooFlyer]

Our local guide took us to a 'great BBQ place' which had a great vibe:





Unfortunately on my table 2 out of 4 orders were forgotten, then the wrong ones brought and at the end we were still missing one item. Can happen anywhere. The beer was good though!!

Random buildings we passed on the way back to the hotel:

 

[RooFlyer]

Day 3 in Ashgabat and I'll post the following out of order, as i want to show them before we leave town in an hour or so and lose internet.

At 3 pm we hit the road in 5 4WD for the Darvaza crater, otherwise known as the 'Door to Hell'. Its an absolute trip highlight for me.

After an hour we were well out of 'civilization' and on a dual highway, but this is really only 2 bitumen strips and cars going both ways mostly use the one side. The other side is occasionally incomplete, which seems really odd in a country where so much is spent on marble buildings in th capital.

Grasses gave way to a sandy desert landscape. Occasional cars - the highway has reasonable use. It connects the capital with the north-west of the country, through its middle.



Meh. Compulsory camel shot.



Two strips of rad, most cars on one side!



After two hours, travelling at 120-130 km/hr once out of town (national speed limit 90 km/hr) we had a pit stop at a 'road house'.



Definitely in the desert




WHAAAT!!! IS THAT IT???





Ah ... just an amuse bouche. a bit more driving.



After another hour or so after the roadhouse, the main event ... but the show starts at sunset

 

[RooFlyer]

First there was dinner at a camp nearby. By this time it was cooling down a bit and a slight breeze, so very pleasant.



Especially with cold Birks beer (US$5/bottle)



A couple of reprobates in the desert - no wine, so what can you do?


Vege soup, fresh cooked tandoor bread and roast chicken. All appreciated by everybody.





our chefs ....






Then, as the sun set .... SHOWTIME!!! ... and I have to go to breakfast, so hang on.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Darvaza Fire Crater: Amazing, breathtaking, unique, surprising, HOT!

The radiated heat is enough, but the swirling wind and fore induced wind causes blasts of air like you open an oven to hit you ... but unlike an oven, it keeps coming until you turn away and step some paces back. The noise is moderate - like a blasting gas jet, which of course is exactly what it is, tomes a thousand!

About 40 years ago, Soviets were drilling for gas here, and the porous rock started caving in on itself. Gas was escaping, so they lit it to flare it off. 40 or so years ago, its still buring and falling in on itself.

its 69m x 30m.











In spite of @juddles concerns, there were no sacrifices this night!!

 

[tgh]

How long will it burn ?
Reminds me of Mt Yasur , Tanna Island, Vanuatu

 

[Daver6]

Shouldn't you be toasting marshmallows over it?

 

[suze2000]

When I was 27, I took a tour up "Mount Olimpus" in Turkey, which was also leaking lit gas. And quite spectacular in the sunset and after. Of course, I did not at the time have a camera capable of capturing it, but we did enjoy our tour.

 

[RooFlyer]

A few more pics. Am now in rural Turkmenistan (Mary), so wifi is a bit creaky.





After an hour or so viewing at the crater, we headed back, leaving at about 8:45pm for the 3.5 hour drive back. Zooming through the Turkmenistan desert at night at 120-135 km.hr was an experience!! Just hoped we wouldn't hit any camels! We did see a fox.

 

[JohnM]

Shouldn't you be toasting marshmallows over it?

We didn’t have a long enough stick .

 

[Daver6]

We didn’t have a long enough stick .

Must resist immature comment....

 

[JohnM]

Millennials... .

 

[RooFlyer]

In the morning of the day we went to the crater, first stop was Nisa, just out of Ashgabat. Its a rather poorly preserved, mostly mud brick built 'city', capital of the Parthian empire from about 250 BC to 210 AD. But the rhytons that I showed previously came from here, together with some other nice artifacts.



The Parthians defeated the Roman legions to the west of present day Turkmenistan, and the Turkmen took them as slaves. The Romans introduced arches to the local architecture, and this is a surviving original.



A nearby large and new mosque, seen through the ramparts of the Nisa complex. We go there next.

 

[Lat34]

@RooFlyer what app are you using for map position? I'm particularly interested that it shows Lat/Long.

 

[RooFlyer]

@RooFlyer what app are you using for map position? I'm particularly interested that it shows Lat/Long.

maps.me

You can download very detailed maps onto your phone and use them as GPS maps while off line. Can download countries, or regions of countries you are travelling to, then delete them when done with, if needs be.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next to the mosque is the mausoleum of the Turkmanbashi. Photographs of the front guards tolerated from afar:





The mosque next door was built about 10 years ago, and can hold 10,000, but is rarely used to any extent, as its well out of town



Inside is very beautiful, with a wonderful lush carpet underfoot.

 

[RooFlyer]

As JohnM noted up-thread, the form of Islam practiced here is pretty laid back. Pork available in restaurants, no veils, western dressing females (when not traditional), loud calls to prayer forbidden pre dawn ... you'd be hard pressed to guess that it is an 'islamic' country.

Random shot from the bus.



Then off to another mosque. this one smaller, less ostentatious, and apparently more popular with the locals.





I love the geometry you get in these places ...

 

[RooFlyer]

So, a new day and we head to Mary, to the south-east, and base to explore the ancient city of Merv, UNESCO World Heritage.

There has been a settlement here for about 4,000 years, but ancient Merv was settled about 5th or 6th centuries BC. Many religions lived together in harmony here. It had a lot of history until the din of Gengis Khan arrived in about 1221, captured the city and killed everyone - estimated between 300,000 and 500,000 people.

The most notable surviving structure is the Great Kyz Kala, of uncertain function. A magnificent survivor from the 7th century , with unique corrugated walls of mud brick.







We meet some lovely local ladies who showed us to take some photos.

 

[RooFlyer]

Oops a bit out of order.

On the drive down to Mary, on a divided Highway, we had the mountains to the Iranian not on it right, and flat cotton fields on the left ( with flood type irrigation). The Russians introduced cotton here, which of course consumes vast amounts of water in this desert country. It comes from the rivers flowing from Tajikistan.



A quick stop at Abiwert, a 8th to 10th century town of mud brick. Not much left today.