Turkmenistan Map

 

 

         Map of Central Asia

latest picture: May 9, 2016

• click a picture to see details

001  May 6th, 2016: The Turkmen flag

is greeting us. Turkmenistan gained

independence from the Soviet Union on

October 27th, 1991. We got only a five

day transit visa for this country, longer

stays involve a compulsory guide

002  After the Turkmen customs,

stationed at 5'577 ft. [1'700m] altitude,

the view opens down the valley towards

direction Ashgabat, the capital. The

entry costs us US$24 on immigration

and US$115 on car fees

003  Road sign to Ashgabat –

the spruced up capital city of

gold and marble – right after

the customs building

004  The Turkmen State Puppet

Theatre with its golden domes was

built in 2005 at a cost of US$15m

005  A giant portrait of the current

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

(62), governing since 12/21/2006,

in the city of Ashgabat

006  Tόrkmenbaşy Palace of the

former President of Turkmenistan

Saparmurat Niyazov in Ashgabat. The

palace is built of white marble. The

dome is gold-plated. Expense: US$80m

007  Side by side: Right the Ministry of

Health, left the Turkmen State Medical

University

008  Part of Ashgabat's monumental city

center that only developed in 1991 after the

independence of the country: Galkynysh

Square with a triumphal column crowned

with the globe and presidential standard

009  A street in Ashgabat with nostalgic

lighting. The blue domes belong to the

Ruhyύet Palace (Oguzhan Palace), the

official residence and principal

workplace of the president

010  The Independence Monument. The

design of the base was inspired by the

traditional Turkmen yurt, the tower by the

headgear worn by Turkmen girls. It is 387ft

[118m] high and consists of two numbers:

27 = day + 91 = year of independence

011  The Main National Museum of

Turkmenistan. The bronze colored pole in

front is the fifth-highest (436 ft. [133m])

flagpole in the world

012  The Independence Monument from

another angle. Due to the prohibition of

taking pictures of certain buildings it's

taken out of our LandCruiser. Guards

are stationed everywhere

013  Domes and wide roads without

traffic are part of the exuberant architecture

of Ashgabat – the city in white and gold,

with more than 1m people

014  Another unknown monument at a

roundabout in the desert southeast of the

Ashgabat ring road, out of the city

015  Everything is pompous in Ashgabat.

Even the street lights that line the

boulevards are eye-catching. Here on

the southern ring road Archabil Hwy.

016  Garashsyzlyk Avenue with residential

houses towards the National Museum of

Turkmenistan in the South of the city of

Ashgabat

017  Even the signposts at the exit road

from Ashgabat to Mary in the East of the

country align with the white cityscape

018  A part of the borough (district) of

Kopetdag in the centre of Ashgabat still

under construction

019  The "humble" office building of

the borough of Kopetdag in Ashgabat

020  Two Turkmen ladies in festive

outfit are on their way to an event

021  Park-like enclosures surround

residential areas of Ashgabat

022  After leaving Ashgabat, we are

surrounded immediately by the Central

Asian Karakum desert. Heavy rainfalls

formed little lakes

023  Some camels are crossing our path

024  A complex protection made

from straw against the drifting sand

in the Karakum desert

025  After the grandiosity of the capital,

we experience a "tarred road", which does

not deserve its name: It is a combination

of broken asphalt, bumps and deep holes

026  One deep hole after the other. Hour

by hour Emil is balancing our LandCruiser

around the deep holes. Due to the constant

slalom drive, the speed drops to merely

20mph [32km/h]

027  After the challenging road, Emil grants

himself a break. The bad stretch until

Ruhybelent is almost 280mi [450km] long,

~110mi [~180km] north of Darvaza. There

forks the ~100mi [~160km] road to

Dashoguz in the East, which is a bit better

028  Our LandCruiser is looking for the

best track on the 5mi [8.5km] long sandy

drive to the Darvaza gas crater (gate of hell:

40.25248 58.43957) in the Karakum desert

029  A blooming wreath of flowers

(presumably a species of Allium or Phlox)

sprouting in the desert sand is a special sight

030  On the sandy track through the

Karakum desert to the Darvaza gas

crater our LandCruiser has no troubles:

2WD should be OK

031  The Darvaza gas crater, also called

"Door to Hell", is burning continuously

since 1971 and is situated about 170mi

[270km] from Ashgabat. Its total area is

about 57'600ft² [5'350m²], its diameter

230ft [70m] and its depth 98ft (30m)

032  Soviet engineers looked 1971 for oil,

found however a gas field, which collapsed

while drilling. Geologists deliberately set it

afterwards on fire to prevent the spread of

methane gas. That's the Turkmen version -

the Russian is different

033  In the darkness, the walls of

the burning Darvaza gas crater gleam

in a particularly intensive red

The Darvaza gas crater, also called "The Door to Hell" offers an exceptional setting to celebrate our 47th wedding day

034

035

036

Three different faces of the Karakum desert. It is with 135'000 mi² [350'000 km²] –

depending on the source of counting – the 10th largest desert of the world

037

038

039

040  The intensely sparkling yellow of

the common yarrow flowers (Achillea

millefolium) at the pebbly roadside is

eye-catching

041  Emil's eyes gleam: After the dry

Islamic country of Iran he enjoys his mug

of beer to the fullest in a garden restaurant

in semidry Turkmenistan

042  A Yucca (Yucca) flower: In the

past, roots of yucca were used for the

manufacture of soaps and shampoos.

Actually, this plant is only native to

North America and the Caribbean

043  The Wedding Palace (Bagt Koshgi)

in Dashoguz in northeast Turkmenistan.

Dashoguz is the border town to

Uzbekistan 6mi [10km] away

044  Another impressive building with

a dome in Dashoguz in northeast

Turkmenistan: The Ak-Bazaar, today

nearly empty and abandoned

045  A typical Turkmen luxury palace:

The relatively new (2014)

5*-Hotel Daşoguz in Dashoguz. A room

 costs US$90 a night. We leave again!

N.B. Not one single time we have been controlled by the omnipresent police, only stopped once before the border city of

Dashoguz to invite us for lunch. In their hearts the Turkmen people are still "nomads" where hospitality is incorporated!

Next website of our 2nd Central and North Asia trip 2016 to Russia:

Uzbekistan – from Turkmenistan border in Dashoguz to Tajikistan border near Oybeck – May 10th to 31st, 2016

The African trip 2013-16:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: Sγo Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: Sγo Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antγo/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antγo/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: Sγo Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Namibia Part 1 – from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa

South Africa Part 1 – from Namibia border to Capetown – January 22nd to February 23rd, 2015

3rd Major Repair of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982  (due to two broken sideshafts)

South Africa Part 2 – from Capetown to Tsitsikamma National Park – February 24th to March 13th, 2015

South Africa Part 3 – from Addo National Park to the Lesotho border – March 13th to April 7th, 2015

Lesotho – April 7th to 15th, 2015

South Africa Part 4 – from the Lesotho to the Swaziland border – April 15th to 23rd, 2015

Swaziland – April 23rd to 28th, 2015

South Africa Part 5 – from the Swaziland to the Botswana border  – April 28th to May 15th, 2015

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Mozambique

Malawi

Armed Robbery in Malawi on July 31st/August 1st, 2015

Tanzania

Kenya

Ethiopia Part 1 – from Kenya to Djibouti – October 25th to November 18th, 2015

Djibouti – October 18th to 27th, 2015

Ethiopia Part 2 –  from Djibouti to Sudan – November 27th to December 9th, 2015

Sudan – December 9th, 2015 to January 8th, 2016