Turkmenistan Overview

Overview

Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia with a population of about 5 million, and an area around half a million square km. It has a coast on the Caspian Sea, but is otherwise landlocked. Neighboring countries are Iran and Afghanistan to the South, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the North. Overall it is a relatively poor desert country, although millions has been spent on the capital Ashgabat in post Soviet times and is home to extensive oil and gas reserves. The traditional life of Turkmen is as nomadic shepherds, though some have been settled in towns for centuries. The country has oil which is being developed. Geographically this is the most western of all the stans, but culturally it sure isn't. The turkmen never formed a real nation and only settled in recent history in cities - if they did at all. Most of the cities in Turkmenistan were founded by non Turkmen, but by the Russians, Iranians and even Alexander the Great. If you are not an oil man, maybe the most important reason to visit Turkmenistan would be not the sights, but the people and their age old nomad tradition of hospitatility. They can be hard to reach with stranger at first, but when they open up, anything goes. Ashgabat the capital city is probably your point of arrival. It is filled with monuments in the honour of the president Turkmenbasi. Mary has the ruins of the old Persian town of Merv and is worth a visit as well.