In the complex of the Mosque of Yusuf Hamadani there lies a tomb of an unknown 12th Century dervish. As is a tradition throughout Turkmenistan, ladies use their holidays to make pilgrimages to important tombs. The ritual is that the ladies, dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry, walk round and round the epitaph asking […]
The unusual title for my blog post is actually the title of one of my favourite films in the long running series of comedic ‘Carry On’ films that became a much loved staple of UK cinema in the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s. This one had our bawdy crew of iconic innuendo spouting stars such as […]
Our short stay in Turkmenistan was coming to an end. It was the morning we would be heading for the border with Uzbekistan from the Turkmen city of Mary. We had wanted to get the train to Turkmenabat but were told that the times we not convenient, either arriving at 1, 3 or 5 in […]
No this isn’t the name of a US sitcom or Australian talk show hosts, but modern & ancient cities a few kilometres apart in Turkmenistan. We arrived in Mary, one of the largest cities in the Central Asian country, by slow train from capital Ashgabat at around 1 in the morning and made straight for […]
Originally posted on On Track:
I recently returned from 17 days in Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan and of course train travel featured along the way. First up Turkmenistan. The nation is covered 80% by the Karakum Desert, which is now home to much of the train track in the country. Capital Ashgabat is the hub and…
Statue of legendary Seljuk Turk satirical story teller Nasreddin on his trusty donkey. Nodir Devon Begi Madrassa in the background.
80% of Turkmenistan is made up of the Karakum Desert and 270 km northwest of capital Ashgabat there lies one of the nations gas fields. In the late ’60s gas was discovered near a small oasis settlement called Darvaza, with drilling commencing in order to tap the fuel for commercial gain. Whilst drilling in 1971 […]
In 1948 the capital of Turkmenistan was razed to the ground by a devastating earthquake. The two shocks lasted less than a minute in total, but are said to have measured 9.6 on the Richter Scale and claimed 110,000 lives, about 60% of the then population. This would make it the most powerful quake on […]
