Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

In the morning we drove to Ashgabat, passing Turkmenbashi Ruhy, the second biggest mosque in Asia along the way. It had glimmering gold domes, and a pool of fountains in front of the entrance. It was an impressive sight. The city of Ashgabat is quite a surreal place, built to indulge the fantasies of one man, as white marble buildings line the streets, with gleaming domes of blue and gold. The layout is grid like, with impossing marble building running in parrallel, and gardens blocked into rectangles. Golden statues and tranquil blue fountains are the normality here, and we accended the arch of neutrality for a birds eye view over the Sim City-esque creation. We tried to take photographs of the main square, but were stopped, the guards presuming our cameras were wide angle, capturing the forbidden presidentual buildings. We had to cross the roads precisely on the white lines, and where there were no lines, we were waved to the subway. Police and military guards continually stood on duty, around the city and even said hello to us.



On our walk around Ashgabat, we paused at the theatre and sat in the grounds, as local women gathered for a performance. Their dresses were so colourful and they smiled as we looked over, so I approached a few groups and photographed them. This seemed to cause much amusement, as the ladies laughed, revealing gold covered teeth. Many people seemed to know a few words of English.




A golden statue of Turkmenbashi on top of the Arch of Neutrality - there are lifts that go up to viewing platforms where you can photograph the city below.

We discovered the Russian market, with huge stalls, including an enticing display of homemade cake, so I sampled one with layers of rich chocolate and vanilla sponge, which was huge. The same portion may have served three people, in England. So all caked up, we returned to the luxurious hotel, to relax in an air conditioned room. The following day I enjoyed swimming in a beautifully clean, outdoor pool, as temperatures reached forty degrees.



In the evening we went to the English Pub out of curiosity as much as to make the most of a steak dinner, before heading off into the desert. The steak was good, although the tiramisu was a bit disapointing. They had an extensive drinks menu and did good cocktails. By eleven pm, a disco began, so we joined the locals on the dancefloor and enjoyed a lively night, with a Russian football game on the big screens, and dancers celebrating as their team won. We took a taxi back to the hotel in the early hours, for a few dollars. The eleven pm curfew seemed relevant to the streets, rather than being in a restaurant or club, particularly being seen walking infront of the presidentual buildings, so we made the most of a good night out.

The following morning we visited the Ashgabat market, a few km out of town. There was a lot of interesting jewelery, traditional Russian hats, fabric, carpets, clothes and just about everything that a community would need. The market stretched across a huge distance. I bought bags of fresh bread and a watermelon for the journey. I also managed to find a pretty wooden necklace for myself.