Eagle Ridge NewsInfo about Eagle Ridge and recipes

Held in November 08 – Turkmenistan

I visited Turkmenistan in 1986. What has changed since then? country's oil and gas reserves have helped to develop their infrastructure. Brand new ministry buildings of white marble and glass, often referred to as the "palaces" are much more evident in Ashgabat (Ashgabat). wide roads and parks have been built and every major city has a new theater. interurban roads are new and with little traffic, the company Air is efficient and operates Boeing planes, while the population of new train has come to China to have an excellent rail system of their own. Hotels in major centers ranging from perfectly adequate to good.

Many Turkmen transit route between Iran and Uzbekistan. However, the country has more than offer. Arts and crafts are still important. Each region produces its own style of carpet. Women continue to knit socks and stitch their own clothes and scull caps. National Gala is still used by them. In the field the elderly can be seen with their hats look like lambs wool huddled over their heads.

Agriculture remains very important. Cotton or "white gold" is a cash crop. Delicious fruits, melons, pomegranates, tomatoes and vegetables, peppers, cucumbers and onions are sold alongside the road or in the bazaars long each center has. Many cities have a large market that operates once or twice a week. The largest, and told his rival in the market Sunday Kashgar in western China, is the Sunday market in Ashgabat Tolkuchka. Not only produce but sell carpets, jewelry, clothing, household items, cars and livestock such as goats, sheep and camels. It's fun and chaotic and a "must see."

Most people visit the main centers of Ashgabat and Mary (To see the ancient cities of Merv), where there are good hotels. An additional visit, if Mary should be brought into the region to see Gonur Margush Tepe. Just discovered in the 1970s by the Greek archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi be accessed through sandy desert roads. It failed when the Oxus river, now called the Daryr Amu, changed its course in the Bronze Age.

Ashgabat has a wonderful National Museum, Carpet Museum, which displays the world's largest carpet made hand and a series of monuments related to the country's independence. The Arch of Neutrality is a golden statue of their late president, Nyazamov at the top. Tour so he is always facing the sun. There are still many reminders of the Soviet Union, including apartment blocks (with massive satellite dishes out the window almost all), mosaics and points of control! In the north, a short distance from Nukus in Uzbekistan is Konye Urgench, a vast cemetery with some impressive mausoleums and the tallest minaret in Central Asia.

Far from the most important centers must be prepared for a more basic existence, either camping or staying with a local family. My personal highlights were visiting and Yangikala Dhamla. Dhamla is an hour's drive 5 / 6 of Ashgabat including 3 / 4 hours for desert Karakum, the third largest in the world. The town of about 500 people in an oval-shaped valley, treeless. Near the village are sand dunes and small trees saxaul. There is no electricity, gas and telephone no no. The children are delighted to see and no begging or shirt pulling, really refreshing. On the morning of the animals, goats, sheep and camels are allowed to leave their premises. They return at night and watered and milked. The whole family participates in care of them. fermented camel milk takes some getting used to. Bread is baked in clay ovens. making you feel you can see in the warmer months.

Yangikala is also remote. Nobody lives here. Eagles fly overhead remain motionless in the hot air flows over the ridges. The reason is people come here extraordinary to see the stone. Layers and layers of different colored rock, eroded by wind and rain, which for a visual wonderland. Peace and tranquility is amazing. No people and virtually no traffic. Campsite on a hill is an occasional truck lamps in the distance, and to pick there way through the land.

Closer to Ashgabat, but still require an overnight stay is the people of Nokhur. Many of the houses are built of stone and the cemetery is unique in the extent to which the majority of gravestones are a couple of goat horns on them. A walk through the village is quiet and offers a vision of village life, stark contrast to Dhamla. Silk weaving is done in the village.

About the Author

Steppes Travel specialise in holidays to Turkmenistan, China holidays and South Africa safari.

6860 Eagle Ridge Dr. Gilroy, CA