Kazakhstan Replacing Cyrillic Alphabet with Latin One

by Neil Woodburn on

One of the biggest challenges of traveling through the former Soviet Union is tying to decipher the Cyrillic alphabet. The unnerving thing is that it shares many letters with the Latin alphabet, yet they are pronounced very differently. Like a “B” having a “V” sound, for example. This makes it very challenging to find Lvov on a map when it is actually spelled “?????.”

Surprisingly, the Cyrillic alphabet is actually quite easy to learn and can be done so on your plane ride over.

But don’t spend too much time on it. Since the fall of communism, a number of countries have transitioned away from the Cyrillic alphabet and have replaced it with the Latin one, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Most recently, Kazakhstan has announced their intention to do so as well. The government anticipates it will take 12-15 years to reeducate the public and basically replace every sign and official document in existence. Man! Imagine growing up with one alphabet and suddenly having to change it mid-life. That must be tough. But than again, Kazakhs have already suffered through this in 1940 when the Soviets forced Cyrillic upon them.

As for us foreigners visiting the country, travel will be just a little bit easier with a more familiar alphabet at our service.

Death of Turkmen Dictator leads to ease of Travel Restrictions

by Neil Woodburn on

With the death of Turkmenistan dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, the country he ruled for 21 years has announced that it will be softening its stance on foreign tourism, easing visa requirements, and developing coastal resorts along the Caspian Sea.

Niyazov was a bit of a nut, but a rather dangerous nut, during his long rule (that’s him above, by the way, gold-plated and part of a fountain). For the most part, only the locals were affected by his craziness (such as having to recite the great leader’s poetry in order to pass the national driving test).

Tourists, however, had to endure his bizarreness with tough visa requirements and, according to an article in the Moscow Times, “a law allowing [Turkmenistan] to deport foreigners for ‘immoral behavior.'” This is hardly the type of law you want hanging over your head at a beach resort.

So, for whatever reason, the new kinder and more benevolent leader of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, now plans to make his country more tourist friendly. Let’s all do him a favor and visit!

Word for the Travel Wise (11/10/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

I assume now that Turkmenistan has a fairytale like theme park, that there will be many a visitor busting down the doors to ride the rides. Visitors shall be greeted by characters of Turkmen folklore and the Ferris wheel will follow designs of Turkmen jewelry. Let’s say it’ll be much like a Disneyland with very foreign twist. Check out the USA Today article for more details and remember to use this word when trying to score a place to rest after your day of play.

Today’s word is a Turkmen word used in Turkmenistan:

myhmanhana – hotel, guest house

Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan with some 3,430,000 speakers within the country and 3,000,000 throughout parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. The language is more closely related to Crimean Tatar and Salar and less closely related to Turkish and Azerbaijani. Wiki has good background info including additional learning links. If you’ve some knowledge of the lingo already visit this tmchat forum to learn by hanging out and chatting with other members. Same rule applies if you’re going to stop by this Dersat Turkmens page which says you can learn and has samples, tests and conversation, but it’s difficult to understand without basic skills in place. Transparent.com has Turkmen language software and LP’s Central Asia phrasebook has only a small section of Turkmen.

Past Turkmen words: näche

Word for the Travel Wise (09/04/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Turkmens.com is the Internet’s number one site on everything Turkmen. If you want to hear Turkmen pop music, Turkmen classical music, see Turkmen horses, Turkmen art work and Turkmen artists you’ve found the right link. This was one of those countries I expected to google online and find nothing about, but this site alone proves I’m wrong. Of some of the more fascinating links I would check out the Turkmen museum which features Dr. Farzad Marjani’s private collection of jewelry. Impressive pieces. I wouldn’t mind owning something like the items seen there. Anyhow…

Today’s word is a Turkmen word used in Turkmenistan:

näche – how much?

Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan with some 3,430,000 speakers within the country and 3,000,000 throughout parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. The language is more closely related to Crimean Tatar and Salar and less closely related to Turkish and Azerbaijani. Wiki has good background info including additional learning links. If you’ve some knowledge of the lingo already visit this tmchat forum to learn by hanging out and chatting with other members. Same rule applies if you’re going to stop by this Dersat Turkmens page which says you can learn and has samples, tests and conversation, but it’s difficult to understand without basic skills in place. Transparent.com has Turkmen language software and LP’s Central Asia phrasebook has only a small section of Turkmen.

SmarterTravel: Best & Worst Travel Destinations for Women

by Adrienne Wilson on

As a woman, traveler, and the type that tends to like parachuting into off-the-beaten track destinations, I long for articles that point out where women should go and where they should exercise extra caution when going. Well, USA Today features a fine piece for the solo women journeying this big bad world on her own with the best and worst places for women to travel. The list, compiled by Jessica Labrencis and RaeJean Stokes of SmarterTravel, doesn’t suggest women should free up and lose all inhibitions in so-called safe places or completely avoid named worst destinations. Instead of rambling on about what the list does suggest let’s take a look at their best and worst and share some of our experiences. (You’ll want to go to their site for all the specifics.)

Best travel destinations for women:

  • Amsterdam
  • Ireland
  • Costa Rica
  • India
  • Vietnam

Worst travel destinations for women:

  • Middle East & Northern Africa
  • The Mediterranean Coast
  • The United States
  • Latin America & the Caribbean
  • States of the former U.S.S.R.

If you ask me the worst place destination list looks to include a heavy number of places. Considering the U.S. has 50 states (some worse than others) and the former U.S.S.R. has some 14 states (including my next destination -Tajikistan) it’s safe to say women have to watch their backs almost everywhere. What’s your take? Ladies?