Central Asia Refresher

by Adrienne Wilson on

Every once in a while it’s nice to remind ourselves about places that may not be on the top of our travel lists, but we forget exist or never knew existed. As I’ve been sharing some upcoming travel plans with people it’s suddenly starting to strike a nerve how much of the population is unaware of other smaller countries or entire regions to boot! On a recent trip into a book store for some quick guide book hunting my conversation with the clerk went something like this:

“Excuse me, do you happen to have any travel guides on Central Asia or Tajikistan,” I said.

The clerk scratches his head and replies, “Hmm… Why no, no one goes there.”

“But you’re missing a HUGE chunk of the world and I’m going,” I responded.

An older gent with his head tucked in an Eyewitness Travel Guide for France looks up in curiosity.

“Then you’re probably the only one going then,” he concluded.

“Thanks, I’ll look online,” I said.

After this conversation at the bookstore I have found myself being questioned as to why I’d want to go any placed that ended in -stan or where the heck Tajikistan is, but the better question will always be, why not?! Anyhow, I didn’t start all this to moan and groan. Instead I just wanted to provide a quick Central Asia refresher. Wikipedia is one of the best places to start for the basics which I’ll just throw out right here/right now. Central Asia is comprised of the following: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, western China, northeast Iran, Afghanistan, western Pakistan, and central-east Russia south of the Taiga.

The borders of Central Asia have been defined a number of ways, but in one of the broader cases this is probably your best bet. There – I feel much better now. If you’ve got some Central Asia travel experiences to share please feel to tell all. For those who hadn’t a clue before, I hope this provides a small amount of insight.

Red Corner: Harsh, but Intriguing Turkmenistan

by Neil Woodburn on

All this talk of Central Asia has gotten me all excited about revisiting this strange corner of the planet. I spent a few months in the area but only a couple of hours passing through the least visited country of this rarely visited region: Turkmenistan. The main highway through Central Asia initially disregarded frontiers since all of the Central Asian republics were within the Soviet Union. So, my only glance of Turkmenistan was through the dusty windows of a bus as we detoured briefly (and illegally for me, without having a visa) into the country before heading back into Uzbekistan.

With the hope of going back to experience more of this country, I found a recent and fascinating article in the Independent (London) that paints a bleak, but realistic account of the challenges and rewards facing travelers who venture into this part of the world. Journalist Lucy Ash experienced the horror of visiting a local dentist, marveled at the surreal capital of Ashgabat (which she describes as “a cross between Stalinism and Las Vegas”), and relished in the joy of wandering through Merv, a 2,500 year old town that was once a major stopping point on the ancient Silk Road.

For me, the most attractive draw of Turkmenistan would be the opportunity to visit one of the few remaining countries where a Cult of Personality is still actively practiced. President Saparmurat Niyazov, the self-appointed “Turkmenbashi” has littered the country with countless portraits and statues of himself (see photo above). He has renamed towns after his mother and requires those taking driving tests to recite his poetry. Check out this hilarious BBC account of just how crazy this guy is.