independence monument ashgabat turkmenistan

Ashgabat – the Surreal Capital of Turkmenistan – in Winter

Walking around the capital of Ashgabat, with its security points and surreal architecture, I understand why Turkmenistan is often called “The North Korea of Central Asia”.

Having visited North Korea, I will confirm many similarities.

ashgabat - capital of turkmenistan
Wide boulevards and white marble buildings and statues – galore in Ashgabat.

Comparing Turkmenistan with North Korea


First, in the capital of Ashgabat, in the city center, police and soldiers guard street corners (often telling me to put my camera away, which is also typical of the DPRK).

Second, there are the colossal statues of historic Turkmen heroes, but also of the leader.

turkmen statues in ashgabat
Which President is this (CENTER PIC); dunno; maybe the current one?

Saparmurat Niyazov, also known as Turkmenbashi, was the first leader of independent Turkmenistan (after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991).

He rebuilt Ashgabat.


Ashgabat got a facelift of glossy white marble


HOWEVER, with profits from Turkmenistan’s gas reserves, sudden modernization destroyed historic sites, ancient trees and traditional canals, replaced by empty highways, kitsch monuments, government blocks and palaces of dazzling white marble.

turkmen statue
Such statues are everywhere in the government center of the new ‘white zones’ of Ashgabat.

Following his death in 2006, his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, continued to rebuild Ashgabat, superseding his predecessor with evermore opulence.

So all gloss and no substance, for the common people of Ashgabat.

city scenes of the white modern city of ashgabat in winter
They have built loads of monuments to celebrate ‘Turkmenistan’s governance. Monuments to neutrality, to the constitution, to the renaissance of Turkmenistan, to independence, as well as a monument to former President Saparmurat Niyazov’s magnum opus, Ruhnama.’ = (Book @ BOTTOM-LEFT)

The politics of traveling police states


Like Pyongyang in North Korea, the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat is a surreal showpiece for the outsider.

Someone, like me, who understands little except to see the white marble surrounded by snow and overcast skies and then walk these empty streets is simply WEIRD.

And maybe, that’s the reason to travel to such places – to see something different.

But it’s a balancing act to travel politically aware / concerned or travel unconcerned – as it may seem to armchair critics who abhor people visiting states with dubious regimes.

It is an issue.

But I’ll leave it at this: Not everyone and everything is totally sh*t in these countries.


Monuments of Ashgabat


Glorious, often bizarre monuments vie for my attention.

Opulent, modern-Islamic architecture of shiny white marble, domes and gold motifs gleam across Ashgabat.

Guards at Independence monument in their sentry boxes and women cleans the marble around them ashgabat turkmenistan
Guards at Independence monument stand rigid in their sentry boxes while a woman cleans the surrounding marble.

In 2013, they included the city in the *Guinness Book of Records as possessing the world’s highest concentration of white marble buildings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashgabat

*I really don’t know why Guinness has so many inane records for everything on the planet, including the pointless.


Poverty in Turkmenistan


Another similarity to the DPRK is the stark economic contrast between the showcase capitals and the countryside.

Turkmenistan, beyond the new white city, is mostly rural or empty desert, and remains in stark poverty.


How to travel overland to Ashgabat


I entered from Uzbekistan at the quiet border near Konye-Urgench (not recommended in Winter), and then traveled south to Ashgabat.

My departure from Ashgabat was via Merv (check the ancient ruins there) and I entered Iran, near Mashhad in the north-east.

Another tranquil public space in the downtown.

I could only get a 5-day-transit visa for Turkmenistan.

WHY?

Simply, a tourist visa required too much paperwork and you’re assigned a guide 24/7 @ $100+ per day for your entire stay. (This is something that I couldn’t afford or even stand the idea of).

So, just like North Korea, to travel Turkmenistan properly, you must be a donkey and follow the handler.

Then, there are the reported stories of state repression in Turkmenistan.

If you want to know about the reality for some living in Ashgabat and Turkmenistan read this from The Guardian (2017).

As a comparison, Turkmenistan for this traveler was MUCH ‘freer’ than North Korea.

I didn’t have a minder and could wander without issues.

Also, I could choose where I stayed and where I ate and who I talked with.


What’s the most authoritarian state?


OK, Turkmenistan, you receive 8 – hard-earned – points.

However, unending global congratulations go to North Korea.

Yet again, another ‘perfect’ score of 10.

Turkmen wedding party at Independence Monument area
It wasn’t all glossy architecture in Ashgabat: Here’s a Turkmen wedding party at the Independence Monument of people obviously doing OK in Turkmen society.

 Travels in Turkmenistan – 2011

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