Turkmenistan Off The Beaten Path

Kekirdek, nomad village in the Karakum desert

by sachara

About 90% of Turkmenistan is desert, so you haven't seen the country, if you don't visit the desert. We visited the village Kekirdek, located in the heart of Karakum desert at 120 km from Ashgabat. Kekirdek is a village of settled nomads. We could spend the night here staying with a local family. Our trip was arranged by DN Tours. This company write at their website that they choose for responsible tourism. Tourists are introduced to areas where they welcomed in local way and where the local people are happy with this and aware of the possible impacts of tourism. They also regularly support community development projects (e.g. schools) either directly or indirectly. The family where we stayed was very friendly and hospitable. The village was surrounded by sanddunes. From the compound we could walk directly into the dunes. It was a great experience to see the tough and harsh local life in...

Turkmenbashi's Japanese Soldier's grave site

by gaolei

Turkmenbashi is on the Caspean Sea across from Baku. It is also at the end of a long hot desert. The airport is actually on the edge of the desert. The road into the city goes through a cut in the surrounding hills that was originally dug by the Japanese soldiers during WW2. They were there looking for oil. There is a cemetary along the road that contains the remains of some of those soldiers.

'GOING TO IRAN'...

by drolkar