After visiting Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with Lilia, of G Adventures, we said good bye to her and a few fellow travelers. The Uzbekistan post can be found here.
It’s titled Tashkent to Samarkand: A Journey Through Uzbekistan.

14 of us carried on with Aygul who will take us across the border and through Turkmenistan.

By 9:30 am we were at the border.  This one was even more fun than the Tajikistan Uzbekistan border.  First our passports were checked. Then we walked a few metres and had them stamped.  They were checked again after we put our bags through an X-ray machine.  Finally on the other side, the first of us through handed a Turkmenistan officer the list of Letters of Intent. The officer checked to make sure all our passports matched the names. Next we boarded a bus through “no man’s land” to the Turkmenistan side.  There Aygul (our new guide) gathered our passports.  We’d already given her the money for the visas ($100 USD for Canadians).  While we went for covid tests ($10 USD), she started the process for the visas.  That took her more than an hour. We watched her go from one line to another until she finally joined us and handed back the passports.  We lined up with freshly stamped passports to have them stamped again.  There we had to elbow our way to keep a place in line.  Next the bags were x-rayed again and passports checked.  Through the building once more and another passport check before we finally entered Turkmenistan.  In total, a 3.5 hour process.  There were 2 groups behind us.  At least one of them was going to get stuck there while staff went on lunch break.  It really pays to have a guide who has done it before to help expedite the process.

Since we were so delayed we switched the dinner and lunch plans.  Lunch was at a cafe in Dashoguz.  I use the term “cafe” as that’s what she called it. It was a big, open room and the menu was full meals. Again, lots of nutritious options!
Back on the bus, we drove 100 km to Old Urgench. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. It features 14th-century mausoleums, a minaret, and a portal that are pretty much original.

The next day in Dasaguz, Aygul showed us around the city. We noticed often people honking and wondered what that was about. Apparently they don’t see many tourists so honk in greeting and welcome. Sure enough, when I paid attention, people would be waving and smiling. Folks we passed on the street greeted us with interest, wondering where we were from. We felt a little like celebrities! HAHA!

Next we divided up into 4wd vehicles. Soon we discovered why the bus didn’t go into the desert. Many times we were riding “off road” as the desert paths were better than the road. Trucks take this route from Dasaguz to Ashgabat when it’s 50 degrees celcius. The pavement melts and tires leave grooves. Overnight it cools and those ruts stay. So, in many places the road is a rutted mess.

The 5 hour drive was interesting as well as very bouncy. The desert is beautiful in it’s own way. Camels are herded and transported by “cowboys” on motorcycles.

We arrived at the “Shining of Karakum”. It’s also known as the Darvaza Crater or the Gates of Hell. We were immediately enthralled. There are little fires all over the crater. The heat is intense! The fires have been reduced in the last few years as more gas is mined in the area. A couple years ago it must have been incredible!
Aygul convinced us to carry on and check into the yurt camp as we may have stayed there taking pictures all day.

After dinner the hedgehogs come out. They’re adorable little creatures! There were locusts here too though not as many as in the Uzbekistan desert. The hedge hogs were busy eating them.

Leaving that entertainment we walked back to the crater. It’s easy to spot as the fires light up the night sky. It was a beautiful evening.

The road to Ashgabat was not much better. More bouncing and off road craziness ensued. There were stops at other gas craters and a couple craters filled with water.

As we approached Ashgabat we were completely blown away. The city is amazing! The airport is shaped like a massive bird!

Ashgabat is immaculate. Everything is white and sparkly. There are trees everywhere and the trunks are painted white. Even the traffic lights are shiny. They appear to be made of stainless steel.

Checking into the hotel was interesting. They claim to have wifi and set up all our devices for us but it rarely worked. Social media is seriously restricted in Turkmenistan and it was not much different in Ashgabat.

The next day we toured the city and surrounds and learned a lot about Turkmenistan. In 1948 the city was decimated by an earthquake. Half the population died. The first president of Turkmenistan’s entire family died leaving him an orphan at 8 years old. The entire city has been rebuilt. Regular buildings are made of marble from Iran. Government and special buildings are constructed with Italian marble.

We drove to the ancient settlement of Nisa, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This settlement was once the capital of the Parthian Empire from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century.

The rest of the day was spent visiting many sights including Monument of Independence and the National Museum of History and Ethnography. Next, visit the Arch of Neutrality and the Gulistan market and Ertugrul Gazi Mosque.

With four minarets and a central dome, this mosque honours the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman I.

After enjoying a nice dinner we said goodbye to the group. The next day we spent on our own, kind of at a loss. The city isn’t very walkable. All the buildings look the same and there are no street cafes. We ended up visiting the mall, walking to a park, getting a massage and spending some time in the pool.

Yes, they have a weird obsession with Snickers bars

Our ride to the airport showed up at 5 am. The airport was VERY quiet but the process was intense. Despite our bags being carry on sized according to Turkish airlines guidelines, they insisted we check them. Annoying but not much you can do.

Next stop: Istanbul. The beauty of using Aeroplan points to fly is a practically free stop over so we capitalized on that with a 5 day trip to Istanbul. It’s one of my favourite cities and I’m not a city fan. It’s been 10 years. We’ll see if I still love it.