It turned out to be a very busy day as we toured the local area. Our first stop was to an ancient site located not far (18km) from the city- the ruins of Nisa, the former capital of the Parthian Kingdom. The site dates back to the 3rd century BCE. It was abandoned in the 1st century BCE when hit with an earthquake.
Live birds in the breakfast room at the Diwan hotel.
Lavish breakfast buffet with lots of fresh fruit.
Fish in the hotel lobby.
View of the hotel pool and lavish gardens.
The long marble hallway leading from our hotel wing to the main lobby.
9 AM and I count 3 people in this residential neighborhood.
All the round-a-bouts had elaborate sculptures or fountains.
Sculpture near Turkmen State University.
Turkmenistan money. Ofiical rate: $1 US is 3.5 TMT. Street rate: $1 US is 18 TMT.
White cars everywhere. Even a truck.
It is almost 9 AM. Where are the people?
More examples of the white marble buildings in Ashgabat.
Today’s weather prediction.
Path leading the the site of the ancient site of Nisa, that dates back to 3rd century BCE.
The ruins of Nisa.
Thick walls in the fortress.
Elias, our local guide explains what we are seeing here.
Views of the nearby Kopet-Dag mountains in the distance.
Elias stopped at a local bakery and bought several loaves of still warm local bread. It was delicious!
From there on our return to the city we stopped to visit the large mosque and mausoleum of Saparmurat Niyazov, the first president of the independent Turkmenistan, who ruled from 1985-2006. He also gave himself the name of “Turkmenbashi (Head of Turkmen)”. The mosque, built in 2002-2004, is known as Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque and it is one of the largest in Central Asia. It can hold 10,000 worshipers. Niyazov was a bit notorious as he wrote a two volume book called the “Ruhnama”, claiming it as the second most important book after the Quran. He mandated it to be taught in all the schools. Adjacent to the mosque is a mausoleum where he is buried.
The Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque outside of Ashgabat.
Fountains in front of the mosque complex.
The minarets are 91 meters tall to reflect the year (1991) Turkmenistan became independent.
Fellow travelers taking photos of the gold decor in the mosque.
The entrance to the mosque.
Area to store your removed shoes.
The lower level of the mosque where the washrooms and cleansing areas are located. Note everything is made of marble.
Inside the mosque.
The pulpit on the right is where the imman sits.
A huge hand made carpet covers the floor in the center of the mosque.
This gives you a better prospective of the size of the carpet and the mosque itself.
The dome of the mosque.
The mausoleum of Saparmurat Niyazov, the first president of modern day Turkmenistan. He was also known as Turkmenbashi.
Looking at the Turkmenbashi mausoleum from the stairs of the mosque.
The dome in the mausoleum.
Sculpture in the mausoleum.
Looking down at the grave markers of Turkmenbashi and his family.
Our next stop was back in Ashgabat where we visited the National Museum of Turkmenistan, a huge complex dedicated to telling the detailed history of the area and its people. It is an impressive display. We were led by a local guide for an all too short visit to the museum. I was amazed at all the historical artifacts on display there and would have enjoyed spending a lot more time studying the history of the area. One fascinating thing that occurred during our visit was a chance to meet the US ambassador to Turkmenistan, Elizabeth Rood, who happened to be at the museum while we were there. She stopped by to have a brief chat with our group.
Ashgabat National Museum of History.
The plaza in front of the museum.
Golden doors leading into the museum.
A very impressive lobby at the museum.
Each period of the history of the area had detailed descriptions of that era.
Followed by dioramas and displays of artifacts from that time period. It was an impressive display.
Artifacts from that era.
Bronze Age implements.
The era of Alexander the Great and the Silk Road
Description of the era when Nisa was active.
More description of what Nisa looked like.
What Nisa was thought to look like when it existed.
These are called rhytons, drinking vessels carved from elephant tusks.
These are quite a work of art.
The introduction of Buddhism in the area.
Diorama of a Buddhist stupa.
Remember the bal bal we saw earlier in the trip? Here is more information about them.
A huge rug hanging on a wall. You cannot appreciate the size from this picture alone.
A description of the rug.
Gold sculptures on display.
The US Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Elizabeth Rood., who stopped to talk to us.
From there we stopped to visit the Russian Bazaar for a brief visit. During the era of Russian rule it was used exclusively by Russian elite. Now it is open to all. It was not as extensive or busy as other bazaars we had visited.
Entrance to the Russian bazaar. It looked more like the entrance of a museum.
A modern facility but not as many stalls as we have seen in other markets.
Vendor offering free samples of caviar to us.
Discussing a famous melon grown in the area.
Spices.
They love candy. This store was loaded with all sorts.
Chocolate covered melon candy unique to this area. I was not impressed.
Lunch was followed by another trip outside the city to visit a horse breeding farm devoted to the famous Akhal-Teke horses, arguably the oldest cultured breed of horses in the world. Supposedly they lent their genes to the development of both the Arabian and American quarter horse breeds.
Our luncheon resturant.
Our group table.
Chicken as an entree.
Fresh fruit for dessert.
Fancy sinks in the restaurant washroom.
Stories and pictures about this breed of horse.
Impressive history for the breed.
A gift for Queen Elizabeth.
The owners brought out different horses for us to see.
A mother and child.
As we left the facility so did these goats, heading out for an evening snack.
A lone young camel housed near the horse farm.
As we drove to and from the sites we visited we continued to see the elaborate stunning white marble buildings in the city and noted the absence of people! I joked that the city was really a Hollywood movie set and not a real city.
Another statue at a round-a-boute.
Video display.
Dinner brought yet another surprise as we were entertained by local dancers who performed a ritual wedding ceremony where we were encouraged to participate by dressing in local clothing and joining in the dancing. It was a lot of fun.
Men dancing.
Followed by women dancing.
Elias explaining the “wedding” ceremony we will be recreating.
The blushing bride to be.
More dancing.
My face says I am not sure why I agreed to do this.
I got the moves!
Group picture with dancers after the “wedding”.
Locals singing a Bollywood song with Suki.
Old time pictures on the wall.
What a local bride would wear as a wedding dress.
The long day ended by driving through the city after dark to see the many lighted buildings before returning to our hotel.
24 carat gold statue of former president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, nicely illuminated.
City skyline at night.
Most of major buildings were illuminated.
Ultra modern Yyldyz Hotel at night.
Backside of the hotel.
The video display changes colors.
Steps for the day: 10,588. Must have been that high because of he dancing at the wedding!
