When travelling to Turkmenistan, one naturally expects to see the desert, however in reality it looks very much different from what we imagine it to look like. The first thing that strikes us is the space, the overwhelming vastness. Hundreds of kilometres of emptiness with virtually nothing around. Only a lonely camel occasionally appears on the horizon, roaming around – who knows what for. But there is not much sand or dunes on the Kara Kum desert. Although it rains very seldom and the sun beats down mercilessly even in mid-September, thorny camelthorn covers the vast stretches of the desert, so it is always green despite the unbearable heat.

The most unwelcoming land covers the territory of the Yomuds (one of the Turkmen tribes) in western Turkmenistan and the central part of the country. Drilled wells separated by dozens of kilometres are the only source of water, which used to keep alive the flocks of sheep, goats and camels bread by the nomads. There are also occasional salty lakes with rust-coloured water containing the entire Mendeleev’s table.

While travelling across Turkmenistan, one wonders how the Turkmen managed to survive in such a barren land before the Karakum Canal – currently the main source of water for the whole country – was built. The nomads were able to get by even in such extreme conditions. The Turkmen yashuli, or the commonly respected elders, say that people used to drink horse blood in order not to die of thirst. The Turkmen horsemen traversing the desert carried a special kind of straws with them. If they ran out of water, they used the straw to prick the horse’s skin and drink its blood. Horses were fed with mutton fat which quenched their thirst.

The southern wind, also called the Afghan wind, was another danger in the desert apart from the lack of water and the heat. Its blows stir up the desert dust and carry away clouds of sand, so that a complete darkness falls within a few minutes. But the desert brought not only death. It also provided an excellent natural refuge for the Turkmen tribes and ensured their independence. The Persians, Bukharis and Khorezmians avoided venturing deep into the desert, as they did not know where to find water. And so the Turkmen could raid their land and escape unpunished.

The desert is, therefore, a blessing for Turkmenistan. The Turkmen would not have survived without the desert, they would most certainly be conquered and assimilated by neighbouring nations which at that time represented a higher level of civilization.