I took these photos in September last year in ancient Merv, located near modern town of Mary in eastern Turkmenistan. If you would like to read about Merv click here or here.

On March 24-25 president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov paid a long-awaited visit to Turkey. Western politicians and analysts had great hopes for the visit, expecting important declarations on the Trans-Caspian pipeline. The expectations were further fuelled by the statement Berdymukhammedov made right before his departure to Ankara: president reminded that Ashgabat’s objective is to diversify its […]

I found this short movie at Youtube by accident. Although I was initially a bit discouraged by quotations from the Rukhnama that appear in the very beginning of the video, I decided to watch it to the end. And I do not regret it! I must confess that despite its obvious propagandist purpose, the […]

I often visit an opposition website Turkmenistan Chronicles which I consider an interesting and rather credible source of information on Turkmenistan. I usually agree with its authors in their criticism of the Ashgabat regime. I must admit, though, that sometimes they exaggerate by blaming the authorities for all the problems.
To support my point I’ll […]

Below is the translated Abdulgamid’s post from the Russian part of our blog.

Ashgabat-Mary-Turkmenabat highway is one of the longest and busiest traffic arteries in Turkmenistan. Tens of thousands cars drive daily on this highway connecting three largest Turkmen cities. Unfortunately not all of the get to the point of their destination. Every 2 or […]

Below is the translation of Abdulgamid’s post from the Russian part of our blog.

While Aldo Carbonaro, the Vice President of Bouygues SA (France) hears the serious claims from (and gets spanked by) Turkmenistan’s president, his son Laurent Carbonaro – racer –successfully made the construction of the Avaza national resort famous in the international sportdom.
To […]

The last session of the Turkmen government was focused on economic issues, particularly the development of private enterprise. This is something new for Turkmenistan and may be giving some cause for optimism. So far, the authorities have barely dealt with this issue, instead concentrating on the state entrepreneurship.
During the meeting, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov […]

Somewhere in the steppes surrounding the Caspian Sea …

Main contenders of the Great Game together with current and potential purchasers of the Turkmen gas were yearning for this to happen. Finally there came a day when all became clear. On March 15, during the government session, president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov announced the company who is to audit the Turkmen gas reserves. For a […]

On March 11 British The Independent daily published an article on how the Afghan police failed to arrest general Abdul Rashid Dostum, one of the famed Afghan warlords, who is currently Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Afghan National Army.
A police attempt to arrest the warlord at his home in Kabul’s […]