Turkmenistan is one of the world’s most secretive places
A mysterious place unfolds where a distopic Post-Soviet aftermath meets the eccentricities of a totalitarian former president. Blend all of this with Silk Road history, traditional nomadic culture, and the glistening white marble capital of Ashgabat, and you have the least known and visited of all the Central Asian countries.
Turkmenistan is one of the world's most secretive countries, and has a widely denounced human rights record. The country doesn't allow many people in, and its dictator is a fan of self veneration through photo ops on stage, giant painted portraits and large gold statues of himself, the only art allowed.
Its illegal to take photos so we are very grateful to those who took photos of this marble city. Although a very wealthy country with gas and oil resources the people are very impoverished due to the regime evening out the playing field of the masses and preserving wealth and opportunity to the few.
Travel across Turkmenistan with a tour guide only and you’ll encounter a lot of sand. Desert and sand are the prominent geographical feature as the majority of the country is home to the vast Karakum Desert. One of the biggest draws for travellers in Turkmenistan, the Darvaza gas crater, burns continually in the middle of the desert. Also known as the “Gate of Hell,” the gas crater really does lend the feeling of staring into hell, particularly at night when its red flames flare up against the blackness of the desert night.
The dictator decrees laws which must be adhered to or there will be brutal punishment and told not to have a victim mentality if they object to it or any form of modern day slavery, brow beaten into submission. Do the people have a choice, of course not! Some of these laws were rationalized under the premise of trying to preserve traditional Turkmen culture and serving the community for the common good. For example: No Opera, gold teeth or spandex, playing of video games, listening to car radios, long hair on men or growing facial hair and smoking. Alcoholic drinks are further set to be banned on Saturdays and Sundays in all places except bars and restaurants. Dogs are also not allowed because he did not like the way they smell.Municipal authorities have intensified a cruel campaign to cull stray dogs and cats -- and carelessly getting rid of family pets in the process. It has encouraged veneration of only the current dictators favourite dog Alabay breed as a symbol of national heritage with a gold statue.
Other laws were merely based on the whim of a president with full power, iron fist and control. For example, enacting a law changing the names of the days of the week to match the names of the members of his family. Black cars are forbidden over white cars to bring good luck. To maintain power, control and to undermine anything contrary all social media platform, foreign media outlet, or websites or vpns are banned completely, sound familiar? Self expression is seen as manipulation and called out as such.
Hurting the people who receive this type of correction as disciplining for their own good.
The people are very timid and afraid to live as not to become a target of the state. Human trafficking is empowered and controlled by the government for financial gain.
The city is very imaculately clean with nobody around almost like a ghost town.
The Rukhnama, translated in English as Book of the Soul, is a two volume work written by former president was intended to serve as a tool of state propaganda, emphasizing the basis of the Turkmen nation taught in schools and questioned during job interviews to make sure indoctrination rules supreme and so people don't question and come to an understanding of these imposed rules.
What are your thoughts about freedom and democracy. When do rules serve the people as opposed to oppress. Why is it important to stand up for liberty and prosperity? Should human rights be something we uphold when it can so easily be taken away by these laws. Why should the need for their natural resources be the reason we uphold these types of governments in power. Should dictators be accountable to the world if there are serious crimes against humanity or should we just sit back as passive partakers and watch in shock horror. Let us know your thoughts, you are allowed to have them.
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