Exotic for europians

17.11.2001

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Which European child doesn’t dream of the mysterious East reading about the adventures which travellers in the past experienced on the Silk Road? Who can refrain from wondering what became of the city and civilization of old Merv, Queen of the Orient, whose dazzling cupolas were seen at a distance of over 100 km according to travellers in the 10-th century. And the Oxus designating the border of the known world in ancient times still has a special thrill when one is standing on the banks of what is now called the river Amudarya.

The echo of the great past is still present in modern Turkmenistan. On its territory traces of magnificent old civilizations, for instance the Margian, the Baktrian and the Parthian are found. Other articles in this volume deal more extensively with the special features of these rich cultures.

The past and the present come together when one is travelling through Turkmenistan. In the gorgeous mountains of Kugitang the modern tourist can marvel at the traces of dinosaurs, while looking he knows that for centuries travellers have been seeing exactly the same landscape, even the people seem untouched by the progress of time. In the endless desert with its up to 200 meter high golden barkhany (sand hills) one still feels the fear of the traveller in past centuries, dreading to lose his way and perish in the waterless sands, if he wasn’t accompanied by a trustworthy local guide. But where the tourist, if he was lucky, in the past awaited a dirty hostel or caravanserai, he nowadays find good to excellent hotels with a very friendly staff on his journey.

Turkmenistan has many attractions. First of all the architectural monuments of the past: the mausoleums and minarets in Kenye-Urgench, the impressive ruins of fortresses and other buildings belonging to cities prospering in various cultural periods and, of course, the famous mausoleum of Soltan Sandzhar with its marvellous double-cupola construction on the territory of former Merv near modern Mary; the remnants of the capital of the Parthian Empire Nissa near Ashgabat. Impressive objects of art, vases, sculptures, etc from these periods can be admired at the Historical Museum in Ashgabat and the Municipal Museum in Mary.

But there are more fine and interesting museums, for instance the Carpet Museum in Ashgabat. Several museums or departments in them are dedicated to the ethnological peculiarities of Turkmenistan. Guides in the museums can tell you all about the Turkmen tribes, their traditional way of living and clothing. In the streets of the cities and villages the tourist meets colourful people, many of them still wearing their traditional garments. Even more exotic are the bazaar where everything from daily utensils to traditional jewellery, silk threads and carpets is traded.

Last but not least, the overwhelming variety of the landscape in Turkmenistan: the desert with its typical vegetation of low bushes and slowly but steadily growing saksaoul-trees; in the west the majestic Caspian Sea; in the east the river Amu Darya bringing water from distant mountains to waterless land; in the north the irrigation systems of former Khorezm and in tile south the steep slopes of the Kopet-dag with rivulets glittering in the sunlight at the bottom of the gorges. There is even a warm lake hidden underneath the mountains near Bakharden. In this impressive environment the stress which modern society lays upon us, is taken away from the tourist. The friendliness and overwhelming hospitality of the local people greatly attribute to this.

However, the modern tourist would never have had the possibility to discover the beauty of Turkmenistan if tourism wasn’t handled in such a progressive way as it actually is. A lot of effort has been put in developing the infrastructure for tourism. On governmental level President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, himself takes a great interest in stimulating this newest branch of the Turkmen economy. Because of the President’s active attitude towards tourism a lot of legal problems have been solved by laws and regulations. On this basis several firms are able to work in the field of tourism. I would like to mention separately the State Committee of Turkmenistan for tourism and Sports, whose results in a very shot period of time, just one a half year, are astonishing. With a keen eye for the needs of the modern tourist a lot of attention is paid to quality on all levels: accommodation according to western standards, including service and the availability of English speaking staff; diversification of itineraries and opening of new touristic sites.

I wish all working in the sector of tourism success and have no doubt that appearance of this magazine highly will contribute to it.

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