"Turkmen Caspian seashore is a unique, ecological native zone well-known by its favorable soft climate and the richest potential that opens wide perspectives to convert it to the true resort pearl of the country."
Gurbanguly BERDYMUHAMEDOV
On the coast of grey Khazar
Gherkan...Khazar...the Caspian Sea. At different time and during different historical periods this sea was called in different way. It was not accidental that the people address it as they address a wise man "Grey Khazar!"
The Caspian Sea is a part of a huge ancient sea occupying larger territory than it does now. It was formed about 10 million years ago when the isolated Sarmat Sea which lost its ties with the world ocean about 70 million years ago, became separated into two parts that later formed the Caspian and the Black Sea.
In the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. large settlements were established in the western Turkmenistan where a system of big canals flowing from the Atrek was constructed. During the ancient times those regions of Turkmenistan were a part of a large state called Ghirkania and as a result the sea was also called Girkhanian for a long time. 'Father of history' Herodotus wrote that the Girkhanian seamen participated in the fights against the Greeks in the late 480s B.C. on the side of Achaemenid king Xerxes . According to one of the versions, the kings of a famous dynasty of Arshakids were from Atrek. While describing the trans-Caspian regions of Turkmenistan on the threshold of a new era an ancient Greek geographer Strabon wrote about "the massaghets of the swamps" who were involved in fishing and sailed by small high-speed ships.
The ancient waters of "the grey sea" were witnesses of the glory of the legendary Amazons and Khazar khans, proud Nomads and free trans-Caspian tribes.
The sea was given its present name in honour of the ancient Caspian tribes (horse-breeders) living on the north- western coast in the 1st century B.C.
In the west the waters of the grey Caspian Sea wash the territory of Turkmenistan and stretch for 600 kilometres. The geographical study of the trans-Caspian region started from the coast of the Caspian Sea. The basis of the economic and cultural relations of Turkmenistan with the neighbouring countries was formed there.
The Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea can be rightfully called one of the unique natural regions of the country.
The total area of the Caspian Sea is 372,000 square kilometres, moreover, the territory of the basin is ten times more than the water surface 3.6 million square kilometres. The sea sprawls 1,300 kilometres from the north to the south and its narrowest place is 200 kilometres while the widest one is 800 kilometres. Its average depth is 180 metres while the maximum one is 980 metres. The Caspian Sea lies 28.5 metres below sea level. The Caspian Sea is bordered by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia. Such important rivers as the Volga, Ural, Kura and Terek empty into the Caspian Sea.
The coast of the Caspian Sea is inhabited by the representatives of a rich animal and vegetable kingdom many of which are so rare that it is very difficult to see them in heir natural habitat. We can see this striking beauty in the Khazar State Reserve established in 1932. There is another marine reserve, a large Ogurchinskiy Island. Many birds such as divers, flamingos, sandpipers, cranes, owls and bustards dwell there. Dozens of thousands of waterfowls among which are numerous bald-coots or kashkaldaks, ducks, pink flamingos and swans of various species, come there for hibernation. The most beautiful picture is flocks of flamingos forming a kind of light pink "islands" hundreds kilometres long. We can also see some birds of prey, large ernes and others.
Certainly, an animal kingdom represented by the Caspian seals should be also mentioned. Among the land animals we can see big-eared hedgehogs, hares-talays, cane and sand-dune cats, foxes, gazelles and others.
The main wealth of the sea is fish. Such fish as herring, pike perch, vobla, grey mullet, sprat and sturgeon are caught there. Such valuable fish as white sturgeon can be caught only in the Caspian Sea.
The Caspian Sea and its neighbouring regions are rich in natural resources being of great importance for the national economy.
The basin of the Caspian Sea is famous for its rich oil, gas and other chemical raw materials.
Not only rich mineral resources but an extreme ecological purity of the sea water and remarkable conditions for rest as well made the Turkmen region of the Caspian Sea famous all over the world.
Since the ancient time the Caspian Sea surrounded by the sand dunes of the great Karakum Desert and heated by the hot Turkmen sun was peculiar for the unique combination of its microelements, purity of its water and environment. It is the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea that is, according to the foreign observers, the most favourable from the ecological point of view. It can be explained by the careful attitude of the Turkmen people to the nature of their native country peculiar for them since the time immemorial and their steady realisation of the measures for nature protection to prevent sea pollution.
In his Sacred Ruhnama Saparmurat Turkmenbashi says: "I can explain the permanency of the history of the Turkmen people and historical beauty of their life by the fact that our people always formed their life not in contrast and contrary to the nature but in harmony with it. Turkmen people always lived close to nature; their spiritual and material culture is in natural colours. All Turkmen eposes and legends describe very kind and tender relations between people and nature, they are similar to the relations between a farther and his son. Maybe due to this Turkmen people call their Motherland Ata Vatan."
The natural resources of the Caspian Sea create peculiar conditions for development of the tourist infrastructure of that region.
Formation of the powerful tourist and recreative industry in Turkmenistan is one of the priority directions of the social and economic policy of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Special attention is paid to the construction of modern tourist and resort centres at the Caspian seaside.
Opening ceremony of putting into operation the first in Turkmenistan Avaza National tourist zone held in Turkmenbashi in July 2007 was a great event. The initiative of that grandiose project belongs to the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Turkmenistan is planning to invest about one billion US dollars in the development of the Avaza tourist zone. National tourist zone is the most favourable sector for the foreign businessmen to invest their money in construction of different social and economic objects at the Caspian seaside and in the service sphere; the visa system is simplified for them and a number of tax, custom and other privileges are envisaged.
There are all necessary conditions for this. First of all, it is a coastline in Avaza 16 kilometres long whose improvement is to be realised during three stages. A plan of work at the first stage in the 750 hectares territory has already been worked out. Five comfortable health resorts and hotels designed for 1088 people are being built there by the order of some ministries and departments.
It is planned to build at the first stage about 60 comfortable hotels of different categories to form a modern resort and tourist infrastructure at the Caspian seaside,
A seaport Avaza will become a single huge construction site. Modern first-class hotels, comfortable sanatoria, cottages and villas, medical, recreate health centres, children's resorts, sport, trade, cultural and business centres meeting the international requirements are to be built there. Sea water desalination complexes, electric power stations, communication and consumer services objects will be also constructed there.
A number of foreign companies expressed their wish to take part in the realisation of the project of forming national tourist zone, the first in Turkmenistan.
Guaranteeing the observance of the norms of international and national legislation, Turkmenistan lays down the only condition: all the requirements of the norms of the ecological security and nature protection should be fulfilled in the process of designing, planning, constructing and using the objects located in the territory of the tourist zone.
While putting into operation new tourist and resort objects in the region, a great attention is paid in to the development of the social sphere, transport communications, internet and others.
Thus, suggesting the foreign businessmen to use a great tourist potential of the Caspian region on the mutually advantageous conditions, Turkmenistan forms a long-tem basis for further development of the fruitful partnership and realisation of the joint projects in other spheres too.
As the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed, besides climatic peculiarities, the choice of the city of Turkmenbashi and its outskirts was conditioned by rich deposits and variety of the natural resources of the Caspian region in whose territory colossal hydrocarbon resources, mineral raw materials for the chemical and construction industry, a major factor promoting attachment of foreign investments, are concentrated.
A beneficial geographic position of the Caspian region located at the crossroads of the marine, air, rail and motorways from the time immemorial connecting Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the main transport communications promote a dynamic development of the trade and economic relations of Turkmenistan with other countries.
"The sea gates of Asia", Turkmenbashi seaport, is a large transit centre of the transport routes passing through the territory of Turkmenistan and a place of location of the national marine fleet. Such dry cargo ships as Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan, Magtymguly and a ship of the ocean type Balkan perform regular voyages to Astrakhan, Aktau, Mahachkhala, Enzeli and other ports of the Caspian states. The Turkmen port is one of the best in the Caspian region in its technical equipment.
A new international airport which will be connected with many foreign cities is also to be put into operation.
The highway Turkmenbashi Ashgabat Farab of 1,5 thousand length will become the important chain of the international transport communication system. The railway Eraliyevo Turkmenbashi Bereket Gorgan, will provide the European and Asian countries with the shortest way to the Persian Gulf.
All these kinds of transport communications airy, marine, motor and railways will promote the intensive developing to the international tourism in the national tourist zone "Avaza".
The resort of the Caspian Sea Turkmenbashi is becoming known from year to year and attracting local and foreign tourists. The city is decorated today with marble architectural buildings, memorials, green parks, fountains and the quay. One of the main sights is its cultural center Ruhiyet. Modern hotel complexes "Serdar" and "Turkmenbashi" are presented to services of the visitors. In the near future the city is expecting radical reconstruction. The quay and other parts of the city will be adorned with elite living high buildings, new schools and kindergartens, sport, business and shop centers, many fountains, parks and squares. The perspective projects will be realized: the canal that will tie Turkmenbashi with Avaza. It will help to decide tourist and functional problems and be used as navigation canal.
Realization of the project of the creation the Avaza national tourist zone developed by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov will become a new symbol of fruitful economic partnership, an embodiment of peaceful, neighborliness and constructive policy conducting by independent neutral Turkmenistan.
|
© 2001-2003 Государственный комитет Туркменистана по туризму и спорту 