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Destination : TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan is situated in Central Asia. Its area is 488,100 sq. km, or around 188,456 sq. miles; population is 4,437,600 (1995), density of population is 8.7 persons per sq. km. The capital of the country is Ashgabat (population 530,575). In the north Turkmenistan borders upon Kazakstan, in the east on Uzbekistan, in the south-east on Afghanistan, and in the south on Iran. In the west a natural border is the Caspian Sea. The desert Kara-Kum (Black Sands) occupies most of the country. Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1925. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects can be worked out.
Turkmenistan shares borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. To the west is the Caspian Sea. Nearly 80 per cent of the country is taken up by the Kara-Kum (Black Sand) desert, the largest in the CIS. Turkmenistan's tourist trade is relatively undeveloped. Almost all the attractions lie around the fringes of the desert and in oases. The capital, Ashgabat, on the southern rim of the Kara-Kum desert, is a modern city. It replaced the one founded in 1881, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1948. The Sunday market in Ashgabat is the best place anywhere to buy Turkmen carpets. Mary, due east of Ashgabat, is Turkmenistan's second city. It lies near the remains of the city of Merv, which was once the second city of Islam until Ghengis Khan's son Toloi, reduced it to rubble killing many inhabitants in 1221. Plov - pronounced 'plof' - is the staple food for everyday and celebrations and consists of chunks of mutton, shredded yellow turnip and rice fried in a large wok. Ashgabat has an opera and ballet theatre, which shows both Russian and European works and a drama theatre.
Turkmen account for 77 per cent of the country's population, Kazaks, 9,2 per cent; Russians, 7 per cent; and Uzbeks, 6,7 per cent. The Turkmen language belongs to the Turkic group and is the State language in Turkmenistan; the second important language is Russian. Since 1996 the Turkmen have used the Latin alphabet. During the transitional period the Cyrillic alphabet is being used as well. The basic religions are the Sunni branch of Islam and Orthodox Christianity. According to its Constitution, Turkmenistan is a democratic and secular State, based on Law, which has a paramount power in its territory and carries on internal and foreign policies. On December 12th, 1995, the 50-th General Assembly of the United Nations acknowledged the status of Turkmenistan as a neutral State. The economic potential of Turkmenistan is very high, and is based on its political and social stability, and huge reserves of such natural resources as oil, gas, cotton, sulphur, potassium and rock salt.
Turkmenistan, a largely desert country bordering the Caspian Sea in Central Asia, possesses the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas and substantial oil resources. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan suffered a significant drop in its gross domestic product (GDP), although less than other former Soviet states because its economy received a boost from higher oil and gas prices and a sharp increase in hard currency earnings. Still, Turkmenistan's economy, which is concentrated mainly in oil, natural gas, and cotton, declined steadily from independence in 1991 until 1998, including a huge 25.9% decline in 1997 when Russian gas giant Gazprom denied Turkmenistan access to its pipeline network over a payment dispute. At the time, Russia's pipeline network was Turkmenistan's only gas export option.
Since 1998, Turkmenistan's economy has been staging a partial recovery. In 1999 and 2000, buoyed by increased gas exports and higher world oil and gas prices, Turkmenistan's economy grew sharply, by 12% and 17%, respectively. Resolution of the payment dispute with Gazprom led to the resumption of natural gas exports from Turkmenistan to other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries in 1998, and continued high world oil and gas prices have contributed to a surge in the country's GDP in the past three years.
Ashgabat is the capital of sovereign Turkmenistan. The city was founded in 1881 as a military fortification to replace the village of Ashgabat. For the past century, this small village has grown into a prosperous city with a population of circa 604.000. Located in a seismic area, Ashgabat suffered a destructive earthquake in 1948. The city was restored at a rapid rate, and a new beautiful and comfortable Ashgabat with wide green streets, nice buildings, park and fountains rose from the ruins. Special anti - seismic structures of reinforced concrete were used for the reconstruction.
Ashgabat is a major industrial centre of Turkmenistan today, featuring more than 50 factories, including an oil equipment plant, glass works, spinning mills, silk factories, etc. Carpets - making in Ashgabat has gained international renown. The Turkmen Academy of Science was established in 1951 and has been operating in many crucial areas of research through 18 of its institutes, including the Institute of Desert, the Sun research and production amalgamation and the Institute for Seismology. Ashgabat also has nine colleges, dozens of secondary special and vocational schools. The capital city of Turkmenistan boasts four theatres (an opera and ballet theatre, the Drama Theatre, the Theatre of Russian Drama and a children's theatre), a philharmonic society, cinema halls and museums.
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