After almost eleven years of Senior Nomad travels, it was finally time to visit the secretive central Asian country of Turkmenistan. It had been on our countries-to-visit list since Michael enthusiastically suggested we visit all 15 former Soviet Republics. “Why not?” I effused, not knowing exactly what that meant.
Still, for multiple reasons, this final country and our last “Stan” remained elusive. The most recent roadblock was COVID-19. However, according to the Turkmen government, they never had COVID-19; instead, they had a peculiar strain of pneumonia in 2020 and were proud the virus had never entered their country. We were obliged to take a mandatory COVID test at the airport to keep it that way. And pay a fee - no doubt, the real reason for the test.
It takes work to get into Turkmenistan. To get a visa, you need “visa support,” which means booking far ahead through one of a handful of government-sanctioned tour operators. Accommodation, transportation, and an itinerary listing every place you’ll go and everything you’ll do are required because independent travel is not allowed in Turkmenistan. The entire time you’re there, you’re under the supervision of a licensed guide or driver, or both. And even applications meeting the full criteria can be arbitrarily denied.
That’s because Turkmenistan doesn’t care about tourism. What it cares about is having the rest of the world “mind its own business” so that it can get on with being one of the most autocratic, repressive governments on the planet. Consequently, it is one of the least visited countries in the world. In 2023, they had less than 20,000 visitors, while France, the most visited country in the world, had nearly 70 million!
Here is how the U.S. State Department describes the Country: Although the constitution declares Turkmenistan to be a secular democracy and a presidential republic, the country has an authoritarian government controlled by the current president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and his Democratic Party, the country’s only political party. Immediately after the death of President Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006, Berdimuhamedov ‘s father was inaugurated president following presidential elections in February 2007, which did not meet international standards. December 2008 parliamentary elections also fell short of international standards. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The three most important human rights problems were arbitrary arrest, torture, and disregard for civil liberties, including restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion, and movement. Other continuing human rights problems included citizens’ inability to change their government; denial of due process and fair trial; arbitrary interference with privacy, home, and correspondence; discrimination and violence against women; and restrictions on the free association of workers. Officials in the security services and elsewhere in the government act with impunity. There are no prosecutions of government officials for human rights abuses.
And yet, we still wanted to go there! We were fortunate to be helped through the process by our now-good friend Mikhail Sterlikov, owner of IrenePlus Travel in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Michael contacted him in 2022 when we planned our first Central Asian travels. He did an excellent job arranging our transportation, booking guides, and building our itinerary. We wanted to include Turkmenistan in that trip, but there were even more complicated visa requirements at that time, and then, as I mentioned, along came COVID - the perfect excuse to completely shut down the country. So we put it off.
Our friend and tour operator Mikhail Sterlikov, owner of IrenePlus Travel in Tashkent. If you want to visit Central Asia - he is an excellent organizer and resource for any Silk Road travel.
Last Spring, Mikhail felt we had a shot at Turkmenistan visas, so he began the process again. There were many back-and-forths, dodgy financial requirements, and flights to be booked without knowing if we’d actually get our visas, etc., but in the end, we were given the green light. There was some anxiety and uncertainty, but there was also a great deal of curiosity, and we were looking forward to seeing this strange, isolated country for ourselves.
Our fellow passengers on the one and only flight to Turkmenistan at 11:55 pm out of Dubai.
There were only two countries from which you can fly to Turkmenistan: Dubai in the UAE and Istanbul. We’d been to Türkiye several times, so we decided to make a second visit to Dubai and fly from there. The one flight each day left at 11:55 p.m. and arrived at 3:00 a.m. See what I mean about not being visitor-friendly?
When we fly, Michael is one of those people who loves to get to know our seat mates. I insist on the window, which means he’s stuck in the middle, so the person on the aisle is fair game. Sometimes, I pretend I don’t know him, feign sleep, or put my nose in a book. But other times, I'll engage once he gets things rolling and the person sounds interesting. I know - I am a textbook airplane snoot!
However, I am glad he made friends with his Algerian neighbor, who spends much time in Turkmenistan working in the oil fields. It turns out, he was a Godsend once we landed and entered the main immigration hall Our plane load of bleary-eyed passengers had to decide which line to get in, and there were several. There weren’t any clear directions—and certainly, no signage. And the dozen or so armed guards shepherding us along didn’t look particularly approachable.
The Ashgabat airport is shaped like a falcon. It is a stunning piece of architecture inside and out. It might be the most architecturally beautiful airport in the world.
We started with a COVID test. We knew we had to take one, costing $31 USD each. Mikhail instructed us to have plenty of crisp, small-denomination bills on hand for the trip, and it quickly became apparent why.
The test was a complete ruse. We wrote our names (and nothing else) on a notepad, and then a technician in a white coat twirled a swab in the general vicinity of our nostrils, dabbed it in some liquid, and touched it to one of the many unmarked virus indicators on the table. I guess if we had COVID...they’d be in touch?
We moved to another line to hand over the test fees. Everyone had to pay U.S. dollars, and the stone-faced man at the desk took the money and tossed it in a box like a greenback salad.
Then, we showed our test receipts to another stoic official and filled out a few forms. At this point, the local travelers began giving us preferential treatment and ushered us to the front of each line. This was probably because we were obviously the only tourists on the flight—and I might have looked ready to collapse. But I later learned that Turkmen are incredibly hospitable people.
The final step was to fork over $200 USD to get the actual visas stuck into our passports - but we hit a snag. There was confusion over our letters of invitation, and at one point, it looked like I was the only one getting a visa!
But our Algerian friend saw we were in trouble and came to the rescue. Between his intervention and our looks of desperation, the immigration officer took pity on us and we got things sorted out. He even escorted us through the last barriers between us and the great unknown. It was 4:45 a.m.
At long last, we had our Turkmenistan visas!
I would like to share a picture or two of what we went through. I especially wanted a photo with our benevolent immigration officer - but images of government buildings or anyone in uniform are prohibited, and the law is strictly enforced.
This picture from the internet is as close as I can get to sharing what our helpful immigration officer at the Ashgabat airport looked like. And yes, portraits of the fearless leader are everywhere!
Once we finally cleared immigration, we were greeted by Natalia, the woman who would be our constant companion for the next seven days. She went everywhere with us except once when we were allowed out for dinner on our own at the mall across from our hotel in Ashgabat.
Natalia was a great companion. She was easy to be with and somewhat relaxed about the rules and our rigid itinerary. She was also relatively new to guiding, and as a woman in Turkmenistan, she did not have it easy. Natalia is the only female guide in the company she works for, and it became apparent as we traveled that she was treated differently. I’ll share more on that next time.
When she met us, Natalia was dressed conservatively. She wore a long skirt, a full-sleeved blouse, a jacket, and a modest headscarf. She is in her late thirties and attractive, but wearing makeup or calling attention to yourself by what you wear is risky in this oppressive culture. However, she enjoyed wearing Western clothes like tracksuits or jeans, baseball caps, and sunglasses on tour days that took us away from the capital. But she always had a change of clothes and a headscarf within reach.
Our guide Natalie. She was more comfortable having her picture taken with me. And she was a quick-change artist when needed.
She is a single mother of two young boys with two different fathers - which is very unusual in this country and something she doesn’t share readily. Her sons live with her sister in her home village near the Iranian border, and sometimes, she doesn’t see them for weeks in a row. But she is grateful to have work to support her family, and even though we could sense her melancholy at times, she did a wonderful job of making sure we were as comfortable (as we could be) and enjoying our time in her country.
As we sped from the airport to our tourist hotel in the city center, we caught glimpses of the hundreds of white marble-clad buildings, monuments, and statues that make up Ashgabat, “The Pearl of Central Asia.” Every building and monument is lit like the Las Vegas strip at night. No structure escapes cascading LED lights, flashing neon, or images projected onto their surfaces.
This was the view from our hotel room on a very rainy first day. You could certainly spot any cars that weren’t white!
During daylight, however, this city is so white you almost have to squint. And to keep it that way, only white cars are allowed in the capitol. Seriously. If you have a non-white vehicle, you can cross the city on your way somewhere else, but you’ll undoubtedly be pulled over to prove it. If you live in Ashgabat, you can only own a white, silver, or gold car —which must be pristine. Ad-hoc car washing stations are at every entrance to the city because if you are pulled over with a dirty car, you will be fined and have your vehicle taken away for ten days. This is a perfect example of the restrictive lives Turkmen live. And just recently, there was a push to restrict driving privileges for women.
Next, I will share our week-long itinerary and what we could see ( and not see) in this enigmatic enclave.
Thank you for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads