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This is a report of a solo-trip to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, undertaken during July/August 1994.

Turkmenistan

Pierre.Flener
2004-04-03 19:02:45

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Tashauz yesterday, and it turns out that I will not be able to spend them all, unless I indulge in imported goods: my host "fools" want dollars, and everything else is absurdly cheap. So I decide to sample just about every food and drink I can find in the streets and markets.

But let me also tell you about my "fools." The most jovial one is an Azeri with large gold-plated teeth, who always talks in a funny, expansive singsong manner. He is the cashier as far as the $3/night are concerned. Then there is the "pigeon," a man who constantly tends to (and talks to) the many pigeons in the interior courtyard, and who has been seen in the early mornings flapping his arms like wings. The "radio" is a man who speaks to himself all the time. Another noteworthy one is the Iranian Kurd who thinks I am Turkish and every now and then lectures me on the atrocities committed by "my" government against the Kurds in Turkey. The others always shoo him away when he does this. They are all completely peaceful and harmless, pursuing their daily lives in a fixed pattern.

The other guests are all Iranians or Pakistanis. One of the latter is traveling from Moscow to Karachi, but can't get into Iran either. The Iranians are here either on small business (aren't they always?), or, as they say, "on holidays." There being little to see here, I suspect they also like the concept of freely available alcohol. In the evening, we picnic together in the courtyard on the wooden dais, and it's very amusing. The Iranians are very embarrassed that I can't get into their country, but they give me their addresses so that I contact them next time, because they would then invite me from inside Iran.

Thursday 11 August 1994: Ashkhabad
I have another 36 hours to try and spend $5 in Manat on food and drinks. I idle around the parks and bazaars, and have a look at the excellent History Museum ($1) with its ...