nPostednon October 27, 2015
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nYounmay not know much about Turkmenistan, but it was at the crossroads ofncivilizations for hundreds of years. It was located on the SilknRoad. Caravans traveling between the Middle East, Africa, and Europe,non the one hand, and China, on the other, often stopped in towns and cities in what is now Turkmenistan fornsupplies and rest.
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| Ashgabat is the current capital.
Ancient Merv was an important stop on |
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nOfncourse, any region with that kind of important location is enticingnto empire-builders. From the Seljuk Empire to the Mongols to thenRussian Empire and eventually Soviet Union, many different groupsnruled over Turkmenistan. On this date in 1991, it declarednindependence from the U.S.S.R., which was in a process of dissolving.
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nNownthat it is free from outside rulers, is Turkmenistan full of freedomnand liberty for all? No…sadly, it is one of the most repressivencountries in the world, with a bad human-rights record. Words liken“President for Life” and “election” are used in the samensentence – which seems weird to me – and descriptions liken“draconian restrictions” and “unlimited power” make it clearnthat there are no checks and balances, no independent press, no powernof the people.
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nBynthe way, I am often disappointed by how often “mainstream” medianin the U.S. covers news – but looking at the World Press Freedom Index and map created by “Reporters Without Borders” makesnme realize that we in the U.S. could do better, but we enjoy far morenfreedom than many! And anyone who has unfettered access to theninternet can dig for unbiased information.
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nIndon’t suggest touring Turkmenistan – who wants to travel to annation that treats even its own people badly? – but someday, if itnever becomes stable, here are some of the beauties we might enjoy:
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nDoornto Hell
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Thisnpart of a natural gas field probably should not have been drilled –nbecause it collapsed into an underground cavern in 1971.
Thisnpart of a natural gas field probably should not have been drilled –nbecause it collapsed into an underground cavern in 1971. n
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nOf course,nthat’s a problem – a crater filled with deadly methane gas? Whatncould go wrong?
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nSo geologists set it on fire. I read that theynexpected the excess gas to burn off in just a couple of days.
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nButnit has been burning continuously ever since!
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nYep,nfor 44 year the fire has been burning! Looking at the photos, I seenwhy it is called the Door to Hell. (Some call it the Gate to Hell,nand one source called it the Mouth of Hell! It’s also called, verynappropriately, the Crater of Fire.)
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nOh,nand despite the fact that Turkmenistan doesn’t seem to me to benexactly a tourists’ paradise, more than 50 thousand visitors havenvisited the Door to Hell in the last five years alone! n
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nOnenguy even went down into the pit! If you want to find out how (andnwhy!), check out this well-photographed article.
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nMerv
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Thisnancient city was probably the largest in the world for a short time,nwaaaaaayyy back in the 1100s.
Thisnancient city was probably the largest in the world for a short time,nwaaaaaayyy back in the 1100s.n
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nNownit is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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nIfnyou like ancient ruins (and I do!), you’d love this place.
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| The Great Icehouse, outside (above), and inside (below). |
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nThenKarakum Desert
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nGorgeousnLandscapes…and Architecture…and People…
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversarynof the first U.S. expedition to observe a solar eclipse
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nGoodnBear Day
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nPresidentnTeddy Roosevelt’s birthday
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nThree-ZnDay in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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nWorld Day for Audiovisual Heritage
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nNovembern holidays
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nNovembern birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
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