Short guide to Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan in Central Asia only celebrated its independence in 1991 from the former Soviet Union and for many years was guided by the bizarre stewardship of its eccentric leader President Sapamurat Niyazov.
Until his sudden death, which came in 2006, he had managed to take autocracy to new heights. Niyazov advocated a single-party system and did not believe in basic democratic rights.
He named Monday after his good self and decided that bread should be named after his mother. He also demanded on being called Turkmenbashi and built a 50-foot gold statue of himself in Ashgabat, the capital.
Bordered by Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan has a sub-tropical climate, so endures long, humid summers and dry and cold winters.
The majority of Turkmenistan is desert, but the available sections of arable land are irrigated extensively allowing the country to be among the world’s top ten cotton producers. But its real wealth lies underground, with its massive gas and oil reserves.
The capital Ashgabat was battered by a massive 1948 earthquake and took many years to recover. But the rebuilt city’s been given touches of the grand Soviet Union-style with a myriad of ornate statues and monuments to honour Niyazov.
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