‘Pleasant surprises’ of Turkmenistan

I have led group tours to Turkmenistan and the five ’Stans seven times over several years, most recently in May and October 2013, and all my clients have found the country of Turkmenistan to be one of the most pleasant surprises of the entire tour, so I was alarmed to read the negative comments about that country in the letter “Turkmenistan — Dangers & Annoyances” (March ’14, pg. 23), written by someone who traveled with another tour company.

The avenues of the capital city, Ashgabat, are lined with magnificent white-marble buildings, ministries and residential and business complexes. Unique monuments and squares are at almost every turn. My clients have marveled at the city’s unique beauty.

Turkmenistan’s ancient sites of Konye-Urgench, Merv and Nisa are impressive, and anyone interested in ancient history is bound to appreciate their great significance, as my clients have.

I was greatly surprised at the writer’s comments on the National Museum of History, as it is an excellent museum with many impressive artifacts. 

Granted, we are not allowed to photograph the president’s residence, but this is a fairly common situation in many countries in the world today. If common courtesy and a smile are offered to policemen on the street, they quite often return your smile with one of their own.

Although sometimes a bit lengthy, the land border crossings are well maintained and not difficult. The writer spoke of a “mile-long walk through the several no-man’s lands” on the crossing from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan. Usually there is a van into which we pile with our luggage (the driver accepted tips), but in the instance the gentleman wrote about, apparently it was not running on that day. 

The van has carried five to seven people, including baggage, and would make repeat trips if everyone wasn’t able to fit in the first time. Sometimes local residents used the van, too.

On our last tour, we even encountered a few wedding celebrations, and the locals insisted on having us join in on the dancing and having their photos taken with us.

I just wanted to express that the writer’s opinion about Turkmenistan was so contrary to all of the positive experiences we have had there over the years.

JEFF GARRETT

Lauderhill, FL