Ashgabat

16 September 2012

Today I discovered where some of the population hang out.

This morning I went to a huge shopping emporium on the outskirts of the city. I was seeking the Tokuckka market famous for its 'withered men haggling for shaggy sheepskin hats, braying camels suspended in midair by cranes and sheep being driven away in sidecars'. Instead I found glamorous women pouring over exquisite piles of velvets, silks and polyesters, young men negotiating prices for the latest plumbing parts and children searching for new toys through piles of plastic imports from China.

In contrast, I then walked through the central government and presidential area of the city. There seems to be an unwritten list of behaviours expected of anyone walking in these parts:

1. do not chew gum, talk loudly, spit or smoke in public

2. do not walk around; ride a new large car instead and do not use the car's horn

3. do not walk on the pavement in front of buildings; walk in the road

4. do not take photos unless the guard is out of sight

5. do not leave any litter or trace of dirt - this will get swept up as soon as you move on

This creates the atmosphere of an open air museum. White marbled buildings and gold statues intensify the gleaming sunlight and grandeur. Development sites still encroach into the old Soviet areas of the city and demolition is continuing. The new era of Turkmenistan is well and truly taking over in the city.