Photos du Turkménistan

Après la dissolution de l'URSS, le Turkménistan a été gouverné par le dictateur mégalomane Saparmourat Niazov jusqu'à sa mort en 2006. Il a fait entièrement reconstruire le centre de la capitale Achgabat, il a érigé un certain nombre de monument à sa 'gloire' et il a institué un culte extravagant de lui même. Depuis Ashgabat, je me suis allé vers le nord du pays à travers le désert de Karakoum jusque Konye-Urgench. J'ai visité les ruines de l'ancienne ville de Ürgenç (Urgench), sur la route de la soie, qui a été rasée par Gengis Khan.

Ashgabat Independence Square

Ashgabat : Independence Square and the "Palace of Turkmenbashi",
(gold and white marble) and other government buildings

Ashgabat Berzengi

Ashgabat (Berzengi) : the monument to the Independence of Turkmenistan
also known as "the plunger" and a golden statue of the President,
Mr Saparmyrat Niyazov, who called himself Turkmenbashi ("leader of the Turkmens)

Ashgabat Arch of Neutrality

Ashgabat : the Arch of Neutrality.
Guess whose statue is on top, covered with gold, rotating to follow the sun....
You guessed, it's Mr Megalomaniac President Turkmenbashi

Ashgabat Tolkuchka bazaar

Ashgabat : the colourful Tolkuchka bazaar

Karakum desert

small settlement in the Karakum desert (more deserts)

Karakum desert

Traffic on the road across the Karakum desert (more deserts)

Karakum desert : sand dunes

Karakum desert : sand dunes (more deserts)

Konye-Urgench : Sultan Ali Mausoleum

Köneürgenç

Konye-Urgench : Sultan Ali Mausoleum, underside of the dome.
The geometry represents the calendar. 365 mosaic sections represent
the days of the year. Below, 24 arches represent the hours of the day,
and yet below, 12 bigger arches represent the months of the year

Turkmenistan was part of the 2005 trip

read about the trip
banknotes / billets de banque
story: the megalomaniac dictator
story : crossing the Karakum deserts

to : Uzbekistan

from : Iran

Photos du Turkménistan

Photos de voyage par Denis Le Gourriérec