To Turkmenistan We Go

Tomorrow we embark on what promises to be an epic journey to the far deserts of Turkmenistan! A small arid country squashed between Iran, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and the Caspian sea... Turkmenistan is the birthplace of the Akhal-Teke horse and home to a large majority of the breed's worldwide population. The Akhal-Teke is Turkmenistan's national symbol and plays an important role in the country's cultural history and economy. 


Never heard of the place? Well, you're not alone... and there is a good reason for it! Turkmenistan is a "closed country;" in order to travel there, foreigners have to request an invitation from the government. Needless to say, it's not a heavily-trafficked tourist destination and for the most part, it seems the government would like to keep it that way. 

Amrita and I are honored to have been invited to represent Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke at Turkmenistan's third International Akhal-Teke conference and the first-ever conference for the new International Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding Association, which will be held on April 22-24. The conferences are being conducted under the authority of Turkmenistan's president, Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov. The picture on the right is from an online news brief... and the rider of this magnificent Akhal-Teke horse is the president himself! 

http://en.trend.az/regions/casia/turkmenistan/1862607.html

We depart tomorrow (April 20, 2011) via Kenmore Airlines on a small plane from Friday Harbor to SeaTac International Airport. From SeaTac we fly non-stop with Lufthansa Airlines to Frankfurt, Germany. After a fairly short lay-over we then fly direct to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Our total travel time is just over 20 hours.... and this was the shortest trip available that still allowed us enough time to get from San Juan Island to SeaTac Airport without having to spend the night in Seattle. We stay one week in Turkmenistan... and hope to spend the two days following the conference riding Akhal-Teke horses in the desert! We are bringing our cameras and will no doubt come home with lots of photos and tales to tell. There will likely be no internet access while we are there... so check back next week for all the exciting details!! 


JUlY 2011 Follow-Up:


Read all about our Trip To Turkmenistan by visiting the following posts:
(Including photos and videos!)


Jet Lag  
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/04/jet-lag.html 


Turkmenistan Day 1 - The International Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding Association
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-1-first-meeting-of.html 


Turkmenistan Day 2 - The President Rides & An Akhal-Teke Beauty Contest 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-2-president-rides.html 


Turkmenistan Day 3, Part 1 - The Races 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-3-part-1-races.html 


Turkmenistan Day 3, Part 2 - A Bigger-Than-God-Himself Hippodrome-In-The-Works 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-3-part-2-bigger-than.html 


Turkmenistan Day 4, Part 1 - The Circus 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-4-part-1-circus.html


Turkmenistan Day 4, Part 2 - The Stud Farms 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkmenistan-day-4-part-2-stud-farms.html 


Turkmenistan Day 5 - The Russian Bazaar 
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkmenistan-day-5-russian-bazaar.html




Other Links for info about Turkmenistan:


CIA World Fact Book: 
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tx.html 


BBC World News Report:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298497.stm 


Lonely Planet Travel Guide: 
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/turkmenistan

Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmenistan