Not a good start to a long drive...was told I needed to drink vodka with my meals! |
350 km from Ashgabat to Mary (pronounced Mar-ee) |
Ak Bugdaż (White Wheat) Museum, Anau |
A dirt mound - ruins of an ancient structure along the Silk Road, Anau, Turkmenistan |
Memorial of Seyitjemaletdin, Anau |
Seyitjemaleddin (Seyed Jemal-ad-din) |
Modern structure at Seyitjemaleddin |
15th C. mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
19th C. photograph of the mosque of Seyitjemaleddin before it was destroyed by earthquake |
Ruins of the 15th C. Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
Local people construct these little brick piles for luck |
Severe earthquake damage from 1948 |
Remains of some of the tile work on the Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
The once-beautiful Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
Ruins of the Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
Ruins of the Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
The Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin was built on the ruins of the ancient Parthian fortress |
Piles built from the bricks of the Mosque of Seyitjemaleddin |
Mystic tradition of Turkmen pilgrims to the grave of Sheikh Seyitjemaleddin |
Piles of bricks around what are thought to be burial mounds |
Signs of the ancients |
Entrance to the ancient cistern of the Parthian fortress of Anau |
The surviving brick dome of the Parthian cistern, Anau |
The desolate road between Ashgabat and Mary |
Heavy trucks have damaged the road surface leaving deep ruts |
What was to be our second stop between Ashgabat and Mary, but I wasn't feeling well so we pressed on |
The ancient settlement of Abiverd between Ashgabat and Mary - another victim of the Mongol invasion |
The arid plains between Ashgabat and Mary |
Wide Load - a convoy of trucks carrying massive pipes across Turkmenistan |
One of the many canals dug by the Soviets for irrigation, this one near Dushak |
The highway between Dushak and Tejen, Turkmenistan |
Flag of Turkmenistan along the highway |
Turkmenistan Railways locomotive |
Roadside monument with armored vehicles outside Tejen, Turkmenistan |
Tank on static display along the highway near city of Tejen |
Welcome to Tejen, Turkmenistan |
Mosaic wall at the entrance to Tejen, Turkmenistan |
0.62 TMT = $0.22 per liter or $0.83 per gallon - payable if you've used your free monthly quota |
Mosque of Tejen |
Cotton harvest season |
Small cable-stay bridge over a canal between Tejen and Mary |