Independence Park, Ashgabat.
Independence Park in Ashgabat covers a vast area , just under 500 acres, which is nearly half of the city's open green space, it is mostly made up of pathways and trees and shrubs, and statues of people; "famous" in Turkmen history.
Sitting in an albeit cramped mini bus, enjoying the very cold air being pumped out of a very efficient air con system does tend to lull one into a false sense of serenity. Arriving here and stepping out into the firece heat, 97F, sheesh within minutes you are sweating, knowing that once back on the bus, you will experience that horrible feeling of icy air hitting a hot sweaty tee shirt. Yeuch.
So c'mon lets get sweaty together, its a hell of a trek to the top
A rather large pretentious golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's first president. under whose leadership the government busied themselves banning black cars, tight clothing, satellite dishes, social media, lip-syncing and smelly dogs in the capital city. I told you it was a weird bit of the world.
It would have been good if the fountains were spraying a light mizzle of water.
The design of the Independence Monument is said to be drawn from the style of traditional Turkmen tents and the traditional headgear worn by Turkmen girls. It is surrounded by statues of 27 notable Turkmen historical figures, warriors, and poets. It stands at 387 feet tall.
Within the building, there are exhibition halls where important works of art representing Turkmenistan history are displayed. centered on a golden statue of Saparmurat Niyazov.
It is often nicknamed “the plunger” due to its distinctive shape.
A couple of said "famous" people
As you can see the incline was quite misleading, I don't get this breathless doing the jiggy jiggy!
I wonder if the locals ever visit, as it was empty, not a soul insight, apart from the guard of honour and their minder at the Independence monument. they get vewwy vewwy angwy if you try to sneak a photo. As a fellow traveller found out when the sentry minder stormed over, fully kitted up with a gun and demanded to examine his camera, making him delete all that had soldiers on them!
Now let's hop on the bus gus, and get cold and clammy
Some other bits in the park
Altyn Asyr trade centre, nicknamed the "Five-Legged" building as apparently seen from above it has five distinct legs to symbolise the five regions of the country
Although it has a rather grand name it is basically a shopping mall, retailing all you can desire from clothing stores, textiles, and everyday goods.
The former president of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, is also a published author, and created a bizarre work known as "The Book of the Soul" or The Ruhnama it is a two volume publication made up of a weird mix of revisionist history, his moral ideals, religious norms, and fairytales.
He ordered that reading the book was mandatory at all schools and universities, and that all new government employees should be tested on the book’s contents and even an element within driving tests!
The golden relief work around the base depicting episodes from within the book
"The Giant Ruhnama" is just part of the personality cult of Niyazov, it stands over 30ft high and every evening it opens mechanically to display digital pages of the book
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That freezing bus AC transition into 97F heat sounds like an absolute nightmare for your clothes. Honestly calling the monument a plunger is too accurate once you see the shape of it.
Cheers @lett thanks for dropping in, it was worse getting back in the bus when the cold hit the wet tee shirt yeuch
From that very first image I could tell that the heat would be unbearable
LOL, sometimes it is good to sweat
The truth is, the place strikes me as increasingly strange, like a different world where no one actually lives. There are a host of extravagant buildings which I imagine must have cost a fortune to build; they’re ostentatious yet stand all alone. Hardly anyone looks at them. I think even I could feel the heat; the sun reflects off the white surfaces and must be intensified. I’ll say it again: it looks like something out of a science fiction film. Even that giant book that everyone’s been made to know about. Truly impressive.
Thank you for bringing it here and introducing us to this world… so strange! A big hug!🤗
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Cheers @avdesing always a pleasure to read your thoughts on my efforts, sometimes words fail me too. It is without a doubt the weirdest of weird, and I only bring you a snapshot, there wqas so much more that we passed as we were driven through the city. It would take weeks to see it all. have a great week ahead x
It’s like a huge, fantastical city! Thanks to you, have a great week!
👍
All I can say is "SHOCKING"!!!!! I've seen a lot of videos about the country and am wondering for how long can this terror and cult go on. All that money wasted on these megalomaniac, useless and senseless structure, while people are intimidated, even jailed for so little. Madness.
I know right, but it is like the other oil and gas rich former soviet republics all led by corruption and self interest
You said it right. I think they need 100 years to make some progress and will never understand what freedom and respect means.
Indeed, its the same in the arab countries, oil baby oil
Jezzus!! Why stand around if people aren't allowed to take photos!! Isn't that supposed to be an honour??!!
Did you go in the trade centre? I'd love to see the stuff they sell in there
Very very strict about what and who you can photograph. I would have really enjoyed the centre too, but we were on a tight time frame sadly it didn't happen.
Thanks for taking us to Independence Park, @grindle! It's a very unusual place: almost 500 acres of paths, trees and statues, a golden statue, a monument ringed by 27 statues and a giant book that opens its pages every evening. I admire the way you describe it, with the heat after the air-conditioned minibus, and the little detail of the nearly empty park says a lot about the atmosphere. Your photos of the monument and the "Five-Legged" building show how different it is from anything in Europe.
I live in a quiet green corner of the Italian hills, so a place with so many wide spaces and so few people feels like a different world.
How was it to travel there as a visitor: was it easy to move around the city and to talk with the local people?
Matteo - Ca' Paradiso, Cagli 🌿
www.caparadiso.com
!PIZZA !ALIVE !LOLZ
Original messageGrazie per averci portato all'Independence Park, @grindle! È un posto molto insolito: quasi 500 acri di sentieri, alberi e statue, una statua dorata, un monumento circondato da 27 statue e un libro gigante che apre le sue pagine ogni sera. Ammiro come lo descrivi, con il caldo dopo il minibus climatizzato, e il piccolo dettaglio del parco quasi vuoto dice molto sull'atmosfera. Le tue foto del monumento e dell'edificio "a cinque gambe" mostrano quanto sia diverso da qualsiasi cosa in Europa.
Io vivo in un angolo verde e tranquillo delle colline italiane, quindi un luogo con così tanti spazi ampi e così poche persone sembra un altro mondo.
Com'è stato viaggiare lì da visitatore: era facile muoversi in città e parlare con la gente del posto?
Matteo - Ca' Paradiso, Cagli 🌿
www.caparadiso.com
Cheers @caparadiso thanks for dropping in and I appreciate your positive vibes. It is a difficult country to actually get into, very strict requirements and procedures. As for speaking with the locals, we didn't see any! except in the market place and then they were very dour and Soviet.
Thank you @grindle! 😊
That says a lot about the place: an enormous, spotless park with golden statues and giant monuments... and almost nobody walking in it. It must have felt like visiting a stage set after the show had ended. 🎭
I can imagine the market scene, with faces still shaped by decades of Soviet rule and probably by the fear of speaking to strangers too freely. The story of your fellow traveller being made to delete photos of the soldiers says the rest. 📵
That's why reports like yours are precious: a snapshot of a country that very few of us will ever get to see. Good thing I didn't come along with our dog @choko.shock: after a muddy day in the fields he would never pass the "no smelly dogs" rule! 🐕😄
Matteo - Ca' Paradiso, Cagli 🌿
Original messagewww.caparadiso.com
Grazie @grindle! 😊
Questo dice molto del posto: un parco enorme e pulitissimo, con statue d'oro e monumenti giganteschi... e quasi nessuno che ci passeggia. Dev'essere stato come visitare una scenografia a spettacolo finito. 🎭
Mi immagino la scena al mercato, con volti ancora segnati da decenni di regime sovietico e probabilmente anche dalla paura di parlare troppo liberamente con gli stranieri. La storia del tuo compagno di viaggio costretto a cancellare le foto dei soldati dice il resto. 📵
Ecco perché i reportage come il tuo sono preziosi: un'istantanea di un paese che pochissimi di noi riusciranno mai a vedere. Meno male che non c'ero io con il nostro cane @choko.shock: dopo una giornata nel fango dei campi non passerebbe mai la regola dei "cani puzzolenti"! 🐕😄
Matteo - Ca' Paradiso, Cagli 🌿
www.caparadiso.com
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@caparadiso(5/5) tipped @grindle
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STOPWow! The golden monuments and the giant book are really fascinating😱
certainly are LOL