Where in the world is Turkmenistan....

After checking my blog stats the other day, I have discovered there are a lot of people all over the world with a lot of free time on their hands (thanks Coronavirus).  It is nice to see that I have quite a few international readers so I decided to give a few shout outs and learn a few new things myself.

Turkmenistan made it pretty close to the top viewers last week so thanks for that and look at all these amazing facts about Turkmenistan (a sovereign country) I found out.  This would be a great place to visit but apparently, it is very difficult to obtain a Visa to be allowed in.  I guess that is why Turkmenistan is one of the least visited places in the world.

Factoids:
~The capital and largest city is Ashgabat which translates to city of love/devotion.

~Turkmenistan comes from the Persian (Farsi) language and means land of the Turkmen.

~Turkmen is the language of the majority with Russian and Uzbek spoken as well.

~It is bordered on the northwest by Kazakhstan, to the north and east by Uzbekistan, to the southeast by Afghanistan, to the south and southwest by Iran, and the Caspian Sea to the west.

~More than 70% of Turkmenistan is covered by the Karakum Desert (black sand).

~Turkmenistan gained independence from the Soviet Union in October 1991.

~Until 2006, Turkmenistan was ruled by president/dictator, Saparmurat Niyazov (first president).

~Nivazov passed a few questionable laws during his time as president including no spandex, no gold teeth, no opera, no lip syncing at concerts, young men were banned from having long hair or beards, no dogs in the capital, and banning smoking in public places.  He also changed the names of the days of the week to match the names of his family members.

~The next president was Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (formally a dentist) changed back some of those wacky laws and made a few of his own such as no black cars allowed, favoring white cars instead because white brings good luck.

~Speaking of white, Turkmenistan holds the Guinness World Record for most buildings made of white marble (543).

~Turkmenistan also holds the Guinness World Record for the largest indoor Ferris Wheel and most public pools in one place.

~Turkmenistan is home to Akhal-Teke breed which is one of the purest breeds in the world with a price tag of up to $3,000,000!  The Akhal-Teke horses are a national emblem of  Turkmenistan.

~The final factoid is the Gates to Hell as the locals call the Darvaza Gas Craters.  This is a deep crater fill with huge deposits of natural gas and oil.  In 1971, Soviet engineers lit the crater to burn off the excess gas.  They believed the process would take a few weeks to burn off; however, it is still burning today.

Thanks again to the readers in Turkmenistan!