Olympic bicycle ride 2008

In Mary, SW-Turkmenistan, I managed to slip into an Internet-Cafe to cover the unbearably hot afternoon hours. Internet is a fairly recent arrival in Turkmenistan (most people don't even understand the word) and public access is only possible in official "Kafes" that exist in connection with post offices in the larger towns. Control is exercised furthermore through passport deposit and dubious filters that are activated upon e.g. uploading picture files. Temperature since Ashgabat is now rising over 40 degrees every day and even local people find this a little hot for the season.
So during the eventless last four days we try to get on to the road as early as possible and cover as many kilometres as possible to find a good cayhana (teahouse and restaurant) to have lunch and then a long and refreshing nap in one of these eating and sleeping ancoves.

This truck with a Coca-Cola and Fanta load did not stop because of thirsty cyclists but because of a breakdown. This is a common view along roadsides in Turkmenistan.

Before Mary we touched the Iranian border and slowly the Kopet Dag mountains receded and gave way to the more fertile plain of the Murgap river flowing down from Afghanistan and fading away in the desert sands. From here the road distance to Afghanistan would be appr. 300 km and from the same southern direction practically all of the water is received that is now used to irrigate the wheat and cotton fields in the area.In Mary we join the actual Silk Road which is a collective term for a number of routes leading from the Mediterranean to China. One main branch started in Syria, crossed Mesopotamia and the Highlands of Iran and then entered the desert in the old oasis town of Merw preceding the modern city of Mary 30 km to the west of the present day ruins.

So from here 30 more kilometres to ancient Merv that bears so much archeological evidence of the once prosperous overland trade relationships.

Check the GPS track and a couple of photos on http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=20277

The ferry transfer over the Caspian Sea from Baku tu Turkmenbashy deserves a chapter of its own right if one is used to the huge luxury vessels between Finland, Sweden and Estonia. Anyway, everybody survived the appalling hygienic conditions on the boat and we arrived in the port in the evening of Tuesday April 16. Then the real torture started: Immigration issued visas all throughout the night, one by one, and after an almost sleepless night in the ferry terminal we could start our journey the next morning. Allegedly we were the first tourists to enter Turkmenistan through this port this year. From my previous reading about the Silk Road countries, Turkmenistan ranked pretty low on the list already....
The town of Turkmenbashy (Father of the Turkmens, honorary title of the former president) used to be called Krasnovodsk by the Russians who conquered the area of present-day Turkmenistan between 1860 and 1891 and is the starting point of the Trans-Caspian railway line. If the Caspian Sea has any effect on the climate of the area, then certainly on the wind and particularly its direction. With a mostly overcast sky protecting from sunburn during the first days in the desert we were facing a really stiff headwind from the East making cycling quite challenging even though we had now the long desired flat terrain. The interesting thing in the desert that you get hardly any visual sensation of the wind. Only muscles will tell you and so will the sand and dust in the gears...

Camels a re very shy and peaceful creatures

While the first three days in the Garagum ("black sands") were desert experience pure with a mostly yellowish (though hazy because of the weather) wide-stretching horizon and occasional camels on and some very basic service facilities (Cayhana) for supply of tea and pies stuffed with minced goat meat, the scenery changes eastwards of Gazanjyk where the Garagum Canal ends that diverts water from the Amu Darya river for a thousand kilometres along the Kopet Dag mountains and is used for irrigation and drinking water supply (which in Turkmenistan is free of charge).

An interesting sight on the way was the Paraw Bibi Shrine, a popular sanctuary in honor of a virtuous young women that lived in the 11th century. Certainly we're in a muslim country, but the shrine seems only superficially islamized and the merchandise sold to the pilgrims at is really quite similar to some of the European Catholic Mary shrines. With the Iranian border just over the hill top one can see that life in Turkmenistan is affected, but surely not determined by Islam. This is also true in comparison with Turkey, a country that appears as the main sponsor for the now independent Turkmen nation in economic, religious and cultural matters. There is a mosque here and there, but no prayer calls are to be heard anywhere and unlike in Turkey women dress in a colorful way.

School kids in Gazanjyk

Moving further southeastwards along the Kopet Dag mountains, clouds and rain have now definitely gone away and made room for temperatures far over 30 degrees. Somehow against my expectations also the nighttime temperatures are quite warm despite a clear sky. Camping in the desert is an experience!
Approaching the capital city of Ashgabat, agriculture becomes more diverse: besides irrigated cereal crops there are now also orchards for growing grapes. The nearby mountains contain some sulphurous springs (in Kow-Ata we could swim in an underground thermal lake) and so the presidential summer residence was built next to a health resort in Arcman. Interestingly, after Arcman the road changes into a wide motorway turning also our cycling into a presidential (if not royal) event becauce biking on an almost empty motorway beats everything you can ever experience on the most developed cycle track networks in countries like the Netherlands or Germany.

Closer to Ashgabat it is possible to visit the national symbols of the Turkmens ancient and modern. Goekdepe is the site of the defeat against the Russians in the 19th century and has therefore been chosen as the spot for a gigantic modern Mosque in memory of the president's pilgrimage (Haj) to Mekka in 1992. But unlike the manifestation of religious revival in Georgia (see entry More sightseeing in Tblisi) the building doesn't seem to be designed for people. At least there was nobody around except a policemen guiding us to the entrance of this huge structure....

Under the independence tower in Ashgabat

For GPS track Turkmenbashy to Ashgabat with a few more photos: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=19274

P.S.: Roaming with my mobile phone is not possible in Turkmenistan. I hope that this will change in Uzbekistan after May 2. Next update of this blog very likely not before Buchara. It is very difficult to find Internet places around here.

It's been a demanding nine days since Tblisi with no rest day, a surprisingly high relief on the foothills of the Eastern Greater Caucasus and only moderately good weather, rainy particularly during the nights. We haven't had all that much contact with the local people, but needed to get accustomed to the way prices - e.g. in food places - are a matter of negotiation and bargaining. It doesn't help to agree a price beforehand, they'll bring more anyway and also charge for it. Well, a good exercise to prepare for Central Asia, I guess. And people are always curious about what we're doing: to avoid the crudest misunderstandings, we use a printed leaflet in the local languages and a map. Also my little bit of Russian helps a lot, but intercultural communication just involves so many other things than use of words. Things become difficult when people start to touch our bikes or even request a ride. (Stupid me allowed a drunken man in Georgia to do so; I suffered the worst minutes of the whole journey so far.) In that case: Paidyom, we have to go on...

Also the scenery has turned much more Asian recently. While dreaming of drier weather during rainy nights in the tent, the desert was there as soon as we descended into the Caspian Sea basin. Crossing the Qobustan area for about 90 kilometres west of Baku, vegetation disappears: first the trees, then the scrub and finally even the grass on which the many sheep flocks feed. We've seen the last green forests for some time to come.

Elevations along the southern foothills of the Eastern Caucasus

The roads are dominated by two car brands, Lada and the products of a German manufacturer of premium cars. Lorries are carrying either sheep or gigantic oil pipeline elements. Cycling into 2-million-inhabitants-Baku is a process difficult to describe. Approaching the largest city on the Caspian Sea, one first sees shacks and rotting industrial plants relating to the more distant times of the oil boom. Then it's housing areas of the poorer type followed by the belt of furniture and car retailers that have come to represent the 'new times' in so many of the former Eastern Bloc countries. Finally in the central area it is a struggle for biker's survival on the busy six-lane urban highways. And at the very end of the journey there is of course the UNESCO-protected old town, the beach boulevards and all the other sites of national significance. As bikers we can draw the conclusion that Azerbaijan consists of two parts: rich and poor or: Baku and the rest. What keeps them together is former president Aliyev (father of the current president), whose image and statements are on display everywhere.

Proudly presented: first desert image of the trip (Qobustan, 50 km west of Baku)

After 56 days of travelling since Olympia and 3400km personal mileage on bicycle we're now facing Central Asia. Boat departure times from Baku to Turkmenbashi are very flexible and have no fixed schedule, so today is just waiting, waiting, waiting... The organizers are doing a great job to make arrangements which for individual tourists would be almost impossible to take care of in reasonable time. Until a few days ago we had non confirmation of visas to Uzbekistan (the matter was dealt with even on diplomatic level) and a rescheduling of the route through Kazakhstan (or even Afghanistan!) would not have been to everybody's mind. So we have learned to cope with a variety of uncertainties from day to day. And then there are of course all the other personal little and big stories that can occupy peoples' minds much more than the great sights along the way: stories about physical distress, changing social relationships in the group, lost and broken property (clothing items, electronic equipment, one passport etc.), minor injuries and almost-accidents. So:
Bon voyage!

Next update probably from Ashgabat.

Complete track since Tblisi and photo show: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=18163