Our program for today, Sunday, is to visit the Tolkuchka Bazaar, the Hippodrome, have lunch, then a tour of the city to include the major monuments and driving by the more interesting buildings - stopping when possible
. First the Hippodrome which I did not visit on my last trip to Turkmenistan.
There is no gambling here, or at least none that is recognized as legal and such. I would imagine there is some friendly wagering going on somewhere. The horses racing are Ahal Teke horses, one of three pure blood lines of horse left in the world - so we were told. The pure bloodlines are Ahal Teke, Arabian, and one of the English draft horses but our guide didn't know which one. how wonderful. Ahal is a region of Turkmenistan and was also the name of the strongest tribe of olden days, as I understood it. I am telling my narrative based on what the guide says and what people around me say so I'm willing to go on faith here and believe that the Ahal Teke horses are as pure as they come these days. They certainly are beautiful.
We arrive at the Hippodrome and head into the stands. There is a large contingent of students seated in front of us. There are two rows of seats pretty much in the middle of this island of perfectly dressed young men and women and we climb into those seats. The female students are all wearing traditional red dresses with the embroidered neck piece. The young men are in white shirts with a traditional hat. don't know why they are here or what exactly they are doing but the headmaster continually moves them around and sits them here and there for photos and for interviews
.
we watch another race but a good many of us are watching the young men and women much more than the race and it is time for us to leave as we do have a full schedule today. So off we go from the Hippodrome and the horses. We will get to see some more later, much closer.
Tolkuchka Bazaar - ah, what can I say
. In 2006, the bazaar was out in the desert, several miles out of town, crowded, busy, exuberant, noisy, hot, dusty, vibrant, exciting, exotic, amazing, and fun. everything was sold there including cars, goats, sheep, camels, blankets, rugs, dresses and clothes, food, meat, takeaway, appliances, furniture and more. moving through that market, vendors yelled at you to come take and look and see their wares. I know we spent a lot of time with a carpet vendor at that market and I purchased two Turkmen rugs that I still have and love and only paid roughly $300 total. Now the market has moved and upgraded itself so that the vendors are more protected. sunshade, concrete slabs, out of the weather and it is so much more wonderful for them. I hated it. All the excitement that made the earlier one so interesting was gone, gone, gone. I am being selfish and I know it but the old market was just so much more "foreign" and wonderful and fabulous. I felt here that I was in an outdoor outlet mall with just a few things that I might not find quite so readily at home. I tried to find the wonderfully embroidered neck pieces for dresses and failed. The camels are not being loaded by cranes anymore. Didn't find any takeaway as it took a long time to walk between buildings. and no one haggled for carpets. we were told that it wasn't good to buy carpets here now but that we'd go to the house of the man whom they used to recommend we buy carpets - the same fellow that I bargained with in 2006 in the old market. Oh well. I did want to return to see what had changed. this has really changed.
Time for lunch and then we're off on the bus to see the city. This is a pristine city with women sweeping the streets, trucks moving up and down watering the trees and plants (it is a desert), buildings made of white marble, golden statues, lovely avenues
. In short, a beautiful city that bakes in the sun. There are many more ministerial buildings and government buildings than years ago plus they kept on with the marble and golden motif. some buildings are not photograph-able as that is forbidden such as the presidential palace. other buildings are just too large and grand to get into one photo. some of the more interesting buildings: the ministry of gas shaped like a Zippo lighter, the ministry of dentistry shaped like a rear molar, the ministry of health has a giant spike coming from the top which is representative of a syringe giving an injection. the imagination of the architects seem to know no bounds. beautiful buildings.
We stop to see the "3 legs" monument. This monument I remember being in a different place. it is called "3 legs" because it is supported by 3 columns. Previously the golden statue of the first president on top revolved to face the sun. Now it is further out of town, in a wonderful park made for it, the statue doesn't revolve, and there is an honor guard at attention at the base. We were able to go up to the observation platform for a look see of the city with is hazy with pollution. There are trees surrounding the city but many have died in such a desert environment. Yet they keep planting more and more trees to help the city. doesn't appear to be working.
Next a stop at the Independence Monument which has wonderful statues surrounding it. These statues are the founding fathers of Turkmenistan or the founding warriors or the poets and learned men who made this country way back when. And as with most parks and monuments, there are huge water features and fountains. In this desert country, it appears that water is one thing they have in abundance as there are fountains and pools just about whenever one turns
. Water cascades down the sides of this monument. Doesn't really help the heat though as we walk about taking photos of the different statues and views. the heat drains me.
couple of more stops, one to the "40 legs" monument which is a monument of 10 Ahal Teke horses (40 legs) which hasn't moved since I last saw it but seems to be different as the area around it has changed. To get around Ashgabat, one can flag down a car and ask to be taken to anywhere for about 4 Manat (local currency) or about $2 (not quite). The driver will say yes or no and off you go. If you aren't in a full car, the driver might also stop for other people standing beside the road and waving for a taxi. One way to get to the monuments is to ask for them by the number of "legs". Last time I was here, a friend and I got a driver to take us to the "40 legs" monument of the horses. Thus the system works.
I enjoy looking at the statues and horses and such. there were also about 40 birds perched on the horse statues though too. the birds did not have such a great respect for these magnificent Ahal Teke horses. And our last stop was the Earthquake Monument. This is close to the Presidential Palace and one of our group members was snapping away (although he is a much better photographer than just to say "snapping") when the guard at the Presidential Palace saw him and yelled and ran over to the group, made him show the guard the photos and made him delete the 4 that included the Presidential Palace
. Not sure why such photos are not allowed as the palace is in their coffee table books for sale. anyway, none of us have photos of the Presidential Palace now except for some rushed ones out the bus window.
Back to our rooms and my roommate and I thought we'd rest for a bit and then have a wander downstairs, see who was there, and join them for dinner. the resting part went well, the wander downstairs worked but nobody was to be found. We went in the direction that we thought was the restaurant but we couldn't find it or anyone else so finally went into the City Pub restaurant where we were the only patrons. Had a small dinner, stopped at the grocery for some water, and back to the room where we had our second night on the hardest beds ever to show up in a hotel. Knew it meant climbing out of bed in the morning barely able to move so I found a comforter to put under my knees to help. semi-ok sleeping after that.
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