Turkmenistan Travel Guide

Country Facts

Location

Central Asia.

Language

Turkmen is the official state language, and is closer to Turkish, Azeri and Crimean Tartar than those of its neighbours Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The Turkmen script was changed from Latin to Cyrillic in 1940, but the process of changing back to the Turkish version of the Latin script is underway.

Area

488,100 sq km (188,456 sq miles).

Time Zone

GMT + 5.

Electricity

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin continental plugs are standard.

Population

5 million (UN estimate 2005).

Population Density

10.2 per sq km.

Capital City

Ashgabat. Population: 574,000 (UN estimate 2003).

Government

Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Head of State

Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov since 2007.

Religion

Predominantly Sunni Muslim with a small Russian Orthodox minority. Turkmenistan shares the Central Asian Sufi tradition.

Recent History

President Saparmyrat Niyazov ruled Turkmenistan for 21 years until December 2006, when he died suddenly at the age of 66. The president had acquired the honorific title of Türkmenbashy (leader of all Turkmen) which conveys something of a spiritual, as well as political, leader. In 1999, he was made president for life. ‘Türkmenbashy’ had evolved a cult of personality to rival any in the world - it reportedly extended to renaming calendar months in honor of him and assorted relatives. Opposition was quickly and brutally suppressed, especially in the wake of a reported assassination attempt against Niyazov in late 2002. Following his death, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was chosen as his successor in 2007 in an election condemned by international human rights groups as rigged. (No opposition candidates were allowed to stand.) Berdymukhamedov has pledged to continue in the ways of Niyazov, but has also promised some reforms.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +993. Area code for Ashgabat: 12.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with some international mobile phone companies. Coverage is limited to Ashgabat.

Internet

All Internet cafés were closed by the government. The state strictly controls Internet access.

Media

Turkmenistan has an incredibly poor record when it comes to press freedom. Reporters Without Frontiers has said the president uses the media solely to 'promote his own glory'. The Turkmen government controls all media, monitoring media outlets, operating printing presses and laying down editorial policies. Programs from Russian TV stations are censored. The government controls Internet access, banning or censoring what it considers inappropriate sites and restricting use.

Post

Letters to Western Europe and the USA can take between two weeks and two months. Stamped envelopes can be bought from post offices. Mail addresses should be laid out in the following order: country, postcode, city, street, house number and lastly the person's name.Mon-Fri 0900-1800. The main Post Office in Ashgabat is open until 1900.

Press

• The main newspapers in Ashgabat are Turkmenistan and Vatan (both in Turkmen) and Neitralnyi Turkmenistan (Russian).

Radio

• Two stations are operated by state-owned Turkmen radio.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2010
12 Dec Neutrality Day

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
12 Jan Remembrance Day
19 Feb National Flag Day
8 Mar International Women’s Day
20 Mar Novruz Bairam (Turkmen New Year)
8 May Heroes’ Day
9 May Victory Day
18 May Constitution Day
30 Aug - 31 Aug Ramadan Bairam (End of Ramadan)
6 Oct Remembrance Day (Anniversary of the 1948 Earthquake)
27 Oct - 28 Oct Independence Day
12 Dec Neutrality Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
12 Jan Remembrance Day
19 Feb National Flag Day
8 Mar International Women’s Day
20 Mar Novruz Bairam (Turkmen New Year)
8 May Heroes’ Day
9 May Victory Day
18 May Constitution Day
19 Aug Ramadan Bairam (End of Ramadan)
6 Oct Remembrance Day (Anniversary of the 1948 Earthquake)
27 Oct - 28 Oct Independence Day
12 Dec Neutrality Day

Contact Information

State Committee of Turkmenistan for Tourism and Sport

17 1984/Pushkin Street, 744000 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Tel: (12) 354 777 or 397 606 or 771 or 390 065 or 396 740.
Website: www.tourism-sport.gov.tm

Embassy of Turkmenistan in the UK

2nd Floor, St George’s House, 14-17 Wells Street, London W1T 3PD, UK
Tel: (020) 7255 1071.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1700.

Embassy of Turkmenistan in the USA

2207 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Tel: (202) 588 1500.
Website: www.turkmenistanembassy.org