Turkmenistan shares borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. To the west is the Caspian Sea. Nearly 80 per cent of the country is taken up by the Kara-Kum (Black Sand) Desert, the largest in the CIS. Turkmenistan’s tourist trade is relatively undeveloped. Almost all the attractions lie around the fringes of the desert and in oases. The capital, Ashgabat, on the southern rim of the Kara-Kum Desert, is a modern city. It replaced the one founded in 1881, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1948. The Sunday market in Ashgabat is the best place to buy Turkmen carpets. Mary, due east of Ashgabat, is Turkmenistan’s second city. It lies near the remains of the city of Merv, which was once the second city of Islam until Ghengis Khan’s son Toloi reduced it to rubble, killing many inhabitants in 1221. Plov – pronounced ‘plof’ – is the staple food for everyday and celebrations and consists of chunks of mutton, shredded yellow turnip and rice fried in a large wok. Ashgabat has an opera and ballet theatre, which shows both Russian and European works and a drama theatre.

Central Asia.

GMT + 5.

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

5 million (UN estimate 2005).

10.2 per sq km.

Ashgabat. Population: 605,000 (official estimate 1999).

Turkmenistan shares borders with Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the east, Afghanistan to the southeast and Iran to the south. To the west is the Caspian Sea. Nearly 80 per cent of the country is taken up by the Kara-Kum (Black Sand) Desert, the largest in the CIS. The longest irrigation canal in the world stretches 1100km (687 miles), from the Amu-Darya River in the east, through Ashgabat, before being piped the rest of the way to the Caspian Sea.

Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State and Government: President Saparmyrat Niyazov (Türkmenbashy) since 1992. Recent history: The current President has 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’ has evolved a cult of personality to rival any in the world – it has reportedly extended to renaming calendar months in honour of him and assorted relatives. Opposition has been quickly and brutally suppressed, especially in the wake of a reported assassination attempt against Niyazov in late 2002. This peculiar and unpleasant regime is tolerated by the international community for two main reasons – the country’s strategic position and its enormous (and, as yet, largely undeveloped) reserves of oil, gas and precious metals.

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.

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

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

Lipioshka (bread) should never be laid upside down, and it is normal to remove shoes, but not socks, when entering someone's house. Shorts are rarely seen in Turkmenistan and, if worn by females, are likely to provoke unwelcome attention from the local male population.