Sue's Travels: Silk Road - 9 June 2009 - Russian Bazaar and Geokdepe

The first stop of the day was the Russian Bazaar, which now is called something else. It is the favorite shopping place for most people because they have the freshest fruits and vegetables. I picked up some green tea for Marcy and some cashew nuts to nibble. The man who sold me the cashew nuts was amusing in that he was feeding me a little bit of everything that he carried. There was a store that sold Turkmen products – rugs, textiles, jewelry, etc. I wandered around for a while. Our next stop was the Turkish Shopping Center, the ground floor of which looked like a large supermarket. Other than the difference in some of the products, it could have been transported to New York. We had lunch at the Venice Restaurant again. They have an extremely well trained waitress, who spoke at least some English.

Russian Bazaar

The afternoon’s excursion was to Geokdepe, which was the site of a massacre by the Russians in October of 1881. The original settlement of Geokdepe, which is about 50 KM west of Ashgabad, dated back to the 12^th Century. After the Massacre, some people escaped into the desert, where they were able to survive, because they knew where the wells were. They also poisoned some wells to deny them to the Russians. A large Mosque was constructed in 1998 in memory of those massacred. On the way back to Ashgabat, we stopped at the Arch of Independence where we took pictures. We couldn’t stay for long because it was raining.

Mosque of Geokdepe - Memorial to those massacred by the Russians in 1881

Geokdepe Mosque

Arch of Independence

Figure from Turkmen History

Fountains near the Arch of Independence

I finally get internet access, but I had no e-mail of significance. After showering and resting for a while, we headed out for dinner. It included a folklore group, which was quite good. There was singing and dancing as well as a few skits, where the action didn’t require the ability to understand the language. The group was named for the region – Ahal.