Turkmenistan
A Quick Trip to Hell
A quick trip to the gate of Hell, anyways. Somewhere out in the deserts of Turkmenistan in 1971, Soviet scientists made a bit of a blunder. In the process of drilling a natural gas well, they tapped into an underground cavern and released an unmanageable amount of the stuff. Attempting to burn it out (and … Continue reading
What is the 12th Century Mother of the World?
Ancient beyond ancient, the ancient of Mary was a known settlement as far back as 500 B.C. as part of a Satrapie under the Persian ruler Darius (yes, of 300 fame). Well beyond that, though, the city was also later known as the “Mother of the World” for its economic importance on the Silk Road … Continue reading
The Modern Central Asian Bazaar
Anybody who has been reading this site for a while will already know that I’m a bit on the obsessed side with bazaars and markets around the world. Not only for the sweet headgear opportunities, but also because they’re just such generally picturesque and atmospheric places that tend to make it really easy to interact … Continue reading
That one Burned Down, Fell Over, and Sank Into the Swamp. But the next one stayed up!
With the dubious honor of being one of the bloodiest massacres in human history, Genghis Khan’s destruction of Konye-Urgench in 1221 destroyed a city known at that time as “the heart of Islam” and “the capital of 1000 wise men” due in part to its prime location on the Amy-Darya river in the heart of … Continue reading
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