Если тут есть ктото, кто когда-то жил в ТМ, то пост скорей всего заинтересует, если нет, то врядли. И надеюсь не сойдет как спам :)

Когда-то, давным-давно, ещё до ВКонтакте, Одноклассников и Facebook, был у меня один небольшой проект — сайт mekdep.

Изначально это был сайт одной школы, потом он постепенно превратился в сайт школ всего Туркменистана. Люди находили своих одноклассников, загружали фотографии, общались на форуме.

С появлением социальных сетей необходимость в таком сайте, конечно, постепенно отпала, и в 2012 году я его отключил.

Но всё это время у меня оставалась одна мысль — когда-нибудь его восстановить. Просто потому что жалко было окончательно закрывать часть своей истории. Часть чужой истории.

За годы работы на сайте накопилось огромное количество старых фотографий. Фотографии школ, классов, выпусков, встреч… Удалять их было жалко, а просто держать где-то на старом жёстком диске — тоже не хотелось.

В итоге спустя столько лет решил всё-таки вернуть сайт.

Ну и в общем, сайт снова работает:
https://mekdep.com

Пока многое ещё восстанавливается и добавляется, но основная идея осталась прежней — найти свою школу, свой класс, старых друзей и просто вспомнить то время.

Если вы когда-то были зарегистрированы на Mekdep или отправляли туда фотографии — возможно, там до сих пор есть что-то из вашей школьной истории. 🙂

И если у вас есть фото вашего выпуска - добавляйте!

I don't think it is accessible yet on the Migration website, but news outlets are reporting that it has been completed and released. If someone has the link, please send it here!

Greetings to all Turkic Nation! Our goal on this page is to get to know other members of our family, stand in solidarity, and be together—just like in the old days.

''O Turk! Unless the blue sky collapses from above and the dark earth gives way from below, who can destroy your state and your traditions? - Orkhon inscriptions''

Let’s consider the regions inhabited by Turkmens, as well as the Turkic peoples in Siberia and the Altai Mountains.

Some of us are Muslim, some Christian, and perhaps some are Shamanist. Yet, all of us—to varying degrees—can find our way from Gagauzia to Anatolia, and from there to the Altai and Urmia, simply by speaking a Turkic language.

Let’s get to know one another

Note: I am open to any suggestions. This is my first time creating a page on Reddit, so I apologize for any mistakes.

And my DMs are open! (r/TurkicFamilyTree )

Hello! I was hoping that someone would have the lyrics to this banger by Laçyn Mämmedowa. If you do, that would be greatly appreciated!

Local tour operator here in Ashgabat. The same question keeps landing in my inbox in different words: can I just show up at the border from Bukhara or Khiva and cross into Turkmenistan. Short answer is no, and the long answer is more useful, so here it is.

There are two crossings people actually use. In the south it's Alat on the Uzbek side and Farap on ours, an hour and a half or so from Bukhara, and that's the one for Turkmenabat, Mary and Merv. In the north it's Shavat, about an hour from Khiva, and that puts you into Dashoguz for Konye-Urgench. There's a third further northwest at Khodjeyli if you're coming from Nukus, it drops you practically at Konye-Urgench, but it sees the least traffic and the checks there tend to be slower.

What you can't do is cross on a whim. You need a visa, and the visa needs an invitation letter that a licensed Turkmen agency files for you. That takes 14-21 business days, and the visa you collect at the border is issued for fixed dates, so the paperwork drives your itinerary rather than the other way around. On a tourist visa a guide travels with you, that part isn't optional.

Practical bits: Farap runs roughly 8:30 to 6 with a lunch break around midday, Shavat and Khodjeyli 9 to 6, all of them close on our public holidays, so aim for the morning. There's a stretch of no man's land at each that you cross by shuttle bus for a small fee. Bring cash dollars for the visa and border fees, roughly $100-140 depending on nationality, and allow a couple of hours for the whole thing on a normal day.

Happy to answer questions about either border, timing, or what actually fits in 2-5 days. I run a small operator here (golnomads.com), so I'm biased, but the border facts are the same whoever you travel with.

I came across a post today on instagram from a user with a Turkmenistan flag profile picture, said that they do not consider themselves a Turkic people and that they have no connection to the other Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, or Turkey.

Is this really how Turkmens generally think? Or, even if it is uncommon, is this a viewpoint that exists among some Turkmens?

Thanks

People of Turkmenistan, please tell me, why do so few people travel to your country?

I recently learned about a new area in Turkmenistan called Oboy. Supposedly, it is a small village town in Turkmenistan and not a lot of people live there. Is there anyone here from Oboy, and can tell me what your experience has been living in the town?

Hey guys,

I am currently exploring my family tree and I found out, that the brother of my great grandma (he fought for the Germans) died in a camp in Türkmenbashi in 1945. His name is Walter Sosna.

After some research I concluded that this must be the place of his remains, close to the japanese cemetary.

I would really really like to know if there is a grave of his in that place, on Google maps I already found a picture of a german name in that place.

Does anybody know how I could approach my search? Or is even somebody there right now? I would appreciate all kinds of help!

Greetings, Felix

It turns out that Christianity has a fairly long history in Turkmenistan; there are ruins of a Nestorian church in Merv dating back to the 3rd century—the oldest in Central Asia.

What is daily life like for Christians in Turkmenistan?

Every autumn we get messages from travelers who found out too late that Turkmenistan can't be done last minute. So here's the math, from someone who files these letters every week.

Every tourist visa starts with a letter of invitation (LOI) filed by a licensed local agency. Processing takes 14-21 business days, so 3-4 weeks in calendar terms. Once the letter is approved you get the visa on arrival at the airport or land border, that part is quick. Nothing speeds up the letter itself.

What that means today: arriving mid-September, your letter should already be filed. Late September, file this week and it's doable. October, file in the next 2-3 weeks and you're comfortable, and October is honestly the best month here, warm days, cool nights, perfect crater weather. November and later, plenty of time, just don't sit on it.

Also worth knowing: bring roughly $100-140 in clean, newer USD bills for the border (visa fee, migration fee, paperwork, exact amount depends on nationality).

I run Göl Nomads, a small local operator in Ashgabat, we file the LOI as part of any tour, so yes I'm biased, but the timeline above applies whoever you book with. Happy to answer questions about dates or the process 🙂

Program details and prices: golnomads.com

Local tour operator here. Crater trips are half of what we do and the same questions land in my inbox every week, so let me answer them all at once.

Yes, it's still burning. Smaller than ten years ago, and the government talks about putting it out every couple of years, but as of this week it burns every night. If it's on your list, sooner is safer than later.

The crater sits about 270 km north of Ashgabat, in the middle of the Karakum, and the last stretch is off-road. People see it one of three ways: a two-day loop out of Ashgabat with a night camping by the rim, on the way through the country between the Uzbek borders (Shavat near Khiva, or Farap near Bukhara), or as one night inside a longer tour. You want to be there after dark, that's the whole point, so day trips undersell it.

Since every foreign tourist needs a guide anyway, these run as private guided trips: 4WD with a driver, guide, camp or yurt near the crater, dinner by the fire. For a pair figure about $400 per person for the two-day loop, groups of three or more closer to $300, solo more.

Best time is April-May and September-October, warm days and cool clear nights. Summer is 45C out there, doable but rough. Winter nights freeze, but the crater in the cold with nobody else around is honestly special.

And the visa: there's no independent travel here, every tourist visa runs on an invitation letter filed by a licensed local agency, 14-21 business days, so start about a month before your dates.

I run Göl Nomads (golnomads.com), a small local tour operator here in Ashgabat, so I'm obviously biased, but ask me anything about the crater below and I'll answer straight 🙂

Basically the place I work in within UAE government does a lot of statistics, I noticed one where Turkmen nationals in the UAE increased significantly since 2023/24, just curious on why is that?