I spent one day in Ashgabat with a female guide and she and I had fun chatting about what life is like for women in Turkmenistan and NYC. I learned more about how arranged marriages work and heard that changes have been happening to help women gain success and respect in the workplace. And she was in awe of my bravery for traveling alone and being able to live as a single woman. There is definitely a pull toward old societal ways with things like strict conservative traditional dress and rules that girls and women should spend all their time with their families. but it felt nice to see her ambition in guiding and translating and hear about her life dreams.
Some of the highlights of our day were visiting a hidden wedding dress shop, where they dressed me up in the outfit that a bride wears for 40 days before her wedding. And yes, it’s heavy!!
Since I was visiting right after Ramadan, it was wedding season and I asked to check out the Ashgabat Wedding Palace, where many weddings take place and many brides and grooms stop to take photos.
I also took advantage or her “let's go wherever you want to go” attitude, and had her bring me to the Yyldyz Hotel, the fanciest and most prominent hotel in Ashgabat that has beautiful views of the city below and over the top design. It was fun to be in a place with so few tourists. When I was with kind of felt like I was welcome everywhere.
We also went to see the famous Akhal-Teke horses. They are a national symbol of Turkmenistan and appear on the country's coat of arms and currency. This horse also can also be seen on stamps and in many monuments. It’s an ancient breed with a history that dates back thousands of years and today is among the rarest, most exotic full-size horse breeds around the world.
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