We're hitting the road again soon, for Turkey and Ukraine, and there is just enough time for a quick fly-in fly-out to somewhere else, so we made a bid to visit our first "'Stan."
We'll arrive at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul late in the evening, and Turkish Airlines' flight schedule works out great. It would allow us to keep pushing east. Just a brief layover in the raved-about new Turkish lounge, and off we'd go to Ashgabat.
Alas, it was not to be.
The Turkmen government requires a letter of invitation (loi) in order to grant a tourist visa. They're available through travel services (Uncornered Market blog does a good job describing how to get an loi), and we applied through a friendly, helpful service in Ashgabat.
We didn't invest much of our hearts in our quick little prospective visit, and it's just as well, because Turkmenistan didn't invite us, at least on the dates we could visit. This morning brought an email from our man in Ashgabat:
"Please, be informed, the Migration Service of Turkmenstan has announced some limitations on issuing LOIs (for tourist visas) for the period between March 11 till March 25. Now, we must shift the dates of your travel to Ashgabat before March 11 or after March 25.
Please, advise if it is possible for you to travel to Turkmenistan during the period of March 9 till March 11?"
I'd love to visit a place where the President renamed a month of the year after himself!
Posted by: Anthony | 02 March 2013 at 08:37 AM
Me too, Anthony. And to see the Arch of Neutrality, where Turkmanbashi's statue rotates to face the sun.
Bill
Posted by: Bill Murray | 05 March 2013 at 09:17 AM