Who Gives a Fig About Turkmenistan? Quiz

Answer: California

Turkmenistan's land area of 188,456 sq miles would make it the third largest American state, behind Alaska (663,267) and Texas (268,581) but ahead of California (163,696).

Its population, though, estimated at 5 million in 2009, equates to smaller states such as Minnesota, Colorado and Alabama. The majority (80%) are of Turkmen origin but there are sizable Uzbek and Russian minorities. The predominant religion is Islam.

Answer: Iran

Turkmenistan's immediate neighbours are, in clockwise order, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The suffix "stan" means "place", so Turkmenistan is, literally, "the place where the Turkmen people live".

Since independence from the USSR in 1991, Turkmenistan has forged her closest links with Iran. Relations with Uzbekistan have been strained but improved significantly after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow became president in 2007.

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Alexander the Great conquered the area in 330 BC and, as a consequence, the Turkmen town of Merv was temporarily renamed as Alexandria. The Mongol armies, under Genghis Khan, arrived in 1221 AD. The consequence for Merv was this time more serious - it was razed to the ground. At the end of the nineteenth century, Turkmenistan became part of Russia and, subsequently, the Soviet Union. It regained its independence in 1991.

Napoleon never made it any further east than Moscow.

Answer: A ski resort in a mountain range where there isn't enough snow for skiing

Prior to independence, Nyýazow had been first secretary of the communist party of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, a constituent part of the USSR, and was appointed as interim president upon independence in 1991. This was confirmed by elections in 1992. He became an autocratic and often eccentric dictator in a one party state and, in 1999, Parliament extended his presidency for life. Under his repressive leadership, days of the week and months of the year were renamed, some after his family members; beards and satellite dishes were banned; and all hospitals outside of the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, were closed. His response to a pension fund deficit in early 2006 was to cancel the pensions of approximately a third of the country's already marginalised pensioners. Nyýazow died in December 2006 aged 66, although, unlike many others of pensionable age who died that year, it wasn't for want of money.

The ski resort was planned for Turkmenistan's Kopet Dag mountains which border Iran. As a side note to the wrong answers, Turkmenistan does have a coastline as the Caspian Sea forms its western border and, under Nyýazow, internet access was so tightly controlled as to be non-existent. There has never been a Turkmen tiger.

Answer: 80-90%

The majority of Turkmenistan consists of the Karakum (meaning "black sand") desert. In 2000, President Nyýazow inaugurated plans for a "Golden Age" lake in the middle of the Karakum that would be fed by water drained from Turkmenistan's irrigation system.

The lake would be about 800 square miles in area and construction costs were estimated at nearly $5 billion. The project was severely criticised by environmentalists who pointed to likely contamination from fertilisers and pesticides and the effect upon the Amu Darya River.

Answer: Natural Gas

Turkmenistan is one of the world's leading exporters of natural gas and also of oil. As a consequence, gas and electricity are free to all citizens leading to some burning their stoves 24/7 to avoid paying for matches!

The "Door to Hell" is located close to the village of Darvaza which, ironically, is the Turkmen for "gate". In 1971, geologists accidentally drilled into a vast underground chamber, creating a crater of poisonous gas. Someone had the bright idea of striking a light in order to burn off the gas. Bad idea! It's continued to burn with no sign of abating. There are numerous photographs on the internet and these are well worth accessing.

Answer: They were slaughtered.

Tertius Chandler, in his book "Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census", calculates Merv as being the world's largest city between 1145 and 1153 with a population of 200,000. It was located by an oasis on the old Silk Road.

The Mongol policy of eliminating entire populations was logical given the relatively small size of the Mongol army. Merv was attacked by the Mongols in 1221 AD. At the time, its population was swollen by refugees to a figure that modern historians estimate at anywhere between 700,000 and 1,300,000. The governor surrendered in return for a promise that the city's population would not be killed. With the benefit of hindsight he would have known that the Mongols were not good at keeping promises. The systematic slaughter took four days and included not just men, women and children but animals too. Just 400 men were spared.

The present day city of Mary is Turkmenistan's fourth largest and the capital of Mary province. It is located close to the historic site of Merv.

Answer: A flagpole

The national flag of Turkmenistan, first adopted in 1992, has a green background. Superimposed onto this are a white crescent (representing Islam) and five white stars (representing the country's five provinces). Additionally, there are five designs, said to symbolise the Turkmen tradition of carpet making, and each of these also represents a tribal grouping. The flag was revised in 1997, to include an olive branch, indicative of Turkmenistan's stance of "permanent neutrality".

The State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported the flagpole's inaugural ceremony, on 3rd July 2008, with these words:
"The marches and patriotic songs performed by the Orchestra of the Guard of Honour and music groups of the Ashgabat Department of Culture added solemnity to the ceremony. The official ceremony of hoisting the national flag of Turkmenistan started with the march of the Guard of Honour carrying the giant national flag 52.5 x 35 meters in size weighing 420 kg in their arms. To the accompaniment of the national anthem of Turkmenistan the magnificent green banner soared up to the heavens inspiring the participants of the ceremony and filling them with the pride in their Motherland and the present day of the Turkmen nation."

To be absolutely precise, the record was for the world's tallest free-standing flagpole.

Answer: Persian leopard

Population estimates for both animals are given in hundreds rather than thousands. In September 2009, a WWF initiative saw two Persian leopards transported from Ashkhabad to a national park in south-western Russia. This marked the beginning of a breeding programme intended to reintroduce the leopard to the Russian Caucasus. The project is sufficiently high profile that the leopards, on their arrival, were greeted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Another significant Turkmen animal is the Akhal Teke horse, an emblem of the country and one of the world's oldest breeds.

Answer: Cotton

Cotton is by far the biggest crop grown in Turkmenistan and dates back to the days of the Soviet Union when it was seen as "white gold". Cotton production requires heavily irrigated land and its cultivation in Turkmenistan and other former Soviet republics has led to the environmental catastrophe that has befallen the Aral Sea.

Figs are grown in limited quantities in the Sumbar and Artek valleys of south Turkmenistan. For the most part, though, the climate isn't suitable for their cultivation.