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Pulled on my mukluks and wandered into town for a showing of new works by Mongolian artist  Soyolma and her husband Davaanyam. I already have a number of Soyolma’s paintings on display in the exhibition hall of my hovel in Zaisan Tolgoi.   Soyolma and one of her new works (click on photos for enlargements Detail of new work by Soyolma Work by Soyolma Detail of work by Soyolma Work by Soyolma Work by Soyolma Green Tara by Soyolma Soyolma and Green Tara Work by Soyolma Detail of work by Soyolma Work by Soyolm a Large Triptych by Soyolma. This work was earlier displayed in New York City. Detail of Large Triptych Text explaining the Triptych Work by Soyolma currently on display in  the Exhibition Hall  of my hovel in Zaisan Tolgoi Detail of work by Soyolma currently on display in  the Exhibition Hall  of my hovel in Zaisan Tolgoi See More Paintings by Soyolma . You can also Email Her .

I was extremely eager to see the ruins of the city of Dehistan, 195 miles northwest of Ashgabat as the crow flies. The city was located on the old flood plain of the Amu Darya River back when the river flowed into the Caspian Sea and not the Aral Sea, as it now does. Dehistan was founded by the Khwarezmshahs   who ruled the Khwarezmian Empire up until the  early thirteenth century  when Chingis Khan And His Boys invaded the region.  The buildings and minarets found there, now in ruins, are probably the only examples of structures built under the direction of the last Khwarezmshah, Muhammad II. Now you can understand why I was so determined to visit the site.  It is possible to drive to Dehistan directly from Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. The tourist agency from which I had hired a car and driver suggested, however, that I make a detour through the Kopet Dag Mountains and visit the small village of Nohur, where I would be able to spend the night with a local family. Although I

One of my main objectives while in Turkmenistan was visiting the ruins of Urgench , which had been trashed by the sons of Chingis Khan back in 1221. Urgench is 290 miles north of the capital of Ashgabat . It is possible to drive from the capital to Urgench in one day, but most tourists like myself prefer to drive to the Darwaza Crater, 150 miles north of Ashagabat, spend the night there, and then continue on to Urgench the next day. The Darwaza Crater is widely touted as the Portal to Hell. Indeed, the word darwaza reportedly means “portal” in the Turkmani language. The portal is not, however, a natural phenomenon. It was created in 1971 when geologists accidentally drilled into a huge underground cavern filled with natural gas. The cavern collapsed, leaving a crater about 230 feet in diameter. To keep from poisoning the local environment the geologists set fire to the huge amounts of natural gas seeping from the crater. They apparently thought the gas would burn off in a few days or

Today is the celebration of the 851st birthday of Chingis Khan. It is generally accepted that he was born in 1162, but there has been some question about the actual day of his birth. It has now been decided to celebrate his birthday on the first day of the first month of winter according to the lunar calendar, which this year is November 4, according to the Gregorian Calendar. (It should be mentioned that the actual New Moon was yesterday at 8:49 PM. November 4th is the first full day of the first month of winter.) Today is a national holiday and most offices and stores are closed. Don’t know if bars will be open or not, but if they are things could get rowdy by evening. I am spending the day in my hovel.  I attended  Chingis Khan’s 840th Birthday Bash at Khodoo Aral  back in 2002. Oddly enough the First Blog Post I ever made was about this event. Uyana, then a Ulaanbaatar resident, cooling her heels in the Kherlen River while on the way to Chingis Khan’s 840th Birthday Bash at Khodoo