How to make a wish in Central Asia

Where ever I travel people's different beliefs always amazes me and as you can imagine its not always easy and possible to observe people when they are in a ritual. But I was quite lucky to get some interesting shots as well as joining the crowds who were talking with angels while travelling in central Asia....

So lets start with some common ones, like visiting the tomb of a holy man or woman and rotate around the tomb couple times while praying.. (photo from Turkmenistan)

 or tying piece of fabrics to a branch that is close to the tomb..

What would you do if you need a house? Build a model one around a tomb where you believe a holy man lies

What about a baby? Start building a small crib and place it near a tomb which is known for answering the prayers for a child.

and what about if you want to see and talk with the angels. Here is me on the mission..Did I see and talk with them? Sorry I am not suppose to tell anybody, thats the rule...

Another way is to make a wish and try to rotate a stone on your finger. If it makes a full turn your wish will soon be granted. I tried... believe me its difficult.

To pass under a fallen tree trunk where the holy man once seated under it. İt might remind you of Buddha but these following two photos are from Uzbekistan from the tomb of Sufi Saint Baha al-din Naqshbandi. As being the founder of the powerful Naqsbandi sect in Islam, it is an important pilgrimage site for its followers.

and the last but the most dangerous one is again from Turkmenistan. There is a rather small hill which ends up in a cemetary. So if you have a wish, you are paying a small amount of money to the man sitting there and he is wraping you with a quilt and pushes you down. According tothe information given to me if you go straight, your wish will soon be granted, if you go left , no chance and if you go right there might be a possibility so you have to try it again sometime later.. 

Unfortunately I couldnt observe this ritual eventhough I waited for some time. The locals were very shy about the foreigners watching them. However our guide later sent this photo for my blog that he took couple years ago. Although it is not very clear it is still giving an idea..

 So have a nice weekend and I hope all your wishes come true whereever and however you are praying for them

If I were a rich (wo) man....

My journey in Central Asia continues...

Well, what if you want to show your wealth in a place where diamonds, designer bags, flashy cars are belong to the other part of the world.

Be brave, pack all your money and go to a dentist. Covering your front teeth with gold is an important sign of wealth in this part of the world.

Desert Bazaar

As my travel agency handled all the visas, I wasnt aware that Turkmenistan is one of the most difficult countries to enter. They are not keen on issuing very many tourist visas.Although my visa was obtained from the embassy in İstanbul, it seemed like it took hours to please the customs officer at the airport. He showed great interest to every page of my passport as if it is a rare thing..

So with lots of patience, I entered the country in the early hours of a rainy day. Although I had only few hours of sleep, I couldnt resist to visit the desert bazaar near Askhabat in the morning. Well, they said it is the biggest in Central Asia and tell me how could I resist...

Locals called this bazaar as Tolkuckha, a name comes from the Russian days, and they were right it was big. You could find almost everything, from second hand cars to wedding dresses, from construction materials to cosmetics, you name it..It was such a perfect place to start my adventure on the ancient silk road.

I think you could probably identify most of the goods but in case you couldnt get the ones on the last photo, they are pop corns....and the puppy was not on sale, he only likes his picture to be taken..