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Home About Uzbekistan NewsTurkmenistan officially reopens for tourism in March 2023 after a long break due to COVID-19

Turkmenistan officially reopens for tourism in March 2023 after a long break due to COVID-19

07 March 2023

Great News: Turkmenistan has reopened its doors for tourists as of 1 March 2023 after a long break of almost 3 years due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Since the travel restrictions are being lifted worldwide step by step, Turkmenistan is also resuming international tourism starting 1 March 2023, welcoming travelers and visitors from across the globe to its beautiful sites.

After being suspended for almost three years, Turkmenistan is finally resuming tourist visas in March 2023 for those who are planning a trip to the country or across the countries of the Great Silk Road and Central Asia. Currently, travelers from many countries will need to obtain a visa in advance to enter Turkmenistan before their trip. While specific visa requirements for 2023 are still being finalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the majority of the international airline companies have been resuming regular flights to various cities of Turkmenistan since the beginning of the year.

So far, some of the updates of airline companies’ resumed flight schedules to various destinations in Turkmenistan are as follows:

Turkmenistan Airlines is resuming direct flights between the cities of Ashgabat and Beijing on regular basis as of 19 March, and regular flights between Ashgabat and London starting 20 March this year.

Other destinations, where Turkmenistan Airlines has today resumed regular flights to are the cities of Istanbul, Moscow, Kazan, Frankfurt am Main and Dubai.

Turkish Airlines (THY) has currently resumed the schedule of regular flights between Istanbul-Ashgabat-Istanbul 4 times a week, including Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Starting 24 March 2023, direct flights by Turkish Airlines for the route Ashgabat-Istanbul will start operating on a daily basis.

China Southern Airlines is resuming direct flights for the route of Urumqi-Ashgabat-Urumqi starting on 28 March this year after a break of 3 years, when the company suspended the flights at the beginning of 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

Flydubai, an Emirati government-owned low-cost airline in Dubai, has resumed direct flights to Ashgabat as of 23 January this year. Regular flights from Ashgabat to Dubai have been operating twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays so far.

Considering the abovementioned updates and conveniences with traveling to Turkmenistan after the country reopens itself for international tourism again, it is a great time to plan your trip not only to Turkmenistan but to the route of Central Asia and the Great Silk Road.

Since all the Stan countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, are now open for international travelers, you can use this great opportunity to touch the history of the great Caravan trade route of the ancient Silk Road. Besides delving into the rich historical sites of Central Asia with its ancient cities, you will also be able to explore the modern infrastructure and cities, fascinating nature, colorful cultural heritage, hospitable people and amazing local cuisine your trip comes with.

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Did you know?

Uzbekistan is one of only two countries in the world to be ‘double landlocked’ (landlocked and totally surrounded by other landlocked countries). Liechtenstein is double landlocked by 2 countries whilst Uzbekistan is surrounded by 5!

Did you know that Uzbekistan lies in the very heart of Eurasia, the coordinates for Uzbekistan are 41.0000° N, 69.0000°

Uzbekistan is home to the Muruntan gold mine, one of the largest open pit gold mines in the world! The country has 4th largest reserves of gold in the world after South Africa, USA and Russia

Uzbekistan is the world capital of melons. They have in excess of 150 different varieties, which form a staple part of the local diet, served fresh in the summer and eaten dried through the winter.

It is Uzbek tradition that the most respected guest be seated farthest from the house’s entrance.

Tashkent’s metro features chandeliers, marble pillars and ceilings, granite, and engraved metal. It has been called one of the most beautiful train stations in the world.

The Uzbek master chef is able to cook in just one caldron enough plov to serve a thousand men.

When you are a host to someone, it is your duty to fill their cups with for the whole time they are with you. What you must not do, however, is to fill their cup more than half-full. If you do that as a mistake, say it is a mistake immediately. Doing it means you want them to leave. Wow! Amazing, right?

To Uzbeks, respect means a whole lot. For this reason they love it if, even as foreigners, you endeavour to add the respectful suffix opa after a woman's name; and aka after a man's. Example: Linda-opa and David-aka. You could also use hon and jon respectively.

Having been an historic crossroads for centuries as part of various ancient empires, Uzbekistan’s food is very eclectic. It has its roots in Iranian, Arab, Indian, Russian and Chinese cuisine.

Though identified with the Persia, the Zoroastrism probably originated in Bactria or Sogdiana. Many distinguished scholars share an opinion that Zoroastrianism had originated in the ancient Khorezm. Indeed, today in the world there were found 63 Zoroastrian monuments, including those in Iran, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Thirty-eight of them are in Uzbekistan, whereas 17 of these monuments are located in Khorezm.

One of Islam's most sacred relics - the world's oldest Koran that was compiled in Medina by Othman, the third caliph or Muslim leader, is kept in Tashkent. It was completed in the year 651, only 19 years after Muhammad's death.

Tashkent is the only megapolis in the world where public transport is totally comprised of Mercedes buses. And due to low urban air polution it is one of the few cities where one can still see the stars in the sky.

You would be surprised to know that modern TV was born in Tashkent. No joke! The picture of moving objects was transmitted by radio first time in the world in Tashkent on 26 of July 1928 by inventors B.P. Grabovsky and I.F. Belansky.

Uzbekistan is the only country in the world all of whose neighbours have their names ending in STAN. This is also the only country in Central Asia that borders all of the countries of this region

Uzbeks are the third populous Turkik ethnicity in the world after Turks and Azeris (leaving both in Azerbaijan and Iran)

Did you know that there was silk money in Khiva? Super interesting right? Of course, but the best part of having silk money was that it could be sewn into your clothing.

Famous Islamic physician Ibn Sina (Avicenna in the Latin world) who was born near Bukhara was the one of the first people to advocate using women’s hair as suture material – about 1400 years ago.

Uzbekistan has a long and bloody history. The most notorious leader of Uzbekistan was Timur (or Tamerlane) who claimed descent from Genghis Khan. His military campaigns have been credited for wiping out some 5% of the world’s population at the time.

If you have thought that some of the Islamic architecture in Uzbekistan resembles that from Northern India, then that is because Timur’s great great great Grandson, Babur Beg, was the founder of the Moghul Empire that ruled much of India for almost four centuries! Babur’s great great Grandson was Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal.

Uzbekistan was once a rum producig country. There is still a real arboretum in Denau (city near Termez on the border with Afghanistan), grown from a selection station that studied the prospects of plant growing in the unusual for the Soviet Union subtropical climate of Surkhandarya region: only here in the whole of the USSR sugar cane was grown and even rum was produced!

Uzbekistan has been ranked one of the safest countries in the world, according to a new global poll. The annual Gallup Global Law and Order asked if people felt safe walking at night and whether they had been victims of crime. The survey placed Uzbekistan 5th out of 135 countries, while the UK was 21st and the US 35th. Top five safest countries:

Singapore
Norway
Iceland
Finland
Uzbekistan

Exchange rates

100 RUR

12857.09 UZS

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1286125.53 UZS

100 EUR

1365453.77 UZS

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1645726.75 UZS

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