June 06, 2013

The city of white marble.
posted by klausness 11 years ago
  • Holy. Crap. I had no idea. This makes me want to gag. This isn't just greed, it's pathologically narcissistic, selfish, incompetent, and totally corrupt. A monument to shame. 120 miles from the opulence of Ashgabat is the village of Erbent. In 2004 President Niyazov commented on the ugly appearance of the nearby village of Derweze. Three weeks later the residents were evicted and the village razed to the ground. Many of the displaced now live in yurts here in Erbent. The site of Derweze today is a discolored smudge on the desert floor. Can't wait till they start doing this here with trailer parks and homeless shelters. Oh, wait....