Q 01/05

Turkmenistan is one of how many independent Turkic-speaking states?

A) Three

B) Nine

C) Six

D) Twelve

Answer · why

C) Six

With Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Turkmen is close enough to Turkish that Turkish television is widely watched.

Q 02/05

Which desert covers more than 80% of Turkmenistan?

A) The Taklamakan

B) The Gobi

C) The Kyzylkum

D) The Karakum

Answer · why

D) The Karakum

Its name means 'black sand'. Some spots get only 12 mm of rain a year, and the Repetek reserve recorded 50.1 °C, the Soviet Union's all-time high.

Q 03/05

Turkmenistan's western border is formed by which body of water?

A) The Caspian Sea

B) The Persian Gulf

C) The Black Sea

D) The Aral Sea

Answer · why

A) The Caspian Sea

The shoreline runs 1,748 km. Since the Caspian is landlocked, the country counts as landlocked too, though the Volga-Don Canal gives ships a route out...

Q 04/05

Which country lies along Turkmenistan's southern border, separated by the Kopet Dag mountains?

A) Afghanistan

B) Pakistan

C) Uzbekistan

D) Iran

Answer · why

D) Iran

Afghanistan is to the south-east and Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the north. The Kopet Dag is prone to earthquakes, including the 1948 disaster.

Q 05/05

The Darvaza gas crater, nicknamed the 'Door to Hell', has been burning since which year?

A) 1991

B) 1971

C) 2001

D) 1981

Answer · why

B) 1971

Soviet drilling punctured a gas cavern and the roof collapsed. In 2022 the president ordered the fire put out; it is still Turkmenistan's most famous ...