Turkmenistan will have to wait…
To obtain the visa for Uzbekistan I needed a letter of
recommendation from my embassy in Iran, So I went to the embassy of Spain to
ask for a letter of recommendation (As Argentinian I also needed a letter of
invitation to the country – and I didn’t have it).
After
fighting with some taxi drivers I finally arrived at the embassy of Spain, I
was the only person there so I told the receptionist that I wanted a letter of
recommendation, She was Iranian but knew some Spanish, she asked me if I was
going by bike, I said no, she asked me where I was going and I said
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. She called the secretary of the Consul and like 1
hour later she came to tell me off. She said that Afghanistan and Pakistan are
dangerous countries, I looked at her a bit confused and said, I don’t want to
go to those countries I want to go to Uzbekistan and I have to cross Turkmenistan, and she
answered Turkmenistan and all the “-tans” are dangerous, I am not giving you a
letter of recommendation, and she gave me 3 pages to read about Iran
neighbouring countries.
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| I found "kun" aguero in Tehran :) |
The pages didn't mention Turkmenistan at all, but I guess it was a bad day for the lady
and she didn't want me to go there (My accent is not Spanish, so I guess she
was even more upset that a foreigner was making use of their sacred embassy).
She asked me for my passport and left. Later, she called the receptionist and she asked me how I was getting to Uzbekistan so I said by bus...she asked again, I said by bus, she asked the third time and I said plane and she was happy.
The secretary returned with a paper saying that I am not going to Turkmenistan, they also wrote a letter to the embassy of Turkmenistan in which they asked them not to give me a visa because they were not going to be responsible of me.
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| Kandovan |
They gave me my letter, I signed a paper, I went to the embassy of Uzbekistan and 7 days later I got my visa. I am so frustrated that I am not going to Turkmenistan, one of the closest and most mysterious countries in the world, but I will say this again... there is a reason for everything.
I said goodbye to my Iranian family and Turkey received me for some days before crossing to Ukraine and Moldova. There were many Iranians telling me not to go to Ukraine as it is a dangerous country... I smiled and left.
I will return to you Iran... I will return...
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| Looking at Kandovan from the mountains |
