Health Path of Turkmenbashy

Health Path of Turkmenbashy made to improve the health of Turkmen citizens.

The fact is that, Ashgabat city is perhaps one of the oddest places on Earth since the president Saparmurat Niyazov became most famous for the incomprehensible laws he ruled like his prohibition on dogs, lip-syncing in concerts as well as the circus.

There are the architectural monuments, constructed during his 15-year-rule in Ashgabat, where the Neutrality Arch is the main one. Another creation of Niyazov is the Health Path, that goes along with the treeless Kopet Dag mountains for improving health of Turkmen people.

There are two ways of the Health Path. The first has a total length of 8 kilometers, and the other – 37 kilometers. After finishing the construction, Niyazov said to all ministers, members of parliament and civil servants to walk all paths once a year as well as to the population.

Niyazov by himself watched his staff walking with his helicopter to the final stage and greeted those who passed the exam. He himself could not walk because of health problems. He died in 2006 of a heart attack.

Walking on a tangible staircase for 22 miles without shade for rest in extreme temperature caused a health risk. There are a lot of workers took sick days off of work because of that. Walking is good, but not for those who has heart problems.