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Quiz about Who Gives a Fig About Turkmenistan
Quiz about Who Gives a Fig About Turkmenistan

Who Gives a Fig About Turkmenistan? Quiz


"The main thing that the West should know about Turkmenistan is that it exists. Most people have no idea that it exists." - Paul Theroux. Do the inhabitants of FunTrivia agree as it's one of the last countries to get its own quiz? Does anyone give a fig?

A multiple-choice quiz by glendathecat. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
glendathecat
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
321,176
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
4187
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: wellenbrecher (10/10), poit (1/10), Guest 175 (1/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Its citizens, that's who.

Turkmenistan is approximately 190,000 square miles in area. This puts it on a par with which of these American states?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Its neighbours, that's who.

I'm sure that Turkmenistan's neighbours are keeping at least one eye upon her. She is bordered by four countries and all but one of these also ends in "stan". Which country is the exception?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Some very famous leaders through history, that's who.

Which of the following did NOT have control of the territory that is modern day Turkmenistan?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Former President Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, that's who.

Nyýazow took the cult of personality to new levels and was noted for being both autocratic and eccentric. Which of the following was one of his more bizarre projects?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Construction workers, that's who.

Another of President Nyýazow's projects was the creation of a vast inland lake in the middle of the desert. Approximately, how much of Turkmenistan is covered by desert?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Anyone visiting the "Door to Hell", that's who.

This truly spectacular site has been continuously burning since 1971. What is being burned?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Merv and Mary, that's who.

Merv and Mary aren't people, but Turkmen towns. If you've never heard of Merv then you should have been around in the twelfth century when it was, by some modern calculations, the largest city in the world. Just seventy years later, the town was captured by the Mongols. What happened to its population?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: The Guinness Book of Records, that's who.

In 2008, an object was unveiled in the capital, Ashgabat, that at 133m was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. What was it?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: The World Wildlife Fund, that's who.

In recent years, the World Wildlife Fund has focused work on protecting the endangered Bukhara deer in Turkmenistan and neighbouring countries. The falling population of Bukhara deer and loss of habitat has affected its main predator which is also vulnerable to extinction. Which animal is this?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Importers and exporters, that's who.

If you pay attention for one cotton picking moment, you might cotton on that, any links you might have assumed through the course of this quiz, are not figging likely. So, which of these is one of Turkmenistan's major exports?
Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Its citizens, that's who. Turkmenistan is approximately 190,000 square miles in area. This puts it on a par with which of these American states?

Answer: California

Turkmenistan's land area of 188,456 sq miles would make it the third largest American state, behind Alaska (663,267) and Texas (268,581) but ahead of California (163,696).

Its population, though, estimated at 5 million in 2009, equates to smaller states such as Minnesota, Colorado and Alabama. The majority (80%) are of Turkmen origin but there are sizable Uzbek and Russian minorities. The predominant religion is Islam.
2. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Its neighbours, that's who. I'm sure that Turkmenistan's neighbours are keeping at least one eye upon her. She is bordered by four countries and all but one of these also ends in "stan". Which country is the exception?

Answer: Iran

Turkmenistan's immediate neighbours are, in clockwise order, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The suffix "stan" means "place", so Turkmenistan is, literally, "the place where the Turkmen people live".

Since independence from the USSR in 1991, Turkmenistan has forged her closest links with Iran. Relations with Uzbekistan have been strained but improved significantly after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow became president in 2007.
3. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Some very famous leaders through history, that's who. Which of the following did NOT have control of the territory that is modern day Turkmenistan?

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Alexander the Great conquered the area in 330 BC and, as a consequence, the Turkmen town of Merv was temporarily renamed as Alexandria. The Mongol armies, under Genghis Khan, arrived in 1221 AD. The consequence for Merv was this time more serious - it was razed to the ground. At the end of the nineteenth century, Turkmenistan became part of Russia and, subsequently, the Soviet Union. It regained its independence in 1991.

Napoleon never made it any further east than Moscow.
4. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Former President Saparmyrat Ataýewiç Nyýazow, that's who. Nyýazow took the cult of personality to new levels and was noted for being both autocratic and eccentric. Which of the following was one of his more bizarre projects?

Answer: A ski resort in a mountain range where there isn't enough snow for skiing

Prior to independence, Nyýazow had been first secretary of the communist party of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, a constituent part of the USSR, and was appointed as interim president upon independence in 1991. This was confirmed by elections in 1992. He became an autocratic and often eccentric dictator in a one party state and, in 1999, Parliament extended his presidency for life. Under his repressive leadership, days of the week and months of the year were renamed, some after his family members; beards and satellite dishes were banned; and all hospitals outside of the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, were closed. His response to a pension fund deficit in early 2006 was to cancel the pensions of approximately a third of the country's already marginalised pensioners. Nyýazow died in December 2006 aged 66, although, unlike many others of pensionable age who died that year, it wasn't for want of money.

The ski resort was planned for Turkmenistan's Kopet Dag mountains which border Iran. As a side note to the wrong answers, Turkmenistan does have a coastline as the Caspian Sea forms its western border and, under Nyýazow, internet access was so tightly controlled as to be non-existent. There has never been a Turkmen tiger.
5. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Construction workers, that's who. Another of President Nyýazow's projects was the creation of a vast inland lake in the middle of the desert. Approximately, how much of Turkmenistan is covered by desert?

Answer: 80-90%

The majority of Turkmenistan consists of the Karakum (meaning "black sand") desert. In 2000, President Nyýazow inaugurated plans for a "Golden Age" lake in the middle of the Karakum that would be fed by water drained from Turkmenistan's irrigation system.

The lake would be about 800 square miles in area and construction costs were estimated at nearly $5 billion. The project was severely criticised by environmentalists who pointed to likely contamination from fertilisers and pesticides and the effect upon the Amu Darya River.
6. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Anyone visiting the "Door to Hell", that's who. This truly spectacular site has been continuously burning since 1971. What is being burned?

Answer: Natural Gas

Turkmenistan is one of the world's leading exporters of natural gas and also of oil. As a consequence, gas and electricity are free to all citizens leading to some burning their stoves 24/7 to avoid paying for matches!

The "Door to Hell" is located close to the village of Darvaza which, ironically, is the Turkmen for "gate". In 1971, geologists accidentally drilled into a vast underground chamber, creating a crater of poisonous gas. Someone had the bright idea of striking a light in order to burn off the gas. Bad idea! It's continued to burn with no sign of abating. There are numerous photographs on the internet and these are well worth accessing.
7. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Merv and Mary, that's who. Merv and Mary aren't people, but Turkmen towns. If you've never heard of Merv then you should have been around in the twelfth century when it was, by some modern calculations, the largest city in the world. Just seventy years later, the town was captured by the Mongols. What happened to its population?

Answer: They were slaughtered.

Tertius Chandler, in his book "Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census", calculates Merv as being the world's largest city between 1145 and 1153 with a population of 200,000. It was located by an oasis on the old Silk Road.

The Mongol policy of eliminating entire populations was logical given the relatively small size of the Mongol army. Merv was attacked by the Mongols in 1221 AD. At the time, its population was swollen by refugees to a figure that modern historians estimate at anywhere between 700,000 and 1,300,000. The governor surrendered in return for a promise that the city's population would not be killed. With the benefit of hindsight he would have known that the Mongols were not good at keeping promises. The systematic slaughter took four days and included not just men, women and children but animals too. Just 400 men were spared.

The present day city of Mary is Turkmenistan's fourth largest and the capital of Mary province. It is located close to the historic site of Merv.
8. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: The Guinness Book of Records, that's who. In 2008, an object was unveiled in the capital, Ashgabat, that at 133m was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. What was it?

Answer: A flagpole

The national flag of Turkmenistan, first adopted in 1992, has a green background. Superimposed onto this are a white crescent (representing Islam) and five white stars (representing the country's five provinces). Additionally, there are five designs, said to symbolise the Turkmen tradition of carpet making, and each of these also represents a tribal grouping. The flag was revised in 1997, to include an olive branch, indicative of Turkmenistan's stance of "permanent neutrality".

The State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported the flagpole's inaugural ceremony, on 3rd July 2008, with these words:
"The marches and patriotic songs performed by the Orchestra of the Guard of Honour and music groups of the Ashgabat Department of Culture added solemnity to the ceremony. The official ceremony of hoisting the national flag of Turkmenistan started with the march of the Guard of Honour carrying the giant national flag 52.5 x 35 meters in size weighing 420 kg in their arms. To the accompaniment of the national anthem of Turkmenistan the magnificent green banner soared up to the heavens inspiring the participants of the ceremony and filling them with the pride in their Motherland and the present day of the Turkmen nation."

To be absolutely precise, the record was for the world's tallest free-standing flagpole.
9. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: The World Wildlife Fund, that's who. In recent years, the World Wildlife Fund has focused work on protecting the endangered Bukhara deer in Turkmenistan and neighbouring countries. The falling population of Bukhara deer and loss of habitat has affected its main predator which is also vulnerable to extinction. Which animal is this?

Answer: Persian leopard

Population estimates for both animals are given in hundreds rather than thousands. In September 2009, a WWF initiative saw two Persian leopards transported from Ashkhabad to a national park in south-western Russia. This marked the beginning of a breeding programme intended to reintroduce the leopard to the Russian Caucasus. The project is sufficiently high profile that the leopards, on their arrival, were greeted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Another significant Turkmen animal is the Akhal Teke horse, an emblem of the country and one of the world's oldest breeds.
10. Who gives a fig about Turkmenistan? Answer: Importers and exporters, that's who. If you pay attention for one cotton picking moment, you might cotton on that, any links you might have assumed through the course of this quiz, are not figging likely. So, which of these is one of Turkmenistan's major exports?

Answer: Cotton

Cotton is by far the biggest crop grown in Turkmenistan and dates back to the days of the Soviet Union when it was seen as "white gold". Cotton production requires heavily irrigated land and its cultivation in Turkmenistan and other former Soviet republics has led to the environmental catastrophe that has befallen the Aral Sea.

Figs are grown in limited quantities in the Sumbar and Artek valleys of south Turkmenistan. For the most part, though, the climate isn't suitable for their cultivation.
Source: Author glendathecat

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
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