Facts about Turkmenistan

So, I guess it's time for me to give some information on the country that Kimberly and I might be going to with the Peace Corp in September.  I'm a little hesitant since I did this for Morocco and it didn't work out.  If you want to read what I wrote about Morocco, check here, here, and here.

• Capital City: Ashgabat (loosely means City of Love)
  
• Population: 5 million+
• Religions: Islam (89%), Eastern Orthodox (9%), Unknown (2%)
• On the same longitudinal plane (same distance from the equator) as Richmond, VA.  However, because there's no shade in the desert, it's much hotter in Turkmenistan.
• They are a democratic nation, which is another reason I am disappointed about not going to Morocco.  I really wanted to experience living under a Monarchy.
• They are bordered by the Caspian Sea to the west, Iran to the southwest, Afghanistan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the northwest, and Kazakstan to the northeast (yes, the one that Borat is from).
• It was a member of the Soviet Union until 1991, therefore many of its influences are Russian.
• One last bit of information I'll leave you with for now: In 2008 Turkmenistan scored a 1.8 on the Corruption Perception Index on a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt).

More to come at a later date.