Another country sadly saddled with a bizarre government, Turkmenistan is nonetheless an intrinsically thought-provoking country. Its archeological heritage is especially rich, and its deserts attract fans of utter and dizzying geologic austerity.

• TOTAL AREA: 488,100 sq km

• LAND AREA: 488,100 sq km

• WATER AREA: 0 sq km

• POPULATION: 5,042,920

• RELIGIONS: Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%

• LANGUAGES: Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%

• GOVERNMENT TYPE: Republic; authoritarian presidential rule, with little power outside the executive branch

• CAPITAL CITY: Ashgabat

• OFFICIAL CURRENCY: Turkmen manat (TMM)

• TIME ZONE: GMT/UTC +5