Damla Village is a tiny settlement in the heart of the Karakum Desert, which is a home to about 60 families. Their houses, built of brick and clay, look as if they have descended from ancient engravings. Next to these simple buildings, you can see traditional Turkmen yurts – “gara oy”. In these tents, which seem so fragile against the background of harsh conditions, the inhabitants continue to follow their centuries-old traditions.
The road to Damla will be a real adventure. You will have to drive through sand dunes, breaking through marches, in an atmosphere of complete isolation. There are no road signs, no signs of civilization, just a boundless sea of sand, through which you will make your way in an SUV. After five hours of travel, you will finally arrive at the village and realize how unique it is.
From the first minutes, you will feel that time seems to have stopped here. There is no Internet, electricity, cars – only silence, interrupted by the sounds of nature and the occasional conversation of local residents. At some point, you may even realize that you are in a place where modern technology is simply meaningless. After all, if there is no electricity, why a TV? If there are no gas stations, why a car?
Life in Damla is very simple, but that’s the beauty of it. The locals, who live off farming and hunting, remind us every day that true harmony lies in simplicity. Their main income comes from breeding camels, goats and sheep, and they hunt with the help of falcons and taza – Turkmen greyhounds, which serve as faithful hunting assistants from generation to generation.
In the evening, when the sun begins to set over the horizon, you will join a local family for dinner. The simplest food cooked on fire will seem surprisingly tasty after a busy day. At the table, conversations will be about life in the desert, about traditions and customs passed down from the elders to the younger ones. At some point, the eldest in the family will take out a dutar and start playing traditional melodies that smell of antiquity and wisdom. This music will take you through the centuries, showing the lives of those who lived here long before our time.
A night in a yurt is a special experience. On the one hand, you will feel vulnerable to the power of nature, but on the other – surprisingly protected. Through the hole in the roof you will be able to look at the stars, which here, in the heart of the desert, seem especially bright and close. It will be one of those moments when you realize how huge and beautiful the world is.
Damla will become for you not just a place, but a whole world where time slows down, where the simple joys of life come to the fore. Here you will understand that happiness does not depend on the number of things we have, but on the ability to find beauty and harmony in the simple and natural. Perhaps this is the true wealth that we so often miss in the modern world.