Rally Raid Excitement in the Turkmen Desert

Thanks to its favourable geographical position and the positive foreign policy of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Turkmenistan is today becoming a key transport hub and a major international logistics crossroads for the region. Under the slogan "Turkmenistan – the Heart of the Great Silk Road", the country is preparing to host the international 'Amul-Hazar 2018' rally raid from 9-15 September.
The event will run on the Karakum Desert route, where President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov himself competed in the 'Great Silk Road Rally' held in February and May, and will pass through some of Turkmenistan's most memorable rural regions. Crews crossing the Karakum Desert, plains, mountains and hills can look forward to warm hospitality, Turkmen national cuisine, performances by artists and many other events. The week-long, demanding challenge will finish in Avaza, the tourism zone known as the pearl of the Caspian Sea.

Organised by renowned French driver and Africa Eco Race organiser Jean-Louis Schlesser, the 1,500-kilometre event will follow the historic course of the Great Silk Road, heading from the south of Turkmenistan to the west. Like the trade caravans of old, the crews will cross the boundless expanses of the famous Karakum, tackling the desert's complex terrain on a symbolic journey from the past to the present and taking in the unrivalled landscapes of Turkmen soil.
Participants will not only become acquainted with the heritage of the Turkmen people, but will also see the new life that has developed in these legendary places, shaped by socio-economic progress, scientific and technical advancement, and Turkmenistan's industrial development, which is reinforcing its position as an important transport hub on the Great Silk Road today.

The crews of Mert Becce-Hakan İsen, Cenk Gürpınar-Osman Metin, Ahmet Tınkır-Ali Günpay, Serhat Şükrü Saygılı-Orhan Doğan, Hüseyin Kurt-Özaydın Dölek, Adnan Ofluoğlu-Hür Semih Noyan and Erkan Birinci-Arman Özdemir will be the competitors representing our country at the start of this event.