Serhetabat: The Desert Ghost Town That Made My Board Cry

i've been chasing rumors of a desert skate paradise for months, and somehow i ended up in serhetabat, turkmenistan, with a board that's bent from too many ollies and a backpack full of dust. the bus ride from ashgabat was a 15-hour odyssey through scrubland that made me question my life choices. but here i am, standing on a cracked sidewalk with my wheels still intact, and the first thing i notice is the *dust-it's not just sand, it's a fine, chalky powder that gets in your teeth and makes you feel like you've been rolling in chalk. second thing? the cold. i just checked my weather app and it's 10.73°c, but the 'feels like' is 9.14 because of this ghost wind that whips through the empty streets and makes your fingers numb. i'm no meteorologist, but i swear the air feels like it's sucking the heat right out of your bones. and it's not even winter.

i'm staying at a 'hotel' that looked decent on the photos-turns out those were taken a decade ago. the bed sheets might as well be sandpaper, and the wifi works about as well as a banana in a socket. but it's cheap, and the owner-an old man named azim-is actually pretty chill. he told me in broken english that the best skate spot is the abandoned soviet factory on the edge of town. he also warned me about the cops-said they don't understand skateboarding and might think my board is a weapon. 'just don't get caught,' he said with a grin that didn't reach his eyes.

i set out, board under my arm, and immediately got lost. the streets are a maze of unpaved lanes with potholes deep enough to swallow a small car. after asking a kid on a bike, i finally found the factory. it's a complex of concrete buildings, some with roofs caved in, others standing like skeletal reminders of a bygone era. the loading docks are perfect for grinds-smooth, worn down by decades of use. i spent an hour sessioning a long ledge that ran along one wall. the surface was a bit gritty, but i had brought some wax and it helped. the sunlight hitting the rusted beams created these dramatic shadows that made everything look like a black-and-white movie. i managed a solid kickflip over a crack, and a local kid filmed it on his phone. he showed me the video and i could see my face concentrated like i was solving a math problem.

the locals are curious but friendly. a group of teenage boys gathered, shouting encouragement in turkmen. one of them, alik, spoke a little english and asked if i could do a heel flip. i tried, slipped, and fell on my elbow. i got a nice scrape, but alik helped me up and offered a bottle of water-real mineral water from a sealed bottle, which is a rarity here. i asked about skate shops, and he just laughed and pointed to an old man selling socks and phone cards from a stall. i went over, and the man did have a single deck-a beat-up zero with delaminated tips. he wanted 200 manats, which is about $60. i told him i could get a new one for less online, and he shrugged like 'your loss.'

i've been hearing rumors about the police. at a tea house later, i overheard two men talking. one said: 'they took a foreigner's board last week. said it looked like a tool for spying.' i didn't know whether to believe it, but i started keeping my board hidden in my backpack when i wasn't skating. better safe than sorry.

food: there's a kebab place called 'ayaz' that's open 24/7. the meat is goat, i think, grilled over a smokey fire. it's greasy and delicious, especially after a session. i found it on Yelp under 'best kebabs in serhetabat'-only one review, and it was from a guy named 'david' who said the place was 'authentic but questionable.' i'd agree. also, the coffee at the cafe next door is strong enough to wake the dead. i sit there with my laptop, pretending to work while actually watching the street.

i'm staying at the hotel that's listed on TripAdvisor. it has 2.5 stars, with reviews mentioning 'rustic charm' and 'thin walls' and 'sometimes no hot water.' i can confirm all that. one review even said the owner tried to teach them how to wrestle a goat. i haven't experienced that, but i'm keeping an open mind. i also found a thread on TripAdvisor discussing skate spots in turkmenistan. it's mostly nonsense, but one user mentioned a smooth basketball court in the village of kaka, an hour east. i hired a lada (a rattling old car) and went to check it out. kaka is a tiny settlement with dusty streets and a single concrete basketball court. it was empty, so i sessioned it for an hour-doing manuals across the whole length, trying ollies over the cracks. an old man came out and started yelling in turkmen. alik (who had tagged along) said he was mad because we might damage the court. i apologized and left, but i got a few good lines in.

if you're bored of serhetabat, you can drive three hours east to merv, which is a historic city with a big archaeological site. they say there's a skatepark there, but it's probably overgrown. i haven't made it yet-maybe tomorrow. or you could head south to the iran border (20 minutes) and cross into a completely different world. just make sure you have your visa; and definitely don't bring your board-they'll think it's a weapon. i heard that from a local skate forum where someone posted about getting detained at the border for 'carrying suspicious sports equipment.' i'd pack it in your luggage if you attempt it.

the landscape here is pure desert-flat, endless, with nothing but scrub and the occasional oil rig pumping up and down like a mechanical heartbeat. the sunset paints the sky orange and purple, but it gets cold fast. i've had power outages every night, so i go to bed when it gets dark, which is early. the stray dogs howl at the moon, and i swear sometimes i hear music drifting from nowhere-maybe it's the wind, or my sleep-deprived brain. i've been here four days, and i'm starting to feel like i'm in a western film, except there are no horses, just donkeys and the occasional camel. the internet is spotty, so i'm typing this offline, will post later. i take that as a blessing; i'm forced to just skate and be present.

i've learned a few things: bring your own tools and spare wheels. bring griptape. bring a portable ramp if you can-flat ground gets boring. bring a good jacket because the nights are chilly. bring cash-cards don't work here. bring sunscreen even if it's cold, the uv is still strong. and bring patience-the shopkeepers move slower than a snail on sedatives. also, learn a few turkmen phrases; it'll get you farther than english.

overall, serhetabat is not a destination for the casual traveler. it's raw, unforgiving, and oddly beautiful in its desolation. if you're a skater looking for a story, this place delivers. but heed my advice: watch out for cops, dust storms, and the way the wind can steal your board if you set it down for a second. i speak from experience-my board almost blew into a cactus yesterday.

i'm heading out now to find one last spot before sunset. the light* is perfect for filming. hope i don't get arrested.

- the sleep‑deprived, board‑covered, slightly‑crazy skater

Serhetabat: The Desert Ghost Town That Made My Board Cry

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About the author: Emma Hayes

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