Köpet Dag Days
Two Years a Stray in Turkmenistan
(Part 1)
Köpet Dag is the name of the mountain range along the shared border of Turkmenistan and Iran (“dag” is pronounced “dog”). Köpet Dag Days is a soundtrack album comprised mostly of songs J wrote while living there between those mountains and the Karakum Desert.
For twenty-seven months, between 1995-1997, J Roth served in the U.S. Peace Corps in the newly-independent nation of Turkmenistan.
Hidden on maps within the great blob of the Soviet Union until 1991, Turkmenistan was/is/has/had been largely beyond the consideration of J (and his fellow Americans).
J ended up alone, in a small Turkmen town, that many (other than its inhabitants) might consider the middle of nowhere. He would be the first Westerner most of the people living there had ever encountered.
These years (the mid ’90s) were at the cusp of some major changes – not only had the mighty Soviet Union fallen, but these were the years just preceding the explosion of the internet and the ubiquitous use of mobile phones. J and his cohorts experienced a level of isolation in their posts which almost seems impossible in today’s hyper-connected world.
During his time in Turkmenistan, J had one faithful companion who brought some comfort to him again and again as he struggled to maintain his equilibrium: his guitar.
Turkmenistan has been a crossroads for many: one branch of the Silk Road passed through there and many a storied empire swept in (before being swept away again by the changing tides of Time/Fate/Power). The musical instrumentation on Köpet Dag Days represents a kind of “crossroads” itself: guitar is at the heart of each piece, but other instruments include: Turkmen dutar, Russian balalaika and domra, Egyptian oud, Indian tabla, as well as the more “European-familiar” mandolin, cello, concertina, bouzouki, and clarinet. There’s even a handful of more obscure sound-makers: washtub bass, jug, kalimba, theremin, and a typewriter…
About that typewriter: though all of J’s letters pouring out of Turkmenistan were handwritten, the typewriter on the soundtrack (playing a percussive role) is standing in for pen and paper – conjuring J’s contemplative journey as he reconsiders much of what he’s held to be true (especially about himself). Each song on the album is a soundtrack piece to an accompanying letter, written to a friend or family member back home. The music is meant to stand on its own, but excerpts from those letters are presented for any readers curious to explore more deeply what J’s experience was like in this unfamiliar corner of the world. If you, the reader/listener, feel up for the experiment, try matching the letters with their respective songs – it can help create a more cinematic experience of the material.
Letters (link)
A note about the letters: though each addressee is an actual person that J would have written to, these letters aren’t actually “historical documents” from the time. They’ve all been written almost thirty years after the fact. The tone is thus quite different than it would have been in the moment, but the truth is hopefully the same (even if somewhat differently hued by the years of subsequent growth and perspective of the letter-writer).
Out of respect for the privacy of everyone involved, all names have been changed. Should any passages in the letters come across as disparaging of anyone in Turkmenistan (they shouldn’t – outside of perhaps the man who was the leader there at the time), let those words be considered more a reflection of the small-mindedness of J than any actual shortcomings of the people he encountered. Mutual respect ruled the day, with the understanding that sometimes we need to “agree to disagree” on certain matters.
J is forever grateful to the Turkmen family that housed him for two years; their kindness and patience were exceptional. Truly. He’s thankful also to all the people there in Turkmenistan who treated him with hospitality and curiosity. And certainly a “shout-out” must be given to his fellow volunteers: T-2, T-4, and most especially T-3.
J Roth
May 2025
Foreword
Letters
Appendix (about the music)
A final word about the albums sub-heading: Two Years a Stray in Turkmenistan; below are definitions of “stray” provided by Merriam Webster. All, in this case, might apply (turning verb to noun, of course).
Stray
a: to wander from company, restraint, or proper limits
b: to roam about without fixed direction or purpose
c: to move in a winding course : meander
d: to move without conscious or intentional effort
e: to become distracted from an argument or train of thought
f: to wander accidentally from a fixed or chosen route