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Take a long piece of cloth or ribbon, add a blob of mud to it, and hurl it high onto the ceiling of the grotto. If it sticks, your wishes will come true. If the ribbon falls flat on the ground, well you can either give up, or try again. 🙂

It is a ritual which people from across Turkmenistan carry out at the 50-metre-high grotto in Lebap Province, in remote north-east Turkmenistan. Starting a new job, getting married, or want a baby—it would not be amiss to make a pilgrimage here first. Continue reading →