In a land of the bizarre, nothing is stranger than this burning crater in the middle of nowhere. Roughly 100 meters (330 feet) across and 40 meters (130 feet) deep, the crater has thousands of burning jets of natural gas seeping up from underground. The flames are strong enough to light and heat the surrounding desert.

No one knows whether the Darvaza Gas Crater is a natural phenomenon or a result of some Soviet-era experiment gone wrong. It shows no signs of explosion or impact, although there are some twisted cables and pipes that were clearly man-made. It has been burning for a long time, although its existence was never acknowledged until the end of the Soviet period.

We are likely to be among the last people who see it. Last year, President B learned about it during a survey of natural-gas installations in the area, and he asked his engineers to shut it down. It's not clear how they plan to do that, but they will no doubt put an end to the fun.

After spending the night at the crater, we continued north across the Karakum Desert. Although its name literally means “black sands,” the color is meant to be taken metaphorically.