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All the United States Utah Wendover Republic of Zaqistan
AO Edited

Republic of Zaqistan

A proto micro-nation sometimes populated by artists, surrounded on all sides by a Utah most barren.

Wendover, Utah

Added By
Sarah Brumble
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Zaqistan welcome sign, with the Decennial Monument in the background.   joshbuhler / Atlas Obscura User
Zaqistan welcome sign, with the Decennial Monument in the background.   joshbuhler / Atlas Obscura User
Micronation of Zaqistan shown on a state map of Utah   Brianhe on Wikipedia
Guardian of Zaqistan   joshbuhler / Atlas Obscura User
Mount Insurmountable   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
  MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
The humans who ripped my arms off suck.   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
Leaving Zaqistan   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
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About

In 2005, New York resident Zaq Landsberg acquired two acres of hostile land in Utah's Evaporated Basin of the Great Salt Lake from eBay, sight unseen.

Though it sounds like something one might do in the midst of a night of heavy drinking – akin to purchasing that Japanese knife set from late-nite TV — Landsberg knew full well what he was doing. For a grand total of $610, the 30-year-old had successfully acquired the keys to his own personal country, which he continues to operate over a decade later as a self-described "art project" whose goal is to "become a real country."

Since its founding, the Republic of Zaquistan has garnered national attention simply for existing; no permanent residents call the land home, though Landsberg and a cadre of Zaquistanis who've petitioned for citizenship from Zaqistan's Department of State make pilgrimages there once or twice a year. Features of the almost-country include zero permanent shelters or roads connecting the interior, one unmanned immigration booth, a newly-erected monument to the 10th year of Zaqistani Independence, one bed of plastic wildflowers, and a tiny natural rock formation deemed Mt. Insurmountable.

Despite issuing a Declaration of Sucession, and beginning to issue passports, one technicality stands in the way of the Landsberg's creation receiving official micro-nation designation: no other sovereign nation has recognized Zaqistsan as extant. A recent wave of international media attention directed at Zaqistan may remedy this sooner than even its founder had foreseen.

Related Tags

Micro Nations Outsider Art

Know Before You Go

There are no services, a four-wheel drive is highly recommended. Bring water and supplies; it is a desert, after all. GPS - 41.439995°, -113.427328° There aren't really any "roads" going out to Zaqistan as much as just various dirt trails where other cars and ATVs have driven (there are many branches and turnoffs around, many of which do not take you to Zaqistan).

Services like Google Maps will not be able to get you directy you to Zaqistan as it doesn't recognize these trails as roads. The best way to get there is to take the old railroad grade road and then use satellite images of the trails to plot out your course. Cell signal can be spotty so make sure to tell somewhere where you're going, you will be around 15 miles off the paved highway. 

Community Contributors

Added By

littlebrumble

Edited By

MagnumPI, joshbuhler, Anynamewilldo, MikeInSanFrancisco

  • MagnumPI
  • joshbuhler
  • Anynamewilldo
  • MikeInSanFrancisco

Published

January 20, 2016

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Sources
  • https://www.ksl.com/?sid=37022657&nid=711&fm=home_page&s_cid=toppick3
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Elder_County,_Utah
  • http://zaqistan.com/
Republic of Zaqistan
Red Dome Rd
Wendover, Utah, 84083
United States
41.439968, -113.427229
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

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Box Elder County, Utah

miles away

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Photo of Wendover

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Photo of Wendover

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