�The irony of Ashgabat was that nowhere, among the gold statues and white marble plazas with their fountains and the triumphal archways, was there a place to sit down. It was a city without benches, the subtle message being: keep walking."
-- Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star
I arrived at night, which I normally don't like to do on a first visit to a new country. But seeing the gold domes of the Presidential Palace lit up from the balcony of my hotel room gave me new appreciation for redeye flights.
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No matter where one walks in Ashgabat, gold and blue domes are almost always visible.
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Also seen from my hotel balcony was the Earthquake Memorial. In 1948 Ashgabat experienced what is considered one of the most deadly earthquakes in human history. Ten percent of the entire country's population was killed instantly that day. This memorial shows a cracking earth on top of a charging bull. The 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed future Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov's mother and the rest of his family, leaving him an orphan. He grew up alone and feeling unloved, and it is thought that his desire to be accepted and loved was one of the reasons for the odd cult following that he created later after his ascension to power. The memorial is also an embarrassment for many of the Turkmen people for its over-the-top presentation of the country's future leader -- a solid gold child emerging on top of the rubble.
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Random walk around Ashgabat. One of my most favorite activities when I arrive in a new city for the first time is to spend a few hours on an unscripted walk around town on my first full day. I get a sense of space and where everything is laid out when I do this, and often I will pick locations to return to later for more in-depth exploration. Since Ashgabat had so many marble and gold monuments, it was easy to spy a monument from far away and walk towards it, then pick my next target on the horizon to walk towards. I zigzagged across most of the city doing this.
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Soviet World War II Memorial in Ashgabat. A surprisingly moving place. This central statue was such an imposing yet sad figure -- a hybrid between Jesus and Darth Maul.
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The national color of the country is green, same as the flag. These ladies were decked out in full national attire during Independence Day parade practice.
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Statue of the former President for Life, Turkmenbashi, together with the Monument to the 10th anniversary of Turkmen independence (10 horses = 10 years).
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Giant monument to the Ruhnama (The Book of the Soul), the signature creation of Turkmenbashi. The book consists of spiritual & moral guidance, autobiography and revisionist history, defining family, social and religious norms for modern Turkmenistan. The former president once said that he had interceded with God to ensure that any student who read the book three times would automatically get into heaven.
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Turkmenbashi's mausoleum.
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Massive -- but inexplicably empty -- Gypjak Mosque.
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Turkmenistan's Independence Monument (irreverently referred to as The Plunger in the country's expat community), surrounded by bold statues of past heroes in Turkmen history.
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Some local kids in the vicinity of the Independence Monument.
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Camels for sale in the Tolkuchka bazaar, the largest market in the country and one of the largest in Asia.
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The sands of the Karakum Desert soon become the only thing visible for miles.
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A couple elderly worshippers patrol the grounds of gorgeous Goek Tepe Mosque.
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Checking out one of the Dashoguz bazaars. This guy had the quintessential local look, and I was happy he agreed to let me take his photograph.
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Lovely little (and for some reason completely abandoned) square dedicated to Turkmenbashi, first president of the country.
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11th Century Gultuk Temir Minaret, once the tallest brick minaret in the world.
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Some of the beautiful tile work at the Nejamuddin Kubra Mausoleum.
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