Turkmenistan

Places in this region

Image of Independence Monument of Turkmenistan located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | View of the tower and the golden statue of Niyazov in the front (WikiCommons)
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Independence Monument of Turkmenistan

Sumptous memorial to a controversial independence

The Independence Monument of Turkmenistan is one of the largest and most extravagant of its kind in the entire world. Covering an area of more than 80,000 m², the monument sits in the middle of a... »

Museums and Collections, Unusual Monuments | Edited by Tawsam and atimian

Image of Giant Ruhnama located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | Memorial to the infamous book, surrounded by water fountains (WikiCommons)
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Giant Ruhnama

Monument to a bizarre book, written by Turkmenistan’s long-standing dictator

Saparmurat Niyazov is probably best known for his strange laws, banning everything from lip-syncing to smelly dogs in the capital city of Turkmenistan. Yet few people know that Niyazov is also a... »

Unusual Monuments | Edited by Tawsam and atimian

Image of Nokhur Cemetery located in Nokhur, Turkmenistan | View of the unusual cemetery (Flickr / Carpetblogger)
Nokhur, Turkmenistan

Nokhur Cemetery

Cemetery with goat-horn bedecked gravestones

At the cemetery of the isolated village of Nokhur, nearly every grave is marked by a wooden post adorned with the horns of a mountain goat. They are thought to fight off evil spirits, and help the... »

Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Rites and Rituals | Edited by Tawsam and atimian

Image of Walk of Health located in Proletarskiy Rayon, Turkmenistan | The path, snaking up and down the bare mountains (Wiki Commons)
Proletarskiy Rayon, Turkmenistan

Walk of Health

Harsh mountain path along city aimed to improve health conditions

The Turkmen city of Ashgabat is probably one of the weirdest places on Earth. Much of the capitol was the brainchild of the long-standing totalitarian President Saparmurat Niyazov, who has become... »

Unusual Monuments, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Tawsam and atimian

Image of Arch of Neutrality located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | Arch of Neutrality.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Arch of Neutrality

A dictator's gold statue rotates to face the sun on a 75-meter high marble tower

While the dictator Saparmurat Niyazov banned gold teeth because they offended him, he adored gold statues of himself. As the ruler of Turkmenistan for over two decades, he gilded the country... »

Unusual Monuments, Strange Statues | Edited by allison and Dylan

Image of The Gates of Hell located in Kyzylgar, Turkmenistan | Photo taken by, and published with the permission of <a href="http://www.johnhbradley.com/pictures2.asp?var=070707darvaza">John H. Bradley</a>
Kyzylgar, Turkmenistan

The Gates of Hell

Fiery crater that has been burning for 38 years

In the hot, expansive Karakum desert in Turkmenistan, near the 350 person village of Derweze, is a hole 328 feet wide that has been on fire. For 38 years it has constantly been active. This hole... »

Natural Wonders, Fiery Wonders, Geological Oddities, Intriguing Environs, Disaster Areas | Edited by Dylan, Josh and 2 others