Ashgabat is the most closed city in the world. Open left menu ashgabat Ashgabat where

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Ashgabat is the capital of the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. Since gaining independence in 1991, this republic has consistently restricted the entry of citizens of other countries into it and is now the most closed country in the world. Amos Chapple, a photographer who has been there, says: “I applied twice for a three-day tourist visa and was denied twice. I already thought that I was denied entry, but the third time I was lucky and I got a visa. Ashgabat is a beautiful city, but the streets and parks are completely deserted. There are more soldiers on the streets than civilians, and these soldiers won't let you take pictures of them. And one day a soldier came up to me and demanded that I delete all my pictures. Ashgabat is included in the Guinness Book of Records as a city with the largest area of ​​walls covered with white marble. The total area of ​​such coatings in Ashgabat is 4.5 million square meters.
A young couple leaves the entertainment center Alem. Inside this center is the Ferris wheel, which is recognized as the largest indoor Ferris wheel in the world.

Monument to the Constitution in Ashgabat. Its height is 185 meters.

One of the many golden statues of former President Saparmurat Niyazov. Behind him is another monument dedicated to the horses of the Akhal-Teke breed, which are the national symbol of Turkmenistan.

The Health Path is a 36-kilometer concrete path, which is located near Ashgabat and was supposed to serve to improve the health of its residents. In 2000, former Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov forced his entire cabinet of ministers to walk it from the bottom to the top. Niyazov himself was taken to the summit by a helicopter.

On the left is the Ashgabat TV and radio center, and on the right is another monument to Saparmurat Niyazov. In the late 80s he was the party leader of Turkmenistan. After gaining independence, he became president and proclaimed himself the father of all Turkmen - Turkmenbashi. More than 14,000 monuments of Turkmenbashi were erected throughout Turkmenistan. He also forbade residents of Ashgabat to have dogs, closed all hospitals and libraries outside the capital, and renamed the months of the year in his honor and honor of his family members.

Inside the Oguzkent hotel in the center of Ashgabat.

On the right is a Turkmen woman with a child. Almost all Turkmen women wear national clothes. To the right is a telephone booth covered in white marble.

It is very hot in Turkmenistan: in the summer months, the temperature reaches 45 degrees.

Soldiers stand at attention at the base of the Constitution monument in Ashgabat.

Ashgabat supermarket. Despite the abundance of goods, locals rarely come here.

Cultural and entertainment center "Alem".

A huge thermometer is outside, and next to it is a huge screen on which the official news is broadcast.

The gardener put a white robe on his head so as not to burn in the sun. Despite external wealth, local residents receive a small salary. This gardener gets $150 a month.

Monument of Neutrality, with a statue of Turkmenbashi at the very top. The whole structure rotates after the sun.

The remains of the MiG-15 lie in the desert. By order of Turkmenbashi, the former Soviet monuments were thrown out.

Portrait of current President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the dashboard of a taxi. The former dentist became president after Niyazov's death in 2006.

The village of Erbent is located 120 km from rich Ashgabat. In 2004, President Niyazov criticized the ugliness of the neighboring village of Derweze. Three weeks later, the inhabitants of this village were evicted and the village was razed to the ground. Many of them moved now live in yurts here in Yerbent.

This place is called Darvaza. The locals called it the Gates of Hell. In 1970, during geological exploration, the rock collapsed and methane began to come out from the inside. It was decided to set fire to this gas so as not to endanger neighboring villages. According to calculations, the gas was supposed to burn out in a few days. But it's still on fire.

Having become Turkmenbashi, Niyazov proclaimed the “Golden Age” in Turkmenistan. Gas, gasoline and water began to cost a penny, and beautiful buildings began to appear in Ashgabat. But spending on education and pensions has been cut.

Palace of marriages, called the Palace of Happiness.

Sunny Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. Most likely, you know that gas is produced here, which will soon be supplied to European countries.

The city is considered an important cultural, political and industrial center. Despite its importance, the city cannot boast of ancient history. It is different from other cities in the country. The shahs rebuilt it in the style they liked. In an effort to perpetuate their names, they hired the best architects of the Middle Ages.

Name and history
The Persian word "eshg" is translated into Russian as "love", and "abad" is "inhabited". Ashgabat in the period from 1881 to 1919 was called "Ashkhabad", then until 1927 it was Poltoratsk, after which it received its modern name.

The history of the city begins in 1881, when it was still a small Teke village, which was controlled by the Tsarist Empire. It was transformed into the military fortification "Ashabad". The presence of a number of caravan routes and the railway, gave the city a rapid development. People came here from all over the area. Some for work, others fled from persecution, the third wanted to make a fortune on the construction of a new city. As a result, the settlement quickly grew into a city, where by 1901 more than 36.5 thousand people of different nationalities lived.

Since 1917, all opponents of the Soviet regime were exiled to Ashgabat, and in 1918 an uprising broke out here. The militias captured almost all regions of Turkmenistan, the red commissar Poltoratsky was caught and executed. But it didn't take long to celebrate the victory. In 1919, the militia was suppressed by the Red Army, and Poltoratsky was awarded the title of hero and named after him the city, which in 1925 became the capital of the Turkmen SSR.

After the war, new enterprises were to be built in the city and old ones were to be reconstructed. A global industrialization plan was developed, but they could not implement it.

On October 6, 1948, a powerful earthquake struck, turning the city into ruins and dust. Nearly 100,000 people died. The city had to be rebuilt like a phoenix from the ashes. Caring people from neighboring countries began to come here to help in the restoration work. Through joint efforts, we managed to build a new Ashgabat, the way we know it.

Population
About 650 thousand people live in Ashgabat. The ethnic composition is diverse (more than a hundred representatives of different nationalities).

Transport system
The public transport network is represented by comfortable city buses and trolleybuses. The subway is under construction. In the northern part there is an international airport, on the territory of which the bus station is located. A railway junction passes through the city, there is a railway station.

Local Attractions
During the years of independence, many modern architectural sights, museums, stadiums, fountain complexes, business centers, hotels, parks have been built in the capital.

The main administrative buildings of Turkmenistan are located here, representative offices of international organizations are based here.

There are more than seven oriental bazaars in Ashgabat.

One of the most important sights of Ashgabat is the ancient city of Nisa (1000 BC). It is located in the suburbs, 18 km from modern Ashgabat and consists of fortifications of the old and new times. The first served once as the residence of the king in Parthia, and the second was the capital of the Parthian Kingdom. Old Nisa got its name in honor of its founder, King Mithridates I. With the establishment of the power of the Sassanids, Nisa gradually turned into ruins. Its revival began after joining the Arab Caliphate. In the 16th century, the word began to decline, by the 19th century the settlement ceased to exist.

Many palaces and temples were built on the territory of Nisa, the graves of representatives of the Arsacid dynasty were buried. Archaeological excavations began here in the 1950s and 1960s. In the course of them, it was possible to discover the remains of the walls of the fortress, temples, the royal treasury, part of the palace hall, and outbuildings. Archaeologists have found marble statues, deep vessels made of ivory, jewelry, dishes, weapons, manuscripts, etc. Nisa received the status of an archaeological reserve of national importance, the ruins of its fortress are included in the UNESCO list.

The next significant architectural monument is the Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque, also located in the suburbs of Ahabad. It was built under the guidance of world-class architect Saparmurat Niyazov. $100,000,000 was allocated from the budget for the construction. The mosque is made of white marble, its area is 18 thousand m 2 , it reaches 55 meters in height. The mosque is surrounded by four minarets, each 80 meters high. Here, 7,000 men and 3,000 women can pray at the same time.

After his death in 2006, Niyazov was buried in a tomb located in the central part of the mausoleum. His mother, father and two brothers, who tragically died during the massive earthquake of 1948, are also buried there.

The best samples of carpets of Turkmenistan are collected in the museum of the Turkmen carpet. The oldest carpet is over 300 years old. Among the exhibits there is a handmade carpet, which occupies the 2nd largest in the world, its area is 301 m 2, while it weighs more than a thousand
kilograms.

Ashgabat(Turkm. Aşgabat) is the capital of Turkmenistan (Turkmenistan), the largest administrative, political, industrial, scientific and cultural center of the state. Ashgabat is a separate administrative unit - a city with the rights of a velayat (region).

Population - 827.5 thousand (2004).

Name

The name of the city comes from the Persian eshg - love and abad - populated, well-maintained.

From the moment of its foundation in 1881 until 1919, the city was called Ashgabat, in 1919-1927 - Poltoratsk in honor of the revolutionary figure P. G. Poltoratsky, since 1927 - Ashgabat.

After the declaration of independence by Turkmenistan on October 27, 1991, a number of names of settlements were renamed. In this regard, in the Russian-language media of Turkmenistan, including electronic ones, the city was called Ashgabat, since it is this form that most of all corresponds to the original Turkmen name.

Currently, in the legislative acts of Turkmenistan (in their texts in Russian), in the official media, on the official websites, the capital of Turkmenistan is called Ashgabat.

Population

Turkmens make up more than 3/4 of the population (77%). Russians, Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, Turks, Armenians, Persians, Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Tatars also live in the city, in total more than 100 nationalities.

Story

The city of Askhabad was founded on the site of a Turkmen settlement in 1881 as a border military fortification and the administrative center of the Trans-Caspian region, and was controlled by a military administration. It consisted of many clay houses with orchards, located on straight, designed streets. For a long time it was one-story, because after several earthquakes it was forbidden to build higher. The population of the city at the beginning of the century was small, so in 1901 it was 36.5 thousand people, of which 11.2 thousand Persians, 10.7 thousand Russians, 14.6 thousand Armenians, Azerbaijanis and other nationalities. The Turkmens lived outside the city in their camps.

From 1881 to 1918, the city was the administrative center of the Transcaspian region, from 1918 to 1925. the administrative center of the Turkmen region.

In February 1925, Ashgabat (at that time called Poltoratsk) received the official status of the capital of the Turkmen SSR.

On October 6, 1948, a catastrophic earthquake with a force of 9-10 points at the epicenter occurred in Ashgabat, one of the largest earthquakes of the 20th century. The city was almost completely destroyed. According to various estimates, from 1/2 to 2/3 of the city's population died that day (that is, from 60 to 110 thousand people, since information about the number of inhabitants is inaccurate).

In 1962, the Karakum Canal was brought to Ashgabat, which made it possible to solve the problem of a chronic lack of water in the city.

In 2008, there was an armed uprising of militants in Ashgabat, which went down in history as the Ashgabat rebellion (2008).

Geography

Ashgabat is located in the south of Turkmenistan, 25 km north of the border with Iran on the Turan lowland.

The city is located in the Akhal oasis on the Kopetdag foothill plain. From the south - the Kopetdag mountains, from the north - the Karakum desert. The height above sea level is 214-240 m. In 1962, the Karakum Canal was brought to the city.

Climate

The average annual temperature is +16.7 C°
The average annual wind speed is 1.6 m/s
Average annual air humidity - 56%

Architecture

Period of the Russian Empire

During the time of the Russian Empire, Ashgabat was a city with a rectangular network of streets combined with a radial one, it was dominated by adobe houses with flat roofs.

Soviet time

In Soviet times, it was built up with modern houses, but was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1948, after which it was rebuilt. Quarters were enlarged, streets were expanded, microdistricts and green recreation areas are being created.

Among the buildings of the 1950-60s: the building of the Council of Ministers of the Turkmen SSR (architect V. M. Novosadov; now the building of the Mejilis), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR (A. N. Afanasiev and E. A. Raevskaya), the complex of the Academy of Sciences of the Turkmen SSR (L. K. Ratinov and others), Academic Drama Theater. Mollanepes (A. V. Tarasenko), Agricultural Institute (M. N. Vinogradskaya, A. P. Zaryev, V. N. Lyakhovich), University, Museum of Fine Arts of the Turkmen SSR (architect G. M. Aleksandrovich), cinema and concert hall "World" (F. M. Evseev and M. G. Evseeva, engineer M. Berlin).

The buildings of the State Library (A. R. Akhmedov and others), the administration of Karakumstroy (A. R. Akhmedov, F. R. Aliyev), the Ashgabat Hotel (A. R. Akhmedov) were built on the central square; on Theater Square - the hotel "Intourist" (A. R. Akhmedov, F. R. Aliev). A monument was erected to the soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War (1970, architect A. Kurbanliev, F. Bagirov, sculptor D. Dzhumadurdy). In the square named after Lenin there is a monument to V. I. Lenin (bronze, majolica, 1927, sculptors A. A. Karelin and E. R. Tripolskaya).

After 1991

In the modern development of Ashgabat, infill construction of high-rise (mainly 12-storey) buildings has become a common norm. First of all, these are residential towers, where the first floors are given over to retail space and service departments. Many buildings, even old ones, are finished with marble.

What stands out is the built Arch of Neutrality, called by the locals the tripod.

Economy

The economy of Ashgabat is mainly represented by industry, financial institutions and a wide trading network. The total gross domestic product of Ashgabat in 2008, according to some estimates, amounted to about 9 billion US dollars.

5 km north of Ashgabat is the famous oriental bazaar "Jygyllyk" (Tolkuchka). The Yimpas Shopping Center (Yimpash) is especially popular.

Industry

On the territory of Ashgabat and its suburbs there are more than 43 large industrial facilities, 128 medium and more than 1,700 small industrial facilities. The most important industrial enterprises are Ashneftemash, Turkmenkabel and others.

Transport

Public urban transport is currently represented by trolleybuses and buses. Trolleybus traffic in the city was opened on October 19, 1964. At the beginning of the 20th century, a narrow-gauge steam-powered railway was in operation, connecting the city with the suburb of Firyuza (39 km northeast of the city center).

In 2008, the construction of a ring highway around Ashgabat began, the purpose of which is to relieve traffic flows in the capital and provide a new, more convenient route for transit transport.

In 2008, the upcoming construction of the subway was announced.

In the north of the city, there is the International Airport named after Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, which connects Ashgabat by air with major cities of the republic, CIS countries and Europe. On the territory of the former old airport there is a bus station, from where bus routes run to cities and regions of the country.

The Turkmenbashi (Krasnovodsk) - Mary - Turkmenabad (Chardzhou) railway passes through the city. In May 2009, the reconstruction of the railway station was completed.

Libraries

• Turkmen State Library named after. Makhtumkuli - founded in 1895
• Turkmen State Children's Library - founded in 1935
• Turkmen State Scientific and Medical Library - founded in 1940
• Central Scientific Library of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan - founded in 1941

Educational establishments

• Joint Turkmen - Russian Secondary School (TRSOSH)
• Turkmen Agricultural Institute named after M.I. Kalinin (in 1998 - Turkmen Agricultural University named after S.A. Niyazov)
• Turkmen State University named after Makhtumkuli was founded on July 14, 1950. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Turkmenistan.
• Turkmen State Institute of World Languages ​​named after Dovletmamed Azadi
• Turkmen Polytechnic Institute - founded on May 5, 1963
• Turkmen State Institute of Transport and Communications.
• Turkmen State Medical Institute - founded on December 29, 1931.
• Turkmen Institute of Economics and Management (former Institute of the Turkmen Institute of National Economy)
• International Turkmen-Turkish University
• Turkmen State Institute of Tourism and Sports
• Branch of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas. Gubkin
• Turkmen-German University (planned)
• Branch of Moscow State University. Lomonosov (planned)
• Ruhnama International University (planned to open)
• Turkmen State Institute of Culture
• Turkmen National Conservatory
• Police Academy
• Military Institute
• Military Academy of the Ministry of National Security and the State Fire Service of Turkmenistan
• Ashgabat Polytechnic (a well-known technical school of the USSR, later - a boarding school for gifted children.)
• Turkmen State Agricultural Institute (Dashoguz, opened in 2010)
• Turkmen State Energy Institute (Mary)
• Turkmen State Pedagogical Institute (Turkmenabat)

Sport

• The Olympic Stadium was built in 2001. Capacity - 35,000 spectators.
• Stadium "Kopetdag" - capacity 25,000 spectators
• National Olympic Ice Palace
• Olympic Water Sports Complex
• Ashgabat State Hippodrome

Attractions

• Near Ashgabat is the historical and cultural reserve "Nisa" - settlements of the III century BC. e. - 3rd century AD e.
• Turkmenbashi Rukhy Mosque in Niyazov's native village of Kipchak, 15 km from Ashgabat
• The Museum of the Turkmen Carpet contains several hundred of the best samples of carpets, the oldest of which dates back to the 17th century. There is also the world's second largest handmade carpet - "The Golden Age of the Great Saparmurat Turkmenbashi", whose area is almost 301 square meters, and weighs more than a ton.

Ashgabat, the capital of independent Turkmenistan, is a large administrative center, a city of dreams and love, whose magnificent architectural ensemble harmoniously fits into the space between the vast Karakum desert and the spurs of the mountains. In the place of the dilapidated old buildings, a new urban environment arose in a surprisingly short time. Ashgabat has been repeatedly included in the Guinness Book of Records.

origin of name

Persian words, translated meaning "love" and "city", "populated place", formed the basis of the name of the city. From the time of the conquest of Turkmenistan by the Russian Empire in 1881 until 1919, the city was called "Ashabad".

In 1919, in honor of the revolutionary figure P. G. Poltoratsky, the city was renamed into Poltoratsk. In 1927 the city was named Ashgabat.

In 1921, after Turkmenistan gained independence, a number of names of settlements were changed. The city of Ashgabat officially began to be called Ashgabat, it is this form that most of all corresponds to the Turkmen name.

The official Russian media use the name Ashgabat, in accordance with the Decree of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation of 1995. Currently, in the texts of legislative acts of Turkmenistan in Russian, on the official websites of the capital, in the official media of Turkmenistan, the city is called Ashgabat.

Geographical characteristic

Ashgabat is located in the south of Turkmenistan, on the Turan lowland, 25 km from the border with Iran.

The capital of Turkmenistan is located on the Kopetdag foothill plain in the Akhal-Teke oasis. The Kopetdag mountains approach from the south side, the Karakum desert from the north.

In 1962, the Karakum Canal was built to Ashgabat, thus solving the problem of supplying the city with water.

Climate subtropical inland, with hot summers and mild, cold (relative to this latitude) winters. Ashgabat is one of the very hot cities in the world, where temperatures can rise above +45 °C in summer. In summer, there is almost no rainfall. During short winters, the temperature is very variable, with strong intrusions from the northern side of the Arctic air, frosts occur even below -10 °C. Only in severe winters does a permanent snow cover form. In Ashgabat, the average annual temperature is +17 C.

Story

On the site of the Turkmen settlement-fortress in 1881, the city of Askhabad was founded as the administrative center of the Trans-Caspian region and the military frontier fortification of the Russian Empire.

City streets were designed to be straight. One-story clay houses surrounded orchards. After the earlier earthquakes, multi-storey adobe buildings were not erected.

In 1925, the city of Ashgabat (at that time - Poltoratsk) was officially given the status of the capital of the Turkmen SSR.

In 1948, an earthquake of enormous destructive force (9-10 points) occurred in Ashgabat, destroying up to 98% of all buildings. Currently, in Turkmenistan it is believed that up to 176 thousand people died then.

In the capital of Turkmenistan in 2003, the names of all streets were replaced with serial numbers. The exception was nine main highways named after Turkmenbashi and his relatives, as well as the poet Magtymguly.

In 2008, there was a performance of armed militants, which went down in history as the "Ashgabat rebellion." The authorities used heavy armored vehicles to suppress the rebels located in the Khitrovka metropolitan area. Eyewitnesses reported that explosions and gunfire were heard in the north of the capital during the weekend. According to official figures, the militants were involved in drug trafficking. And independent sources reported that radical oppositionists became opponents of the military.

Architecture

During the period of the Russian Empire, the administrative center was dominated by adobe houses with flat roofs.

During the Soviet period, the capital of Turkmenistan was built up with modern buildings, but in October 1948 it was destroyed by an earthquake, after which it was rebuilt. Blocks were enlarged in the city, streets were expanded, microdistricts were created and green recreation areas were equipped.

During the Soviet period, buildings were built in Ashgabat, which later became city architectural sights: the building of the Council of Ministers of the Republic; the building of the Academic Drama Theater named after Mollanepes; management building "Karakumstroy" (now demolished); a complex of buildings of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan; the building of the State Republican Library; the building of the Turkmen State Circus; the building of the Russian Bazaar; the building of the Mekan Palace, decorated with sculptural reliefs.

In the square named after V.I. Lenin, a monument to Lenin was erected (1927). In 1970, a monument was erected to the soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War.

After the collapse of the USSR, since 1991, the capital began to be built up pointwise with high-rise residential and administrative buildings, as well as public buildings. In modern Ashgabat, buildings are built mainly in the oriental architectural style. Most mosques, skyscrapers, houses and sidewalks are decorated with beautiful white marble.

TV and radio broadcasting center "Turkmenistan"– TV and radio communication tower is considered a symbol of Ashgabat and is a tourist attraction. The tower is located near Ashgabat, on one of the mountain ranges of the Kopetdag. The highest architectural structure of Turkmenistan has a height of 211 meters.

Construction work began in 2008. And in October 2011, the opening ceremony of the telecommunications facility was held, which was attended by President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The main function of the tower is to hold and maintain television and radio communication antennas. The coverage radius of the antenna signal is one hundred kilometers. In addition, a tourist center is organized here, which has a wide variety of interesting sights. At the moment, the tower transmits digital and analog television and radio signals.

On the 29th floor, at a height of 145 meters, there is a restaurant. The rotating platform on which the restaurant is located provides a panoramic view, so you can admire both the local natural landscapes and the views of the Turkmen capital. The interior design of the restaurant combines both modern trends in architectural styles and elements of national decor. On the 28th floor, at a height of 140 meters, there is a VIP room.

Two viewing platforms are available for visitors at the TV and Radio Broadcasting Center "Turkmenistan" - the main and special observatories, opening a 360-degree view. On the 30th floor, at a height of 150 meters, there is the Main Observatory, from where it is convenient for tourists to look at modern Ashgabat and the picturesque expanses of the Kopetdag foothills.

The TV tower is adorned with the octagonal "Star of Oguz Khan", which is recognized as the world's largest architectural image of a star and is included in the Guinness Book of Records. From anywhere in the capital and its suburbs, you can see the TV tower.

Wedding Palace "Bagt Koshgi" opened in 2011. By order of the Government of Turkmenistan, the Ashgabat Wedding Palace was built by the Turkish construction company Polimeks.

The building of eleven floors has an area of ​​more than 38 thousand square meters. meters and is a three-stage structure, each side of which is depicted in the form of an eight-pointed star. The cube towering on huge columns forms the upper step and contains a ball with a diameter of 32 meters, symbolizing the planet Earth with a map of Turkmenistan. Four entrances serve as symbols of the four cardinal directions.

The interior of the Palace is made in the Turkmen style. In the center there are six halls for solemn registrations of marriage and each has its own name, there are three wedding halls for holding festive events, of which two are designed for 500, and one for 1000 seats. The golden wedding hall called "Shamchirag" is located on the ninth floor of the building, in the central part of the "ball".

In addition, the Palace has 36 shops, seven banquet halls, two cafes, a wedding dress salon, salons of various necessary wedding services, car wedding decoration points, jewelry and national jewelry rental, a beauty salon, a photo studio, a hotel with 22 comfortable rooms. The third and fourth floors are occupied by administrative offices and an archive. Below the building is a closed parking lot for three hundred cars.

Two architectural sights of the city - the TV and Radio Broadcasting Center "Turkmenistan" and the three-stage building of the Wedding Palace "Bagt Koshgi" - in September 2012 were awarded at the international award "International Property Awards Europe" in the nomination "Architecture of public buildings".

It stands out for its architectural scope. "Monument of Neutrality", also known as Arc of Neutrality, which existed on the central square from 1998 to 2010. This is one of the most famous symbols of the reign of Niyazov (Turkmenbashi). The "Arch of Neutrality" in 2010-2011 was dismantled and moved to the southern part of the city of Ashgabat. The "Monument of Neutrality" was reopened in 2011.

The arch was erected by order of Saparmurat Niyazov in 1996-1998 by the Turkish company Polimex. The grand opening ceremony took place in December 1998.

The multi-level structure, 83 meters high, crowned with a 12-meter gilded sculptural image of the President of Turkmenistan Turkmenbashi against the background of a waving flag, is supported by three widely spread pylons. The monumental composition slowly rotates in the course of the sun's movement, while making a complete revolution around its axis during the day. The axis of the entire structure is a panoramic elevator that leads to circular observation platforms, from where a view of Ashgabat opens.

In 2010, the gilded statue of Niyazov at the top of the Arch of Neutrality and the Arch itself were dismantled. The country's authorities decided to move the Arch of Neutrality in order to improve the architectural appearance of the city. A monument was recreated in the form of a "Monument of Neutrality" on Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue (ie Neutral Turkmenistan) in the southern part of Ashgabat, in the foothills of the Kopetdag. The height of the new monument was 95 meters, which is 20 meters higher than the previous Arch.

A business is being created on the Archabil Highway center "Ashgabat-city". Buildings of ministries and departments, research, educational and cultural centers were built according to exclusive projects.

In the modern architecture of the capital, infill development with high-rise (mainly 12-story) buildings has become an accepted norm. These are residential towers, in which the first floors are occupied by service departments and retail space. Many buildings, even old ones, are lined with white marble.

Among the modern architectural structures, the Turkmenbashi and Rukhyet palaces, the Arch of Neutrality, business centers, the TV and Radio Broadcasting Center "Turkmenistan", parks and fountains are of interest to tourists. In Independence Park, you can breathe fresh clean air surrounded by sculptures of famous great figures of the Turkmen people - from the mythical Oguz Khan and the Seljuk sultans to spiritual leaders and poets.

The city of Ashgabat is the capital of independent and neutral Turkmenistan, the largest administrative, political, transport, trade, scientific and cultural center of the country.

The name of the city comes from the combination of two words "ashk" - love and "abad" - city. Therefore, the Turkmen capital is often called the "city of love", and also the city of youth, eternal youth - the companion of love.

Ashgabat is located in the south of Turkmenistan, 25 km north of the border with Iran, from which it is separated by the Kopetdag ridge with a foothill plain, on the other hand, the great desert of Karakum adjoins the city almost very close.

These places have been chosen by man since time immemorial. Settlements on the territory of modern Ashgabat date back to the Neolithic era, i.e. VI millennium BC The entire foothill strip of the Kopetdag at that time was a chain of agricultural oases with small settlements. About 2500 years ago, a small fortified town arose on this site.

In 1881, on the site of the settlement of Askhabad with an ancient fortress, a frontier military fortification arose, and Askhabad itself became the administrative center of the Transcaspian region. From 1919 to 1927 the city was called Poltoratsk. With the formation of the Turkmen SSR on October 27, 1924, the city became the capital of the republic, and in 1927 it was given the national name Ashgabat.

For a long time, low-rise construction was carried out here due to the seismicity of the area. In 1948, a catastrophic earthquake with a magnitude of 9-10 in the epicentral region occurred in Ashgabat, one of the largest earthquakes of the 20th century. The city was completely destroyed - wiped off the face of the earth! According to various estimates, from 1/2 to 2/3 of the city's population died that day.

Raised from the ruins, Ashgabat was rebuilt and since then has increased its territory many times over.

The third birth of the capital began with the acquisition of state independence by Turkmenistan. Today, large-scale construction of schools and preschool institutions, luxury housing, sports and other social facilities, as well as the reconstruction and commissioning of utilities and power lines continue in Ashgabat. When shaping the modern image of the capital, much attention is paid to the improvement and landscaping of the territory.

Now the white marble Ashgabat has become one of the most beautiful and comfortable cities in the world, expanding its borders and growing with new residential areas, industrial and park areas.

The transport system of Ashgabat is represented by road, rail and air transport. The capital has an international airport. Ashgabat is the largest communication center of Turkmenistan. A developed network of television and radio communications, digital satellite communications has been created here.

The capital is a major trading center. In the total volume of retail trade turnover of the country, the share of Ashgabat in 2014 amounted to more than 53 percent.

There are 20 higher educational institutions and about 140 secondary schools in the capital. Ashgabat has large research and design institutes.

The capital of Turkmenistan is a cultural and sports center, where there are 6 theaters, 5 state museums and other cultural centers, large sports facilities, including the Olympic Village, the Olympic Water Sports Complex, the Ice Palace and the Winter Sports Complex, an equestrian sports complex.

The city has a recreational institution - Berzengi hydropathic, many parks and recreation areas, leisure centers.

The most outstanding sights of Ashgabat were included in the Guinness Book of Records. Among them are the Ferris wheel of the cultural and entertainment center "Älem", the star of Oguz Khan of the Center for Television and Radio Broadcasting "Turkmenistan". Prior to this, Ashgabat was noted as the city with the largest number of fountains united in a complex: we are talking about the architectural and sculptural ensemble "Oguz Khan". Ashgabat first appeared on the pages of the Book of Records in 2008 thanks to the highest flagpole at that time.