Ashgabat Survival Guide
Turkmenistan’s City of Love
Ashgabat (which means City of Love in Arabic) is a city shrouded in mystery but draped in marble. Turkmenistan’s capital is sure to allure those brave travelers looking to stare down this dictatorial police state. While Ashgabat (meaning City of Love in Arabic) has nowhere near the notoriety of North Korea’s Pyongyang, it is just as dangerous for the unsuspecting backpacker.
When stepping off the plane in North Korea, you more or less know what you are getting into. While touring Pyongyang’s grand halls, you are well aware to keep your mouth shut and your toes behind the line. The same can not be said when you are traveling to Turkmenistan.
Still wanting to go to North Korea? Get more info here!
Getting to and Staying Safe in Turkmenistan
With a country that gets little to no press and is the 7th least visited country in the world, most travelers don’t know what to expect. First of all, the only way to even visit Turkmenistan is either on a tour or on a transit visa. The transit visa alone has an extremely high rejection rate. This visa can take months to get if you are not flat-out refused.
If you finally do cave into pressure and book a tour or somehow get lucky enough to snag a transit visa, you still have to worry about not getting locked up while traveling through Ashgabat.
Some laws that may affect your travel would be the 11 pm curfew, no pictures of military or government buildings, smoking in public, and no spandex. It is not just tourists that are feeling the pressure. Locals will also will be fined for just having their car dirty or even having a beard (although not enforced)
You can read more about the laws of Turkmenistan here or here!
An Architect’s Sandbox
If you happened to come across the name Ashgabat, it was probably due to the fact that the city holds the world record for having the highest concentration of marble. The wide, empty streets, of Turkmenistan’s capital, is lined with these blinding white buildings, devoid of any advertisements or signs.
The only color which you may find other than the chalky white the city has seemed to be drenched in is the gold which gleams from the various monuments erected to showcase the country’s wealth and power.
Many of Ashgabat’s landmarks and skyscrapers look like something cut directly out of a comic book. Enclosed ferris wheels, hotels in the shape of pilot lights, and the Ministry of Power being located in a star barely scratch the surface of all the outlandish wonders that Ashgabat holds.
What kicked off this trend of bizarre architecture would have to start with Turkmenistan’s former president Saparmurat Niyazov.
Deciding if it is worth the trouble traveling to Turkmenistan? Read more here!
A Cult Personality
Saparmurat Niyazov is a man whose accomplishments will forever be overshadowed by the absurdity of his policies late in his career. These unusual monuments range from a revolving statue dipped in gold of himself to having a massive electronic book which would open up before the masses.
Unfortunately, towards the end of Niyazov’s career, he began to rename months after himself and family members which really had Turkmens shaking their heads in disbelief. In 2006 Niyazov suddenly died of a heart attack, while the government reversed a lot of the late president’s policies, his successor was ready to step into the spotlight.
Today, the void left by Niyazov is filled by no other than Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. While you may not remember his name, you will never forget his face. Walking down the sidewalk in Ashgabat, you will hardly see a single soul passing by. What you will see, however, is Gurbanguly’s face beaming from every other street corner.
From offices to airplanes, the new cult personality‘s portrait is always hung proudly and eyes always watching.
Looking for more to do in Turkmenistan? Check out the Gates of Hell!
Soviet Remains
One of the things that appeals to travelers exploring Central Asia, is to see the remnants of the bygone Soviet Empire. This can range from Young Pioneers Camps to statues of the beloved Lenin. While other ex-states of the Soviet Union look back at their time under Russian domination with a sense of nostalgia, Turkmenistan sees it as a dark part of their history.
As long as Turkmenistan was in the clutches of the Soviet Union, they were intent on stomping out any sense of Turkmen nationalism. This was done in the form of disregarding anything related to Turkmenistan’s history, turning archeological sites into graveyards, and restricting Turkmen’s cultural practices.
Although there has been a rebirth of Turkmen culture throughout the country thanks to President Niyazov, there are still a few remnants which can be seen.
A lone Lenin statue exists in Ashgabat, which was saved by the wrecking ball due to the uniqueness of its base. The monument also remains as a reminder to future generations as to what the country had to endure under Soviet rule.
What to travel to Russia? Check out more here!
Nearly Locked Up Abroad
As the sun sets on another day in Ashgabat, the lights turn on. An array of vibrant colors illuminate the bleached white city. Many of the capital’s monuments flash from bright pinks to blues before your eyes.
This is also the only time where you can get any kind of indication as to what each building is. A grocery store, for example, will have neon shapes of bread and drinks glowing on the outside of their business.
Other than Ashgabat, rainbow-colored lights being displayed in the barren desert can only be found in the likes of America’s Las Vegas. Thus Turkmenistan’s capital is sometimes referred to by the cheeky tourist as Ash-Vegas
While it may be tempting to try and photograph these night scenes of multicolored lights, it is vital to exercise caution. When trying to do something as simple as a light trail in front of the neon-clad buildings, the police may stop you for photographing the street.
In my case, a group of Soviet-looking officers stepped out of an unmarked van threatening to take me to the police station to pay a fine. Even though none of my photos had any vehicles in them, they still insisted on taking me to the police station to pay a fine. I was only able to wiggle my way out of being taken away by these shady men of the law by promising to return straight to my hotel.
As I briskly walked my way back to the Wedding Palace, the unmarked van quickly turned the corner to make sure that I was, in fact, walking to my hotel. Unless you are willing to risk a hefty fine or even being locked up in Turkmenistan, make sure you keep in line with all the local laws.
You can read more on Ashgabat here or here!
Secular Islam
Like many of the countries in Central Asia, Turkmenistan has taken steps to revive religion after a period of atheism but is still unable to shake off that hand-lined Soviet stance on secularism.
Things that would seem typical for your average Muslim, such as having a beard, was even outright outlawed when Niyazov was in power. To this day, people bringing anything into Turkmenistan which may have any sort of religious connection risk it being confiscated. Even having an object with Arabic writing could be potentially taken by the border authority.
On top of everything else, Muslims are only allowed to worship in state-run mosques. Two of the most famous of these mosques in Ashgabat are Turkmenbasy Ruhy Mosque and Ertugrul Gazi Mosque.
While most mosques are built to praise and honor Allah, Turkmenbasy Ruhy was erected for the vanity of no other than former president Niyazov. Not only did he build the mosque to hold his elaborate tomb, but also inscribed excerpts from his book along with verses of the Quran into the mosque.
You can read more about Islam in Turkmenistan here!
Why Travel to Ashgabat?
If the rigorous visa process or hefty price tag alone didn’t already change your mind about visiting the secretive country of Turkmenistan then the strict laws probably did.
The fact is that when traveling to Ashgabat you are literally traveling into the unknown. With a country that sees less than 7,000 tourists a year, you are in many ways a trailblazer. Of course, you will have to stay within the boundaries set by the state, but even then you are having the experience of a lifetime.
For those adventure seekers, a trip to Ashgabat is too great of an opportunity to pass up. No matter if you are looking to step back into the days of Marco Polo or simply looking to peek behind the curtain in of a police state, try your look at peering through the blinding white marble of Ashgabat!
I traveled to Turkmenistan with Owadan Tourism through Anur Tours!
