Ahal

Turkmenistan

Ashgabat is a city of white marble with very few people in evidence in the streets (admittedly it is hot right now). I think they must have revived Turkey's marble market single-handedly!
Ashgabat is a city of white marble with very few people in evidence in the streets (admittedly it is hot right now). I think they must have revived Turkey's marble market single-handedly!
You can see the golden statue of the first president presiding over his children atop the Arch of Neutrality. He is facing the city of Ashgabat, while behind him are the mountains separating Turkmenistan from Iran. The arch of Neutrality confirms Turkmenistan's decision to stay neutral in any conflicts after they left the Soviet Union. You can take a ride up into the tower. Can you see the bottom lift on the right leg of the tower?
... the door to hell !! When the soviets were drilling this site for oil in the 1970s, the ground collapsed into a wide crater. The engineers thought of burning the gas to prevent poisonous fumes from releasing into nearby towns. They expected that the gas would burn out within a week but it’s been burning from 45 years !!!! 🔥 Locals rumor this to be the gateway to hell and quite rightly so. It’s hundreds of kilometers deep in the karakum desert of Turkmenistan without a soul around. #darvaza #darvazacrater #turkmenistan #karakum
A mining disaster turned tourist attraction. The Darvaza Gas Crater is nicknamed the “Door to Hell”. It’s a pit of methane gas that has been burning for 40 years in the northern deserts of Turkmenistan. There is nothing else like it in the world. #Turkmenistan #Darvaza