Ashgabat is the main city of Turkmenistan. The capital and largest city of Turkmenistan, whose name can be translated as 
"City of Love", the picturesque capital is located in the foothills of the Kopetdag, 25 km north of the border with Iran. A little more than 900 thousand people live in Ashgabat, which is 13.4% of all residents of the country. As in most Central Asian cities, Ashgabat grew out of a small settlement of the Turkic Tekins tribe. People settled at the intersection of large caravan routes in the middle of the III century BC and began to call their village “Eshg-abad”, which means “equipped for amateurs”. In 1881, the troops of the Russian Empire came here. Here they established a border garrison, laid a railway branch, and by the beginning of the last century Ashgabat was already inhabited by 30 thousand inhabitants.
Today, the Turkmen capital strikes with the whiteness of its modern buildings. Ashgabat is included in the Guinness Book of Records as a city with the largest number of buildings in the world, decorated with white marble. There are 543 such houses here.
The city organically combines the ancient traditions of the East and modern technologies, giant pompous monuments and green squares, spacious avenues and beautiful fountains. Tourists travel to Ashgabat to see the color of the oriental bazaars, as well as enjoy the beauty of modern architecture.
The main attractions of the city include the Neutrality Arch (1998, height 75 meters – the tallest building in Turkmenistan) with a golden statue of Turkmenbashi on top, the Presidential Palace (former building of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan, 1950-1955), the building of the Mejlis (former Council complex Ministers, 1954-1956.), The complex of the Academy of Sciences (1949-1953), the Academic Drama Theater. Mollanepes (1951-1958), Bairam-Khan monument, Lenin Square (1927), Mekan Palace (1970-1974), the National Library building (1964-1976), the Musical College and the Conservatory (1975-1992 ), Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church (XIX century), Ertogrulgazy mosque with 4 minarets and a huge dome (1997, the largest mosque in the country), as well as the Ashgabat circus (1979-1984).
In 2008, a huge fountain complex dedicated to the legendary founder of all Turkic tribes Oguzkhan and his six sons was built in Ashgabat. In the complex, on an area of 15 hectares, 27 fountains operate synchronously, for the illumination of which solar energy is used. The fountain complex is decorated with statues of epic heroes and stands near the highway that connects the airport and city blocks.
Another place in Ashgabat where you can have a good time is the giant cultural and entertainment center
“Alem”. The stepped pyramid of the center is understood to be 95 meters high and has a big ferris wheel 57 meters in diameter inside. The interactive Space Museum hosts guests in the Alem basements.
The Metropolitan Museum of Carpet is considered the only such facility in the world. Here are collected several hundred of the best carpet samples of all time, the oldest of which dates from the 17th century. Here is the largest carpet in the world, whose area is almost 400 square meters. m, and weight - more than a ton.
No less interesting is the exposition of the National Museum of History and Ethnography with a luxurious collection of ancient exhibits collected from the entire territory of Turkmenistan, including those found in the excavations of Old Nisa. Also of undoubted interest is a visit to the Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Turkmenistan, private galleries "Mohammed", "Ensi", "Akbulak" and "Juma Jumadurdy".