Ashghabat

Situated between the Kara Kum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range, Ashgabat has a population of about 400,000. Its original founding fathers were Russian troops who landed in Krasnovodsk which is present-day Turkmenbashy in 1869 and who built a fortress on a high hill to accommodate their administation.

In subsequent years this fortress, serving as a focal point, attracted a host of merchants and entrepreneurs who sought to expand their markets and enter new adventures. For their center of activity, the newcomers built a number of buildings and factories on the other side of town around the Transcaspian Railway station.

Today, its main attractions are Ashgabat the statue of Lenin, the fortress of Ashgabat, the presidential palace, the Mosque of Khezert Omar and the botanical gardens. Other sites include Nisa Partaunissa the capital of thr Parthians which was flourishing city dating back to 3rd Century BC. It was connected with several trade routes.

The Turkmens are warm and friendly and are very proud of their nomadic culture and their ancient ceremonies. The world knows Turkmenistan for its magnificent carpets, for its exquisite clothes and its wonderful Akhal Teke horses, the ancestor of the Arabian racehorse.