The Museum of Fine Arts is located in an impressive building with a big rotunda, two tiers and lots of gold. The collection contains some great Soviet–Turkmen artwork: happy peasant scenes with a backdrop of yurts and smoke-belching factories. There is also a collection of Russian and Western European paintings and a fine selection of Turkmen jewellery and traditional costumes. Guided tours in English are available for a further US$20 per group.
Museum of Fine Arts
Ashgabat
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.7 MILES
Looking like a lost palace in the urban desert, the National Museum occupies a striking position in front of the Kopet Dag. It’s actually a collection of…
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0.51 MILES
At the centre of Ashgabat is the enormous Independence Square, on which sits the golden-domed Palace of Turkmenbashi (the place of work of the former…
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4.38 MILES
Once the centrepiece of Niyazov's Ashgabat, the Arch of Neutrality was erected to celebrate the Turkmen people's unsurprisingly unanimous endorsement of…
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0.86 MILES
While there’s a limit to the number of rugs the average visitor can stand, the central exhibit, the world’s largest handwoven rug, really is something to…
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3.45 MILES
The Altyn Asyr Shopping Centre is the curious pyramidal shopping centre at the northern end of Independence Park. The Monument to the Independence of…
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0.6 MILES
The statue of Lenin, in a small park off Azadi köçesi, is a charmingly incongruous assembly of a tiny Lenin on an enormous and very Central Asian plinth…
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1.3 MILES
This Soviet-era circus building, which resembles a flying saucer, has been 'Turkmenised' with a coating of white marble. It's definitely worth a look if…
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1.35 MILES
More a statement of foreign-policy leanings than a sign of religious awakening, the Azadi mosque, similar in appearance to the Blue Mosque in İstanbul,…
Nearby Ashgabat attractions
0.51 MILES
At the centre of Ashgabat is the enormous Independence Square, on which sits the golden-domed Palace of Turkmenbashi (the place of work of the former…
0.6 MILES
The statue of Lenin, in a small park off Azadi köçesi, is a charmingly incongruous assembly of a tiny Lenin on an enormous and very Central Asian plinth…
0.62 MILES
The modern mosque of Khezrety Omar, off Atamurat Niyazov köçesi, is worth visiting for its wonderfully garish painted ceilings.
5. Former Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
0.68 MILES
Across the road from the Statue of Lenin this austere concrete building was once the Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan.
0.86 MILES
While there’s a limit to the number of rugs the average visitor can stand, the central exhibit, the world’s largest handwoven rug, really is something to…
1.3 MILES
This Soviet-era circus building, which resembles a flying saucer, has been 'Turkmenised' with a coating of white marble. It's definitely worth a look if…
1.35 MILES
More a statement of foreign-policy leanings than a sign of religious awakening, the Azadi mosque, similar in appearance to the Blue Mosque in İstanbul,…