Ashgabat
Blessed with a fantastic location, the Grand Turkmen is a great choice. The standard rooms are in good shape (if perhaps a little small for the price) and all have balconies. It’s a lively downtown place, within easy walking distance of many restaurants and sights, and in-house amenities include a gym and sauna.
Wireless is free, but erratic: many guests use the paid premium wireless service (ie one that actually works; US$10 per day).
4 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…
0.45 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…
4.69 MILES
Once the centrepiece of Niyazov's Ashgabat, the Arch of Neutrality was erected to celebrate the Turkmen people's unsurprisingly unanimous endorsement of…
1.1 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…
0.31 MILES
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…
3.67 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…
0.38 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…
1.16 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…
0.31 MILES
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…
0.38 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…
3. Former Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan
0.44 MILES
Across the road from the Statue of Lenin this austere concrete building was once the Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan.
0.45 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…
0.82 MILES
The modern mosque of Khezrety Omar, off Atamurat Niyazov köçesi, is worth visiting for its wonderfully garish painted ceilings.
1.1 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…
1.16 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…