Buildings in Ashgabat

My little sister asked me to describe some of the buildings in the city, since they're different from the States.

I have to add a little bit of context here. Turkmenistan had a Head of State for over ten years, President for Life Niyazov, who had a very particular idea of what the city and Turkmenistan should look like. He built many, many monuments and specific, grand buildings.

The city of Ashgabat is big-- requiring some form of vehicle to go back and forth. The center of the city if focused around a presidential palace that is made entirely of white marble and has gold domes rising from the main, majestic body. Surrounding this palace are green gardens, which is a challenge and expense to maintain in a desert country.

The entire section (or so it seems) surrounding the palace is devoted to government buildings that are made of white marble and are tall, kind of like the palace in Shrek. As you approach them, they rise many stories above you as you step into marble clad grand entryways. As you walk into one of the government buildings, you enter into a marble hallway that is filled with designs all over the floor and walls. You pass behind a glass section and proceed to one of the three elevators that it contains. Then you realize that one of these things is not so reflective of the grandeur of the building itself. Of the three elevators, only two work, and you hold your breath as you go up in it, hoping that it won't stop as it can be rather stuffy. The insides of the elevators are beautiful, with pretty paneling, but it slowly rises to the offices. Stepping off the elevator to one of the working levels reminds me of most U.S. government offices-- pretty in the lobby and on the outside, but very functional and almost sparse on the inside. Nice to see some similarities.

I live in one of the new luxury apartments that is made of white marble and towards the outskirts of the city. They are very nice apartments, but they don't reflect how most of the city lives. I've not yet seen the inside of a Turkmen home, but the outsides remind me of a log with many mushrooms growing out of it. Everyone seems to own a satellite, and they protrude from buildings like many white mushrooms, mostly pointing the same directions. The homes themselves seem to be mainly block houses that are either white, pink, or another neutral color and line the streets. These homes can range from four or five stories to much bigger, but I don't think I've really seen any single family homes. Keep in mind I have not been here for very long.

The shops are another unique experience. Though they can be in some of the white marble constructions (which I've been to, a music store, actually), many times they are in the neighborhoods near some of the bazaars. I love walking through these neighborhoods, as the area near the apartments doesn't really feel alive. In fact, the first morning I walked out of my apartment building, I felt like I was in a horror movie as there were no cars moving, no people walking, no kids, no sound, except for the bugs just kind of buzzing along.

Once you enter one of these neighborhoods (I walked through one about a week ago), you pass through parks and streets that are half sand, but the kids are building sand castles. Colorful fabrics and clothing are hung to dry on the various window sills and flutter as the wind cuts through very crossways. The roads are straight, but lined with mothers watching their children, children running through the streets, the occasional stray dog, and men watching everything happen. It's like being in a old neighborhood in the States in movies portraying earlier times, just with women in long dresses.

There are also outdoor cafes that seem to be spots for hanging out for hours that line some of the older parks. Hundred fountains, which seems to be in an older neighborhood (keep in mind, many neighborhoods were torn down to make space for monuments and government buildings) is alive and lined with small cafes and reataurants that serve drinks, ice cream, and sometimes full blown meals.

I'll end with a quick run down of some of the monuments that I've seen while driving around the city. They range from the Arch of Neutrality, that contains a gold statue of Niyazov that rotates on the top of this giant, three legged arch. There are also huge parks with fountains and even one that was built after former President Niyazov's vision of what Disney World looks like (completely surreal). Again, I don't have access that I can use to add pictures, but will do so as soon as I regain it. They are all unique monuments that collectively make quite the statement about Ashgabat, but my favorite part of the city is the neighborhood I visited.