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- Arrival in Ashgabat International Airport early in the morning.
- Transfer to Ashgabat - capital of Turkmenistan, often called as "White city". Ashgabat is built in the Karakum Desert and is located 25km north of the border with Iran from which it is separated by Kopet Dag mountain range. Since the independence from Soviet Union in 1991, the city has completely changed its look. An impressive architectural re-styling effort led by the government of Turkmenistan resulted in Guiness Book Record for world's highest density of white marble-clad buildings.
- Check-in at the Sport Hotel - very good 4* hotel in Ashgabat city center. The Berkarar shopping center is just across the street.The Sport hotel was completed in 2017 for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. From the restaurant on the top floor you can enjoy a fantastic city panorama.
- Rest at the hotel, breakfast.
- ASHGABAT CITY TOUR:
- Aziada 2017 - is the impressive infrastructure built in a central area of Ashgabat for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017(Aziada). It includes Olympic Stadium, 30 sport facilities, the Athletes Village, various support and administrative buildings. Aziada 2017 became the first major multi-sport event hosted in Turkmenistan and attracted 5,500 athletes from 62 countries to participate across 21 sports.
- Tolkuchka Bazaar - is the Ashgabat's largest bazaar. It offers a huge range of goods from fruits and vegetables to Turkmen carpets, handicrafts, jewelry, silks and even camels.
- Pass by Presidential Palace - is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Turkmenistan, located on Independence Square. It is forbidden to take pictures of the Palace.
- Rukhiyet Palace - built by the French company Bouygues, it is a place for holding official meetings and events, forums and inaugurations.
- Wedding Palace - "palace of happiness" in Turkmen. This impressive building is crowned by a cube with a ball displaying the map of Turkmenistan. The palace consists of several halls for celebrations, banquet halls for weddings, dozens of shops, photo and beauty salons, etc
- Yyldyz Hotel - "star" in Turkmen. It is one of the best hotels in Turkmenistan offering a fantastic panorama of Ashgabat city. This hotel is also one of the few places with good wi-fi.
- Lunch
- Constitution Monument - a 91-meter high four-sided pillar decorated with Turkmen carpet ornaments on all sides and crowned with a spire with a gold crescent moon and five stars. This monument is associated with the proclamation of Turkmenistan's independence on October 27, 1991 and the Constitution's adoption om May 18, 1992
- Arch of Neutrality - built in 1998, it is a 75-meter-high rocket-shaped tower topped with a gold statue of the former Turkmenistan's president Niyazov (died in 2006). The statue was rotating throughout the day so that its face would be always in the sun. In 2010 the monument was removed from the city center and reassembled in the outskirts of Ashgabat.
- Independence Monument - inspired by traditional Turkmen tents, this impressive monument is one of the largest of its kind. Together with the surrounding park which is the place of numerous statues, water fountains and pools, it covers an area of more than 80,000 m².
- Ertugrul Gazi Mosque - named in honor of the father of Osman Empire first ruler, this building is a beautiful combination of Islamic and Byzantine architecture. It is also one of the first mosques built after the independence of Turkmenistan in the early 1990s
- Square of Revival (Galkynysh) - in the middle of this grandiose square there is a huge stele designed to embody the spirit of the new Turkmen statehood based on independence and permanent neutrality, peace and creativeness.
- Park of Inspiration - opened in 2010, it is located between two central avenues of the Turkmen capital. It is a series of four parks and each section is dedicated to famous Turkmen. More than forty statues are erected along the park tracks. The park is beautifully decorated by artificial river, bridges, fountains and flowerbeds.
- Lenin Monument - this first monument to Lenin in Central Asia dates from 1927. It stands atop three plinths, each one carrying traditional motifs of the Turkmen carpets. While most of the buildings in Ashgabat fell to the ground during the terrible 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, the monument survived it with virtually no damage.
- Dinner
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OVERNIGHT: Sport Hotel****
or same level |
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| Day 2: Ashgabat – Nissa – Ruhy Mosque – Darwaza Gas Crater |
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- Breakfast
- Alabay statue - this 6 meters high golden statue representing the Turkmen shepherd dog Alabay is placed on the pedestal of 9 meters height in the middle of one of Ashgabat's roundabouts in the Western part of the Turkmen capital. The monument was unveiled in November 2020 by the Turkmen president in person.
- Drive to Nissa fortress - the Sanctuary of Parthian Kings, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. Nissa is described as one of the first capitals of the Parthians. It was founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250 BC – 211BC), and was reputedly the royal residence and necropolis. The ruins of the ancient settlement Nissa are located 18 km from Ashgabat at Bagyr village.
- Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque - located in 7 km from Ashgabat, this is one of the biggest mosques in Asia built in 2004 in the home town of the first president of Turkmenistan. Next to the mosque there is a mausoleum where the president was buried in 2006. His family rest here as well: his father who was killed in WWII, his mother and 2 brothers, all killed in the devastating Ashgabat earthquake in 1948
- Lunch
- Drive to Darwaza Gas Crater - located in 3,5 hrs ride from Ashgabat, this place is dubbed by locals as "The Door to Hell". The Darwaza area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists discovered a cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70 meters. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn it off. Geologists had hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days, but amazingly Darwaza is still burning today. In the evening, the view of the burning Darwaza is even more spectacular.
- Dinner with a view on the Gas Crater
- Overnight at Tents - every tent's capacity is 2 people, sleeping bags included
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- Breakfast with a view on the Gas Grater
- Drive to Kunya Urgench - located in the North-West of Turkmenistan, in the vicinity of the Uzbek border. It was the capital of Khorezm, part of the Achaemenid Empire. The town had a strategic location on one of the most important medieval paths: the Silk Road which was the crossroad of western and eastern civilisations.
- Sightseeing in Kunya Urgench - the old town contains a series of monuments mainly from the XI to XVI centuries, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a 60-m high minaret. In 2005 the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
- Lunch
- If you are interested to visit Nukus and the dead Aral Sea in Uzbekistan you will be transferred to to the Kunya Urgench/Khodjeili border crossing point. If you want to return back to Ashgabat we suggest you take a domestic flight from Dashoguz
- Drive to Dashoguz - capital city of northern Turkmenistan's Dashoguz Province located in 10 km from the Uzbek border. In ancient times Dashoguz was and an important stop on the Silk Road. The modern Dashoguz is a Soviet-designed city and an important agricultural center.
- Drive to the Dashoguz-Shavat border crossing point with Uzbekistan. This border is convenient if you want to continue your trip to Khiva and Urgench in Uzbekistan
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