A mix of huge white monuments

The city of Ashgabat is an open-air museum, full of enormous buildings (many of which are empty and unused) and monuments.

The guide took us on a car tour and showed us, in order:

* The Silk Road Monument
* The Constitution Monument, whose height (185 meters) references May 18, 1991, the date the constitution was enacted
* The Neutrality Monument. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country has declared itself neutral, and our guide boasted about the country’s role in negotiations between Russia and the USA, and between the USA and the Afghan Taliban.Read more