Ashgabat - a city of white marble

Photographer Amos Chaple recently visited Turkmenistan on a three-day transit visa and was able to photograph many of the sights and monuments of Ashgabat, the capital and largest city of the country. Turkmenistan is a former Soviet republic, now a one-party state headed by a president.

Chaple: “Twice before this my tourist visa was rejected, and it seemed to me that I was trying to get into a closed and prohibited place. When we entered Ashgabat, there was a feeling that some kind of holiday was taking place in the city: all the streets and parks were empty. Initially, much more military men than civilians came across. They patrolled the city center and were extremely nervous about taking pictures. At first, the soldiers just shouted in my direction, then one of them ran up to me and demanded that the photos be deleted.”

Ashgabat recently entered the Guinness Book of Records as the city with the largest number of white marble buildings in the world. In total, Ashgabat has 543 new buildings lined with white marble, with a total area of 4.5 million square meters.

(Total 20 photos)

1. Entertainment center Alem in Ashgabat. In 2012, the Ferris wheel on top of this complex was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest indoor Ferris wheel in the world. Its construction cost $90 million.

2. 185-meter Constitution Monument in Ashgabat. In the background is the TV and radio center.

3. One of the many golden statues of former President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov for life. Behind is a monument erected in honor of the 10th anniversary of independence, with Akhal-Teke horses on top. These hardy horses are the national symbol of Turkmenistan and the passion of current President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. In his book Flight of the Heavenly Horses, Berdimuhamedov equates himself with the noble Akhal-Teke breed: “By riding a horse, driving an airplane, a sea liner, driving a truck, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov not only demonstrates a wonderful physical shape and high professionalism in every business, he fixes in the minds of people the image of a modern and strong person who can do a lot. He is well educated, physically strong and aesthetically erudite." A horse festival earlier this year, sadly for Berdymukhammedov, ended in his downfall.

4. The Serdar Health Path, 8 km long, winds its way through the hills south of Ashgabat. The path features prominently in the annual "Health Week".

5. Left: Ashgabat TV and radio center on a hill overlooking the city. Right: statue of Saparmurat Niyazov. Moscow worried about nationalist sentiment in the distant Central Asian republic, and Niyazov was promoted through party lines. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Niyazov found himself at the helm of an independent state, where he established a dictatorship and a cult of personality. Dogs were banned, hospitals and libraries outside the capital were closed, and months were renamed after members of the president's family.

6. Hotel Oguzkent in the center of Ashgabat.

7. Left: A Turkmen woman and her daughter stand outside during heavy rain in Ashgabat. Most women appear in public places only in traditional Turkmen clothes. Right: telephone booth in the city center.

8. The boy drinks water in the car. The temperature that day was 42 degrees Celsius. One of the guidebooks says: “Only the insane or deeply unhappy will stay in Ashgabat during the hottest months - July and August.”

9. Soldiers stand at attention near the Constitution Monument in Ashgabat.

10. Various drinks in a store in the center of Ashgabat. The capital's main street is lined with a variety of shops that are part of a grandiose architectural plan but rarely visited by the locals. Life under the current president is notoriously easier than before, when food shortages were common. “We may not always be able to afford it, but the food is there,” said one student.

11. Girls ride electric cars in the entertainment center Alem.

12. A giant thermometer in the center of Ashgabat and a screen broadcasting official ceremonies.

13. A gardener with a cape on his head against the sun at an air temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. Despite the natural wealth of their country, ordinary people receive little economic benefits. Workers like this one make about $150 a month.

14. Monument of Neutrality erected under former President Saparmurat Niyazov. Despite the small number of visitors, the soldiers stand at attention at the foot of the structure throughout the day.

15. Corps of the MiG-15 fighter in the Karakum desert. Soviet relics, like this one, have practically disappeared from all the cities of Turkmenistan, which cannot be said about other Central Asian republics.

16. Photo of the current President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in a taxi. The former dentist became president after Niyazov's death in 2006. One reporter said of Berdymukhammedov, "Never run where you can just walk."

17. Yerbent village, 190 km from wealthy Ashgabat. In 2004, President Niyazov spoke negatively about the village of Darvaza. After 3 weeks, its inhabitants were evicted, and the village itself was demolished. Many of those who lived in Darvaz moved to Erbent.

18. A striking example of the gas wealth of Turkmenistan is the Darvaza gas crater. It is located 260 km north of Ashgabat in the Karakum Desert. In the 1970s, Soviet scientists discovered a gas accumulation here. Due to the underground void due to drilling, the earth collapsed and a huge hole was formed. It was decided to set fire to the released gas in order to avoid poisoning the local population. Initially it was assumed that the burning would last for several days, but it continues to this day.

19. Declaring himself the master of Turkmenistan, Niyazov began to put into practice what he called the "Golden Age" of Turkmenistan. Subsidies for gas, water, and gasoline were able to appease the population to some extent. The cost of gasoline in 2005 was 2 cents per litre. But as the white marble city grew in the middle of the desert, funding for education and pensions dwindled.

20. Janitor cleaned near the Palace of Happiness in Ashgabat. The building has a room in which newlyweds are required to be photographed in front of a portrait of the president.