Turkmenistan - Why are the streets so empty?

Until a few years ago, Turkmenistan was one of those countries I had never heard of or known that it existed. Turkmenistan is one of the countries from which it is very difficult to get a visa for a visit. This is probably because the country has a lot of corruption and the rulers can do whatever they want.

And as there is always enough gas that is easily being sold for good money. So they don’t need much help from the neighbor countries, or any other country at all. No marketing is needed to advertise the country outside.

Interesting place, but strange

What I've seen here is visually alien-like with architecture like nowhere else on the planet, but I was wondering, why this city is so empty. There are dozens of huge white marble apartment buildings but I saw no people going in or out in any of them.

Locals don't like to talk about that topic and it's even forbidden for them to talk in public about politics. My only answer is that these buildings are not meant to be for locals but mainly used as status objects, to show the richness of the government.

Is it really that difficult to get a Visa for Turkmenistan?

Getting a visa seems to be very difficult and the internet tells me all over that it is. The internet ranks it as one of the hardest countries to enter. Compared to most countries I've been to, some effort is indeed necessary but in the end, it was actually an easy and straight forward process, without even going or applying to an embassy.




The situation is that Turkmenistan does not want to take any risks and wants to keep the dead bodies hidden in the basement. As long as there was no Internet and as only a few strangers and tourists were streaming into the country, this was also quite possible without too much effort.

Meanwhile, it becomes easier from year to year to receive a visa, as the Turkmen slowly get used to tourism. Therefore it has become more normal to issue visas to westerners.

Option 1: Transit visa

No Letter Of Invitation is required for this. It needs to be obtained at an embassy before traveling to Turkmenistan. A transit visa can be applied for when entering an official border post, but it's necessary leaving the country via another official border post. Example: Entering Azerbaijan by boat and leaving Iran by car.

Option 2: Tourist Visa

A Letter Of Invitation is required for this and a “tour” must be booked to obtain a visa and to get an LOI from the operator.

I didn’t want a tour with a tour guide who always walks me through the streets and so the tour operator only offered me the LOI service so that I will be able to walk freely in Turkmenistan. The tour operators know what they are doing and it is a standard process. Although it takes about 4 weeks once the money is transferred to the tour operator's bank account, means with inquiries and sending the filled form and transferring the money, it takes in total about 5-6 weeks. It takes so long because the LOI needs to be granted and stamped by the Turkmenistan authorities.

I then received an official LOI (letter of invitation) by email which practically served as a visa and it was only necessary to show up with the LOI and the passport in the airport. Entry to the country and the associated shiny green Turkmenistan visa sticker in the passport was then only formality.

For me, only option 2 was possible because I wanted to leave Ashgabat by air and fly to Azerbaijan.

Map of Ashgabat

Day 1 - Arrival in the empty capital

The entry to Ashgabat via the airport is usually at very inhuman times, i.e. in the middle of the night or almost in the morning.




I arrived there at the new airport and was impressed by how fast the arriving passengers were processed. The extremely nice modern airport is built to transfer 800 people per 30 minutes but it's only served by about 3 airlines and prices are accordingly expensive.

The airport is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Didn’t expect this! With the LOI (letter of invitation) it was no problem to get the visa at the visa counter. Costs about 90 USD depending on nationality.

Hotels are "different"

I arrived early in the early morning and the driver was already waiting to take me to the hotel "Ak Altyn". In Turkmenistan, everything is controlled and extremely meticulously regulated. Being able to get earlier in the room than the time specified for check-in?

That’s illegal and under no circumstances possible, this would be almost like asking the pilot to leave earlier than planned.

The hotel is OK, its typical soviet standard with bulky massive construction and old furniture, but it even had a pool without any insects due to the high amount of chloride used.

The thing with the money...

Getting those Turkmen Manat is not a straight forward process. There are not many banks around, or not visible from outside in the streets.

I was lucky that the driver who brought me here provided me with some black market Manat. A normal exchange rate is 3.5 Manat for 1 Dollar. The black market rate is 15 Manat for 1 Dollar. However, its almost IMPOSSIBLE to change the Manat back to Dollar when leaving the country.

Internet is heavily restricted and controlled 

Wifi is also good, but almost everything that could be a risk of a leak or having a negative impact in Turkmenistan is blocked. So for Turkmenistan, the rule is, the less information that is available on the internet, the better. The state regulates here pretty much everything that somehow offers the easy possibility to publish information from or about Turkmenistan.

There is internet access but this is extremely slow and extremely controlled or restricted. The government doesn’t want a negative impact or influence from the internet for its citizen and vice-versa, doesn’t want that “information” is leaked to out to the world. As there is no internet messenger like WhatsApp available in Turkmenistan, I didn't see many people using a mobile phone for texting or surfing the internet.

Turkmenistan ranked is 178th out of 180, with only North Korea and Eritrea below it. This puts it in the top 10 of most censored countries.

The first walk through one of the weirdest cities I've ever been

Was tired because of the lack of sleep. But didn't have any time for sleeping this morning and wanted to use it as much as possible. All the roads in the direction of the center are easy to walk and absolutely clean.

The closer from the center the more police can be seen. In contrast to many African countries, these Soviet policemen are however all quite friendly but strict. They make quite clear what is allowed and if one should get the hell off with the camera.

But they are also well used to tourists and know what tourists would like to photograph, but are not allowed to.

Empty streets in Ashgabat.

Besides the "Ak Altyn" hotel is the "Turkmen State Circus"

It's damn hard to find restaurants in Ashgabat. There is no advertising on the walls or roofs that there is a pizza or pasta. There are also no supermarkets unless you know where to find them. Besides the Ak Altyn Hotel there are fortunately two quite good restaurants and a bigger supermarket.

Right behind the hotel was the circus. A few hundred meters further on was the main train station.

Walk along through the "Square of Inspiration".

I thought that maybe it was still morning, that this is the reason not many people are around. But during my whole stay in Ashgabat, I realized this is normal.

There are many wonderful parks for sitting and relaxing but there are no people! The majority of people I saw were cleaning personnel or police officers, almost no civilians compared to the size of such a huge city.

Watch horses at the "park of 10 Akhalteke horses"

It's a national treasure for Turkmenistan. Turkmen are fanatic about horses and it's their national animal. President Turkmenbashi compares his country to a horse, as it proceeds and runs with the speed of a horse (his words).

Be careful around "Presidental Palace" and the "Museums" (taking photos not very welcome)

The presidential palace is a huge house in a gigantic area. But it's not allowed to get close.




Police in civil at many monuments. It's obvious as they stand there doing nothing but shout when I try to take a photo. Many are in civil and look like normal pedestrians. But when observing them for a few minutes they basically always walk the same 100 meters forth and back and wait at bus stations to look around.

During my stay in this country, I felt somehow observed all the time. And I somehow was confirmed by this later in the afternoon.

Green roof with backlit domes. The palace "Ruhyýet Palace" 

With all the different names it's sometimes difficult to find the right building, as this one also is called Grand Palace.

The leadership in Turkmenistan has always been a dictatorship and is similar to North Korea with its isolated behavior in the world. According to the World Press Freedom Index.

The white EMPTY marble buildings everywhere

Gas and electricity are free in Turkmenistan, so some citizens opt to have their stoves burning 24/7 to avoid the cost of using matches. There are not many people around in the streets of Ashgabat and the buildings are almost all empty.

Only some of them are occupied. It's like a huge ghost town.

The sunny statue "10 years of Independence park"

This golden thing is the president Turkmenbashi and always rotates towards the sun.

The president of Turkmenistan was a dentist before he became president. Also, he is a racing car driver, a rapper and wrote several books about tea.

In July 2019, the rumor was spread that Turkmenbashi had died of kidney failure. Since people in Turkmenistan have no free internet and didn't know that it was just a rumor, the whole world knew that it was just a bad joke, but the Turkmen remained in the belief that their dentist of all their dentists is gone.

Turkmenistan's famous national "puppet theater"

I thought it is some kind of shopping mall as it looks like one. Only after passing by and being informed by the cleaning person that this is the puppet theater and there is no restaurant with cappuccino inside. The building costs 15 million USD!

See the big horse head at "Olympic Stadium".

The national animal in Turkmenistan is the horse. They like horses but hate dogs. I didn't see one dog and some people confirmed me:

In Turkmenistan dogs are not allowed, they are banned. The president prohibited the existense of dogs because he things they have an odd smell.

The stadium looks like it was built for Olympia but that's not the case. They just built it for fun and it hasn't even been built for a bid of the Olympic Games, neither has any international tournament ever been hosted there. It's mainly used for football matches.

Try to read in the big book at the "Ruhnama Monument"

The book is written by the former president and every student has to read it, to be even allowed to attend the university. It's part of the questionnaire for the university entrance interview. This giant book stands next to the huge independence park.

The warriors around the "Independence Monument"

Huge statues of around the independence monument. 25 comically looking statues of Turkmen heroes standing around the Turkmenbashi statue and the monument.

Guardians and their "Independence Monument"

The monument sits in the middle of an empty park with no people in sight.

But what exactly is so excessively celebrated with the monument remains unclear. It was some independence thing from the Soviet Union, however many think that in reality, Turkmenistan was not at all that eager to gain independence when the Soviet Union collapsed.

The library "Place of Knowledge"

Huge building two roads further down south of the Independence Park. It was closed when I was there but it should be a library and a concert hall when it's open.

Take a quick look at the "Constitution Monument"

Monument to the Turkmenistan Constitution is a monument located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Its height of 185 meters makes it the second-tallest building.

Have a coffee in the ferry wheel at the "Alem Center"

It's supposed to be an entertainment center, but it's far from everything in almost the middle of nowhere. The ferry wheel works again. It's the largest Ferris wheel in the world. It looks fantastic from the outside, but behind the facade are empty food stores.




However, there is an entertainment center with old gaming machines and there are good massage chairs for one manat only per 5 minutes. Together with some coffee ice cream biscuits for about 1 dollar in total.

Relax in the Bus stations with A/C and TV

The roads in Ashgabat are quite long and the sun is in top form during the summer months. 

But the bus system is simple and people like to help if you know about the destination. Waiting for the bus is also fun, the bus stops in Ashgabat are equipped with A/C and TV.

Impressive architecture at the "Wedding Palace" and "Yldyz Hotel"

Like a disco ball. But its meant to be what is said to be, the wedding palace, where people go shopping for weddings. A strange building and photogenic from everywhere.

The Egg building is the Yldzy hotel and is a 6-star hotel. Also here, I didn't see ANYBODY walking around or getting in or out of the hotel. If there are really guests there, I don't know.

Getting back with the bus again was quite easy, especially with google maps it's possible to estimate which bus station will be served. So now back at the hotel take a shower and get ready for dinner.

Restaurants are quite hard to find in the middle of Ashgabat. They are all so well camouflaged and not visible from the outside, as are shops. But around the corner from the hotel, there were several restaurants and they are perfectly suited for tourists.

Taking photos can get problematic in Turkmenistan!

On the way back from the Alem Center I got off the bus to walk the streets and see the white marble buildings.

While getting off I took a picture of the empty streets because they look so great with the many high empty marble towers. There were only a few people on the long streets, except for two passers-by, there wasn't a soul at all ANYWHERE.




Then I waited at the bus stop and saw two policemen walk quickly in my direction, constantly in walkie-talkie contact.

A few meters before me at the bus stop they took a look at me and walked again in the other direction - constantly again speaking to the walkie-talkie. A few minutes later the two passers-by who walked around earlier, they suddenly also arrived at the bus stop and both with a walkie-talkie. So this is Turkmenistan and they were those policemen in civilian clothes. They sat down just next to me and asked:

Don't you want to sit down here and wait, its more comfortable to wait when sitting?

At first, I friendly refused as it is easier to see the bus standing up. Thereupon I was again asked to sit down and he almost showed me how I should sit down, what I did then.

Look, when you sit its much better, the bus will stop, no worries.

Now! It was clear that they are here because of me and have probably seen me taking those pictures before of the white buildings.

Arrests happen quickly here

Probably they wanted to take care that I don't take any more photos and just get out here with the bus.

A few minutes later another of these walkie-talkie cops joined and sat down right next to my left. None of them made anything or asked anything, the situation was tense and I didn't know if I would get away alone or if they would follow me the whole day from now.

The bus rolled up, I got on and hoped that they wouldn't get in and join on the same bus. They got up - but thankfully didn't get in, but gave some radio messages through the walkie-talkies. The bus started, what a relief. I definitely didn't want to experience something like that in Burkina Faso again.

The police didn't like when I made photos here. I guess all these empty buildings are only built for prestige.

Day 2 - Another day in sunny Ashgabat

In the morning I asked for an early checkout so that I don't need to come back at noon only for checkout. But the hotel staff was not amused, were immediately suspecting me somehow, based on their strange reaction, they were wondering what I plan to do and asked me all kinds of questions about my "strange" idea. I think this was because I'm supposed to be picked up by the tour operator driver and not leave Ashgabat alone.

Have one more day in Turkmenistan before I go to Azerbaijan tomorrow after midnight.

I took the city bus once through Ashgabat to have a kind of city tour. But I stayed away from yesterday's quarter to avoid running into the same policeman again.

In the middle of Ashgabat, there is a shopping mall. There I saw for the first time large crowds of Turkmen people, the larger crowd being maybe a few dozen people.

Having lunch and see what kind of products they have in "Berkarar Mall"

Back to the hotel and then into the pool. Since I was not allowed to stay in the room any longer under any circumstances, I still had the whole day until after midnight, I made myself comfortable at the Hotel Pool. Ashgabat holds the Guinness World Record for the most public pools in a single place.




The Berkarar Mall is the biggest Mall in Ashgabat.

I was surprised to see so many imported products from all over the world. Also, there is a lot of Soviet products, but the biggest products the Soviet system introduced are theaters, television, radio, and cinemas.

Day 3 - Departure to Azerbaijan through an amazing airport

My plan was to continue to Azerbaijan and then to Iran.

After midnight the driver from the tour operator brought me to the airport. Already mentioned in the beginning how spectacular the new airport is. 

From the outside it has the form of a giant bird. The airport is huge and bright… but very empty. It is built to cope with thousands of passengers per hour but in reality, there are only about 100 passengers in the whole airport.

The long aisle to the gate is totally empty. Dozens of gates but all of them… empty.

Only police officers standing there every 40 meters. They were standing around without any slight indicator of threat, and they clearly were bored.

Huge Airport, but totally empty

I ended up in the gate and because it was so totally empty there I was wondering if this is the right gate, but it was.

Up until departure we summed up to 6 passengers for the Lufthansa flight to Azerbaijan.

The crew then arrived in a group of 8 crew members. 5 Flight attendants, 2 pilots and 1 "something else". Emptiness also in the plane, have never been in such an empty plane. So, Ashgabat to Baku such a pleasant flight.