Ashgabat: The City of White Marble and Golden Dreams
Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, is a city that defies easy description. it is a city of audacious architectural ambition, where gleaming white marble, shimmering gold, and meticulously manicured gardens create a surreal and dazzling urban landscape. Often referred to as the "City of White Marble" Ashgabat holds a Guinness World Record for the highest concentration of white marble-clad buildings, a testament to unique and extravagant vision.
A Grand Architectural Vision
The city 's striking appearance is a result of a massive urban renewal project initiated after Turkmenistan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The former president, Saparmurat Niyazow, envisioned a capital that would be a symbol of national pride, modernity, and the nation' s newfound wealth from its immense natural gas reserves. The chosen material for this transformation was white marble, a stone associated with purity grandeur, and stability.