Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia bordered by the Caspian Sea and largely covered by the Karakum Desert. It’s known for archaeological ruins including those at Nisa and Merv, major stops along the ancient trade route the Silk Road. Ashgabat, the capital, was rebuilt in Soviet style in the mid-20th century and is filled with grand monuments honoring former president Saparmurat Niyazov.

Turkmenistan is like all hidden treasure – hard to access and a little dusty, yet worth every ounce of effort and more. Turkmenistan travel will take you through the mysterious Karakum Desert, replete with Silk Road secrets and half-buried ruins. Just when you think you’ve left civilization behind, age-old traditions preserved by long-robed desert villagers will leave you stunned and impressed. On the desert’s sandy cusp, the Caspian Sea materializes like a long-awaited mirage almost too good to be true.

Capital city Ashgabat is an experience in itself, a trophy of grandeur clad in marble that embodies the definition of extravagant. Meanwhile, the mummified cities of Merv, Kunya-Urgench and Gonur Depe sprawl their sleepy foundations beneath the sun’s enduring glint. Akhal-Teke horses, the pride of all Turkmen, are a living link to the nation’s warring, nomadic past, a history barely detected in the poised, courteous manner of its citizens today who welcome curious visitors with a reserved yet distinct air of hospitality.

Location: Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia; in the west it is washed by the Caspian Sea. Turkmenistan borders with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran on land, as well as with Russia and Azerbaijan in the sea. It has no access to the world ocean. There are mainly plains; almost 80% of the land territory is covered with Kara-Kum sands, one of the largest deserts in the world. Kopetdag Mountains, lying in the south of the country, are the natural border between Turkmenistan and Iran.

Area: Total: 491 200 sq km

Population: 6,516,100 millions

Ethnic composition: The majority are certainly Turkmen (85%). In Turkmenistan there are big communities of Uzbeks (5%), Russians (4%), others (6%). Among other nationalities are Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Persians, Lezghins, Uigurs a well as Beludzhi, Kurds etc. Turkmen people are related to Trans-Caspian race of South Europeids.

Political structure: Unitary republic. President is the head of state.

Administrative territorial division: Turkmenistan consists of vilayats (Ahal, Balkan, Dashoguz, Lebap, Mary), etraps, gengeshliks and populated areas of five administrative categories.

Capital: Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan and is the largest city of the country. Divided in four districts or “etraps”, it is also the scientific, administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the republic.

On one side, the city is framed by the Kopetdag Mountain Range and on the other, by the Karakum desert. Located in Central Asia, Ashgabat practically borders Iran – the border is only 25 kilometers away. The climate in the capital is continental extreme, very hot in summer and cool in winter.

Ashgabat has only a few old buildings, since in 1948, a terrible earthquake, destroyed almost everything, taking the lives of more than 175 thousand people.

In 2013, Ashgabat was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the city with highest density of white marble buildings, confirming the title 5 times.

According to official data, in 2023 the number of residents of Ashgabat reached 1 million

Official Language: Turkmen is the official language. It belongs to the Turkic group of languages. Apart from Turkmenistan, native speakers of this language can also be found in Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia (Stavropol region). Turkmen alphabet is based on Latin and consists of 30 letters; there are also many words borrowed from Russian. There are over 30 dialects that correspond to ethnical Turkmen groups: Teke (central part of Turkmenistan), Jomud (western and northern regions), Ersarin (eastern regions, along Amu-Darya), Salyr (Serakhs region on the border with Iran), Saryk (middle current of Murghab), Chodur (Tashauz) and others. Dialect of Stavropol Turkmens is traditionally called Trukhmen language.

Currency: National monetary unit of Turkmenistan is “manat”; 1 manat = 100 tenge. It was introduced on 1 November, 1993. Banknote denominations are in 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 manats; coins are in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tenge.

Religion: prevalent religion in Turkmenistan is Islam; up to 89% of the population are Muslims, mainly confessing Sunni branch of Islam. Christians are around 9% of the population; other confessions are shared by 2% of the population.
The state guarantees freedom of religions and conscience, and equality before law. Religious organizations are separate from the state, cannot interfere the state affairs and carry out state functions. The public education system is separate from religious organizations.

Standard time zone: Time in Turkmenistan is given by Turkmenistan Time (TMT) (UTC+05:00) despite most of its territory putting it at the geographical time zone of UTC+04:00.

Electric power: The hotels may have both the contemporary European-type sockets with wide holes and ground connection and the old Soviet-type sockets. Current with a voltage of 220 V and a frequency of 50 Hz is used throughout.