Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan is a desert country in Central Asia on the Caspian Sea, one of the least visited and most closed countries in the world. Its capital, Ashgabat, is built almost entirely of white marble, with vast monuments and empty boulevards.

In the Karakum Desert lies the Darvaza gas crater, set alight in the Soviet era and now slowly burning out, and the ruins of the Silk Road city of Merv and the mausoleums of Konye-Urgench are listed by UNESCO. Visas are hard to obtain, and most visitors travel on a guided tour or a short transit visa.

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