Turkmenistan culture tour

Arrival at Ashgabat International Airport. You will be met by our representatives and transferred to the hotel (early check-in). Free time. Morning drive to visit Nissa fortress – the Sanctuary of Parthian Kings. UNESCO declared the fortress a World Heritage Site in 2007. Nissa is described as one of the first capitals of the Parthians. It was founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250 BC – 211 BC) and is reputedly the royal necropolis of the Parthian Kings, although it has never been established whether the fortress was a royal residence or a mausoleum. In the afternoon, Ashgabat city tour. In 2013, the Guinness Book of Records named Ashgabat a “white marbled city” – here you can see the biggest number of structures in the world made of white marble. You will see the Wedding Palace, the modern Yildyz Hotel, the Ferris Wheel, the Constitution Monument, the Arch of Neutrality, the Monument and Park of Independence, the Ertogrul Gazi Mosque, the Ashgabat Olympic Stadium, and the Earthquake and Victims of WWII monuments. Overnight in Ashgabat.

Ashgabat, Nisa

Overnight: Ashgabat (Hotel)

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, drive to Mary (360 km). On the way you see the ruins of the Seyitjemalledin Mosque in Anau, built in 1456 when Abu-ibn-Kasim Baber Bahadurkhan ruled in Khorasan. Its construction was financed by Bahadurkhan’s vizier, Muhammad Hudaidot, who chose a site near the grave of his father, Sheikh Jemaleddin, a native of Anau. The mosque was destroyed in the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake; only the lower parts of the portal and some fragments of the walls remain. On the way, visit Abiwerd, once an important trading town of North Khorasan and a key link on the Great Silk Road between Nisa and Merv. Drive to Merv (35 km) to explore ancient Merv – the “Queen of the world” – once one of the most important capitals of Islam, along with Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus. Sightseeing includes Greater Kyz Gala and Lesser Kyz Gala (6th–7th c.), the Complex of Askhabs (8th–14th c.), Erk Gala (6th c. BC), Gyaur Gala (4th c. BC), the Hoja Yusup Hamadani complex, the Sultan Sanjar mausoleum and the Muhamed Ibn Zeid mausoleum. After sightseeing, drive back to Ashgabat (395 km). Overnight in Ashgabat.

Mary, Merv

• Ashgabat → Mary (360 km)
• Mary → Merv (35 km)
• Merv → Ashgabat (395 km)

Overnight: Ashgabat (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to visit the “Altyn Asyr” Oriental Bazaar in Jygyldyk, 20 km north of Ashgabat (open on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) – one of the world’s largest open bazaars, filled with colorful rugs, jewellery, carpets, silk, national Turkmen costumes and, in other parts, animals. Alternatively, visit the Gulistan Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in Ashgabat. The ground floor is dedicated to fresh produce – fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy – with stalls selling spices, nuts and dried fruit; the second floor has clothing and souvenir shops. Afternoon drive to the Darvaza Gas Crater (276 km), one of the most popular sights in Turkmenistan. The region is rich in natural gas, and the crater has been burning for more than 50 years, shining like a pearl amid the Karakum desert. You will also see water and mud craters, breathe the fresh desert air and get a taste of the nomadic way of life. At night, while the burning crater lights up the sky, you camp in a Turkmen national yurt or private tents and have a barbecue dinner.

Darvaza Gas Crater, Karakum Desert

• Ashgabat → Darvaza Gas Crater (276 km)

Overnight: Darvaza Gas Crater (Yurt camp)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Picnic-style breakfast. Morning drive to Ashgabat (276 km). Transfer to the hotel. Free time. Overnight at the hotel.

• Darvaza Gas Crater → Ashgabat (276 km)

Overnight: Ashgabat (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to Ashgabat International Airport for a morning flight to Turkmenbashi (T5-241, 06:20–07:20; flight times are subject to change). After arrival at Turkmenbashi Airport, drive to the Yangykala Canyon, visiting the pilgrimage site of Gozli-Ata on the way. “Yangy kala” translates from Turkmen as “fire fortress” – and indeed the sheer cliffs of white, yellow, ochre, purple and red, carved by winds and rains, look like stone castles from a fantasy. Explore the canyon, then drive to Balkanabat. Overnight at the hotel.

Turkmenbashi, Yangykala Canyon, Balkanabat

• Ashgabat → Turkmenbashi
• Turkmenbashi → Yangykala Canyon
• Yangykala Canyon → Balkanabat

Overnight: Balkanabat (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast

Breakfast at a local restaurant. After breakfast, drive by 4x4 vehicles to Nokhur, a village in the western Kopetdag Mountains. Its cemetery is unique: each grave is protected by the huge horns of mountain goats, which locals consider sacred – many houses in the village have a goat’s skull hanging outside to ward off evil spirits. Just beyond is the pilgrimage site of Kyz Bibi, where a fat-trunked plane tree is covered with scraps of cloth representing wishes, and a flight of steps leads up to a tiny cave on the hillside. Then drive to the Gokdepe fortress, stormed by the Russian Imperial army after a 23-day siege that began in December 1880. Visit the Geokdepe Mosque (Saparmyrat Hajy), built in 1995 to commemorate the battle and noted for its turquoise roof and white marble, and the Gokdepe museum about the battle between the Russians and the Akhal-Teke tribe in 1881. Later, visit a horse stable to see the national pride of the Turkmen people – the Akhal-Teke horses. Turkmens began breeding them 5,000 years ago, and emperors such as Alexander the Great and Darius I desired to own them. There are over 35 beautiful horses on the farm. After the visit, drive to your hotel in Ashgabat. Check in and rest until departure time.

Gokdepe

• Balkanabat → Ashgabat

Overnight: Ashgabat (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to Ashgabat International Airport. Departure.