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Ertogrul Gazi mosque
Located on the eastern outskirts of Ashgabat the Turkish styled and Turkish financed MOSQUE named after Ertogrul Gazy was inaugurated in 1998. In design this white marbled building reminds of the well-known Blue Mosque of Istanbul. It can hold up to 5,000 believers. The mosque is notable for its rich interior decoration and fine stained glass windows.
Tolkuchka market
Located on the edge of the Kara Kum desert the largest open-air market of Ashgabat is the best place to go for the famous Turkmen carpets and the traditional stuff such as jewelry, embroidery, hand-made silks, sheepskin hats, lambs` hides, etc. Commonly known as `Tolkuchka` (from a Russian colloquial word “pushing against”) the market is held three times a week on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from early morning till noon. It is especially lovely and bustling on Sundays. Everything seems to be on sale here, from carpets to vehicles, from vegetables and fruits to livestock. Spread on ground displays the goods on sale, are of good quality, and the prices reflect this fact. Of course, haggling is the order of the day. A successful deal is completed by a special handshake. They take your right hand in there and then put their left hand over your right as you shake.
Underground lake “Kov Ata”
In the lower slopes of the Kopet-Dag mountains (some 90 km west of Ashgabat) lies a hot-water lake, known as Kov Ata or ”Father of lakes”. This clear mineral lake, which is 75 meters long, 14 meters wide and 6 meters deep, is buried 60 meters underground in a cave. At 35 Celsius , the emerald-colored running water is very inviting and a dip in it refreshes you immediately.
Anau site
Some 12 km east of Ashgabat lie the remains of a vanished settlement of Anau. Inhabited since the early Bronze Age it was known as Bagabat to Silk Road travelers. By the 15 th century it was a fortified town famous for its mosque, which for size and beauty rivaled many in the ancient East, with two domes, two minarets and, most strikingly, a tiled mosaic above the main entrance depicting two enormous 8- 9 meter dragons facing each other. Their bright yellow bodies were in sharp contrast with the deep blue mosaic background of a white apple-tree in blossom. The depiction was unique for there was not anything like that in Central Asia . The 1948 earthquake left little standing but some stumps of brickwork piers decorated with the fragments of blue tiling. Strewn over the ground the shards of the entrance mosaic lied there for more than 50 years to be collected and put together. Now the mosaic design restored is on show at the recently opened Fine Arts Museum of Ashgabat.
Spiritual Mosque of Turkmenbashy
On leaving Ashgabat and driving due west some 15 km you cannot help noticing a magnificent sparkling new religious complex erected on the ground of the Turkmen leader's native village of Gypchak . Set in a fine park and embellished with dozens of crystal fortresses the complex consists of the Pantheon with the 4 cenotaphs of his dear ones and the gorgeous Mosque itself. The complex was built of the most precious constructive materials imported from Italy , Morocco , Turkey , Slovenia , and Germany . Breathtaking are also the very dimensions of the mosque. The whole design is meaning-laden: 4 minarets that are 91 meters high stand for the year of Independence , the dome measuring 63 meters in diameter for the age of Prophet Mohammad, 48 windows piercing the dome base for the 1948 earthquake and many other symbols. The complex has been named the Spiritual Mosque of Turkmenbashi (the head of the Turkmen) and announced to be the national shrine.
Kopet dag mountains
Perhaps the most attractive area outside Ashgabat is the nearby foothill .In the summer and autumn months it is an ideal spot for walks and picnics. Two meandering hiking tracks (8 and 25 km long) laid in the foothill provide an impressive view and a good exercise. The foothills are also home of two picturesque gorges named Archabil and Geok-dere. At the very height of the Turkmenian summer they provide a cool and pleasant retreat due to small streams meandering through the gorges.
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