Top 10 Turkmenistan

Adam Greenberg and I recently visited five Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan. We loved it. Central Asia is an under-appreciated region, from the silk road area markets of Uzbekistan to the rolling steppes of Kyrgyzstan. By far the most unusual country we visited was Turkmenistan. A relatively closed country, the Turkmen only receive a few thousand tourists a year. With that in mind, we had the place to ourselves. We rode horses, explored the desert, ferried around their capital city if Ashgabat with a government handler.

It was awesome.

With a curfew of 9pm, the streets of Ashgabat are empty at night. The government wedding palace looms in the background.

A lone man prays at a mosque in Ashgabat

Camels grave in the Karakum desert

Every building in Ashgabat must be white, as our most cars.

Saparmurat Niyazov (Turkmenbashi) riding a golden steed.

Adam looking down on Darvaza - "the gate to hell"

We did a land border crossing from Uzbekistan into the border town of Turkmenebat. We drank with locals like this guy who got us upgraded on our flight the next day on Turkmenistan's national carrier.

The Karakum desert at night, long exposure

The grandeur of Ashgabat airport

Morning in the desert