Which country has the most unusual capital city?

My vote is for Ashgabat in Turkmenistan.

  • Guinness World Records has recog­nised it as “the city having the highest density of white marble-clad buildings”: 543 and counting.

  • The Alem Cultural and Entertainment Centre is another holder of a Guinness World Record, for having the largest indoor Ferris wheel. More than 150 feet high, the wheel offers splendid views of the city


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  • Turkmenistan’s tallest building, a television tower perched on a hill overlook­ing the city, has its own Guinness World Record for “the largest architectural star

  • The Presidental Palace has golden statues as far as the eye can see along with mable and other precious metals coating the nearby landmarks



Sound like a place you would want to visit???Don’t be fooled.. Türkmenistan is an autocratic nation, which has about as many human rights as North Korea and is considered one of the most oppressive nations in the world. The entire city of Ashgabat seems to be a multi-billion dollar smoke-and-mirrors facade in which to fool the international public about the actual deplorable way of life for most Türkmenistan citizens. The ghost city is built to entertain thousands of people, yet is rarely ever used by anyone.

Everything is done to appease the president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. Along any central street through which the president might pass, it is forbidden to open windows, install air conditioners or satellite dishes and hang clothes.
Stray dogs are brutally killed since the president hates animals(except horses). The authorities developed infrastructure, but didn’t use qualified specialists: as a result, in the hot summer months, some neighborhoods suffer for days without water and electricity, while in the center of the city fountains flow around the clock and lights burn brightly for no one.It seems that Ashgabat is one of the oddest and creepy capital cities to date. My heart goes out to the poor citizens trapped there.


This information was taken from Quora. Click here to view the original post.

And what about you? How does it strike you? Do you have any thoughts or ideas to share ? You are welcome to do so in the comments below!

#Geography #Quora

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What are your thoughts on this subject?
30 Comments
Norma Fife
What a deplorable waste of money and resources while the citizens suffer.
17
Apr 23, 2019 5:36PM
countesscalista
Love these articles you get to know more about the world
5
Aug 29, 2019 5:03PM
Maura Mackey
Katherine Kite Bennett, Because, presumably like North Korea, one is not allowed to leave.
1
Jul 21, 2023 9:54PM
Maura Mackey
Craig Story, Neither did I. How sad to see such opulence- and the citizens suffering. Makes me stop and think twice about complaining about trivial things.
0
Jul 21, 2023 9:52PM
Allison Aspden
A tragic state of affairs. It looks magnificent, but looks can be deceptive.
1
Jun 16, 2023 10:41PM
Satish Chandran
Once It was part of USSR,now under theocratic dictatoship.sad.
1
Feb 11, 2023 5:09PM
onewayfarer
Norma Fife, Wasting resources seems to be what governments do, for whatever reasons they deem needed to the detriment of its citizens. It seems to be just what they do instead of attempting to alleviate the suffering and poverty of its citizens. It seems kind of strange to criticize one nation’s use of resources and allowing others to slide, as if they were not doing the exact same things for their own selfish reasons. The Rethug Party voted to ignore their citizens votes and do whatever the Party felt was right in any election; how is that any different than what Turkmenistan is doing? Stop the hipocrisy!
0
Dec 26, 2022 4:38PM
bonniecardona
Beautiful photos thanks for sharing
2
Oct 15, 2021 4:31PM
David Groom
konrad, Gold is mentioned at the beginning.
1
Oct 2, 2021 5:09PM
John Hunt
What a waste fantastic place but not a place to go
4
Feb 25, 2021 6:04AM
konrad
MARBLE AND OTHER PRECIOUS metals? Since when is marble a METAL, dorks?
0
Jun 15, 2020 1:21PM
Helga U. Williams
Sounds like East Berlin before the Wall came down. All facade at that time.
3
May 26, 2020 4:08PM
Helen Gray
Ex Communist- say no more.
3
Dec 20, 2019 1:37AM
Katherine Kite Bennett
Can the people that live there leave? Why stay in a city/rules that horrible?
2
Nov 11, 2019 9:33PM
Cheryl McMeekin
From what you see in pics, it's beautiful; but when you abuse they people it's really Ugly.
3
Jul 25, 2019 12:06PM
Margery Morris
A Dubai taxi driver told us that Dubai too is a “ghost” city, in that the majority of the skyscraper buildings are empty with lights on timers to come on at night. Just built to impress and look like a busy metropolis.
2
May 2, 2019 5:21PM

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