Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Lebap¨Regional¨Museum¨
MUSEUM
(Niyazov şayoli; admission 15M;
h
9am-6pm
Wed-Mon)
Turkmenabat's brand new and ri-
diculously ornate museum could double as
Liberace's house (check out those chande-
liers!), but it also houses a solid collection
of archaeological findings from the Lebap
region and a good ethnographic display in-
cluding a full reconstruction of a Silk Road
market. Upstairs there's also a collection of
geological findings, including mouldings
of the dinosaur footprints from the Kugi-
tang Nature Reserve and a stuffed
zemzen
,
a large, fierce and very rarely seen desert
lizard.
Russian¨Orthodox¨Church¨
CHURCH
(Magtymguly şayoli)
A couple of blocks north-
east of the Lebap Regional Museum is the
Russian Orthodox Church, built to honour
St Nicolas in the late 19th century. the
church is painted canary yellow and deco-
rated on the interior with a rich collection
of icons.
4
¨Sleeping
Hotel¨Gurluşykçy¨
HOTEL $
(
%
3 81 85; off Magtymguly şayoli; per person
US$18;
a
)
This friendly yet unpronounce-
able hotel is an old Soviet-era place and
the cheapest option in town. The rooms
Turkmenabat
%
422 / POP 254,000
Lying on the banks of the mighty Amu-
Darya, between the Karakum desert and
the fertile plains of Uzbekistan, sprawling
Turkmenabat sits at a crossroads of cul-
tures. The town itself feels as if it's in the
geographic centre of nowhere, yet after the
mind-numbing drive through the desert,
it's something of a surprise to find such a
large city appear out of the sand.
The Silk Road city of Amul prospered
here until its destruction by the Mongols
in 1221, and was reborn under the Russian
empire as Charjou, a name you'll still hear
used by the remaining Russian-speaking
locals. In 2009 a gas pipeline opened here
taking Turkmen gas to China, thus ensur-
ing the city's economic prosperity. Despite
being the second-largest city in the coun-
try, there's nothing much to see or do here,
though it's an obvious stopover between
Mary and Uzbekistan.
1
¨Sights
Turkmenabat has a couple of bustling ba-
zaars. The most convenient is
Zelyony¨¨
Bazaar
, near the telephone office.
Turkmenabat
e
0
400 m
0
0.2 miles
A
B
C
D
4
#
ÿ
Aha
l köçe
8
#
˜
Train
Station
â
£
1
1
1
66
á
Statue
of Niyazov
(2km);
Amu-Darya
River
-
#
Ü
2
Mag
tymgul
y şayol
i
2
2
#
ÿ
6
5
#
ÿ
666
Niyazov
Square
S
haidak
ov
köç
esi
66
Turkmen
Bank
Stadium
ì
#
Pus
kin köçes
i
3
3
7
#
ú
ð
ó
æ
3
A
B
C
D
