Ashgabatthe capital of TurkmenistanIt is a city with many oddities. The city is lined with white marble, giving the city an air of grandeur, but its streets are empty, devoid of any bustle that often characterises a country’s capital. Often described as “the world’s strangest and brightest city of the dead”, this capital is unlike any other metropolis.

Jordan, a blogger who runs the Counting Countries channel on YouTube, visited Turkmenistan and said “It’s the weirdest country in the world – there are no people anywhere. The city (Ashgabat) is full of these crazy, grand monuments, there’s no traffic – the malls, the hotels are all empty, so the question is, where is everybody?”

Under former President Saparmurat Niyazov, the city underwent a dramatic transformation. A fascination with grand architecture led to the city being clad in white marble. Towering skyscrapers, huge statues and grand government buildings rose from the desert sands, turning Ashgabat into a city that looked straight out of a science-fiction film! In fact, the city holds the Guinness World Record for the most buildings made of white marble.

Despite the grandeur of its architecture, Ashgabat is often eerily quiet. “It’s the strangest place on the planet,” Jordan adds in his video. You can see wide, empty boulevards and huge parks that create a sense of isolation. The city center, which is home to the gold-domed Presidential Palace, is also off-limits to the public. “And every single car in the country is white,” he adds.

The lack of people on the streets is the result of several factors. Turkmenistan is a highly controlled state, and public gatherings are often discouraged. Additionally, many residents prefer to spend time in their homes or at private gatherings. Ashgabat is divided into two areas – the Old City and the New. The New City is often referred to as the “City of the Dead,” and as Jordan found out, it really is. Every public park, monument he explores in his video, he highlights that he is the only person there.

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“After traveling to more than 130 countries, this place is like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” says Jordan. “The president wants all buildings and cars to be white. Tourists are strictly required to have a guide with them at all times and are forbidden from visiting certain sites and cities.”

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