Ashgabat is the capital of Turkmenistan and the country’s largest city. Ashgabat is a relatively young city having grown out of a village of the same name established by the Russians in 1881, which itself grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of the 2nd century BC, Konjikala. Located in a seismic area, Konjikala was leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BC, but was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road. Konjikala flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century. After that it survived as a small village until Russians took over in the 19th century. Ashgabat suffered from another destructive earthquake in 1948, that killed two-thirds of its population.
The Alem Entertainment Center in Ashgabat. In 2012 the wheel atop this complex was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest enclosed Ferris wheel. The structure was built at a cost of $90m. Photo credit
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