A meandering boardwalk across the bogland leads to a "stairway to heaven" with sublime views.

The controversial final resting place of the equally controversial first president of Turkmenistan.

The remains of a medieval city loom in one of the most isolated desert regions of Turkmenistan.

A memorial to the thousands of Turkmen soldiers and civilians who died in a bloody 1881 battle.

A cave covered with bizarre stalactites of cloth.

This harsh mountain path was built as a strange attempt to improve the health of Turkmen citizens.

An eccentric dictator's take on a Turkmen version of Disneyland.

Few people have ever heard of, let alone visited, one of Turkmenistan’s most impressive natural attractions.

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

This famed Silk Road oasis was one of the largest cities in the world before it was destroyed by a Mongol horde.

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

The first version of this stalwart construction appeared around 3,000 years ago.

This remote, abandoned Soviet observatory promises spectacular views for those who can reach it.

Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.

This ancient Silk Road outpost overlooking the Wakhan Valley is miraculously still standing.

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster.

The foundation of this ancient stupa dates back to the 1st-century.

Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.

Giant cauldrons overflow with Uzbekistan's favorite rice dish at this cavernous dining hall.

18m long sarcophagus of a constantly growing dead prophet.

One of the most ethnically diverse spots on the planet.

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.