Turkmenbashy Mausoleum

Turkmenbashy Mausoleum - darkometer rating: 2 - The final resting place of Saparmurat Turkmenbashy the Great, the late eccentric leader of Turkmenistan . He's buried in a dedicated family mausoleum, purpose-built alongside a massive new mosque. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The " Turkmenbashy ", real name Saparmurat Niyazov, the "great leader" and first president of independent Turkmenistan , passed away rather suddenly in December 2006. His body was predictably moved to this massive family mausoleum outside Ashgabat next to an equally massive new mosque, by the village of Gipjak. Both buildings had been finished only a couple of years before ... did he have a kind of premonition perhaps? Interestingly the massive mosque was constructed by a French company, as apparently there was no one in the country with the expertise needed to construct a free-standing dome. The location near the village of Gipjak is significant: not only was it the birthplace of the Turkmenbashy. It was also the epicentre of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake. Apparently the mausoleum/mosque complex was intended to become a pilgrimage site for the great man's flock during his afterlife. It's not easy to tell whether it really functions as such today. When I was there, only very few Turkmen people were about – apart from the soldiers and guards on duty.