Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque

Rising from the village of Gypjak just west of Ashgabat, the Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque is among the largest in Central Asia. Completed in 2004, it gleams in white marble beneath a golden dome, framed by four minarets that soar around 91 metres into the desert sky.

The prayer hall holds up to ten thousand worshippers, and beside it stands the marble mausoleum of the country’s first president. Whatever your faith, its scale and craftsmanship make it an easy, rewarding half-day from the capital.