Ashgabat centers on white marble architecture constructed primarily after 2000. The capital earned a Guinness World Record in 2013 for the highest density of white marble buildings at 543 structures covering 4.5 million square meters. The National Museum of Turkmenistan opened in 2013 with archaeological materials spanning prehistory through the medieval period. The Turkmen Sahra Mosque accommodates 10,000 worshippers with a 91-meter central dome. The Gypjak Mosque near the city displays a gold-plated dome visible across the valley. Most government buildings and monuments date from the presidency of Saparmurat Niyazov between 1991 and 2006 or from Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow's tenure beginning 2007. The Independence Monument rises 118 meters at the center of Independence Park.
Ancient Merv lies 30 kilometers east of the modern city of Mary. UNESCO inscribed the site in 1999 as the best-preserved Silk Road urban center in Central Asia. Five distinct city complexes occupied from the 6th century BCE through the 18th century CE span 1,200 hectares. The Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum built in the 12th century stands 38 meters high with walls 5 meters thick at the base. Archaeologists have documented continuous occupation from Achaemenid Persia through the Seljuk period. The Seljuk capital at Merv reached an estimated population between 100,000 and 200,000 in the 12th century before Mongol destruction in 1221. Excavations since the 1890s have revealed fortification walls, residential quarters, ceramic workshops, and irrigation systems. The International Merv Project conducted systematic surveys from 1992 through 2000.
Nisa sits 18 kilometers west of Ashgabat at the base of the Kopet Dag mountains. UNESCO recognition came in 2007 for the Parthian Dynasty capital occupied from the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. Excavations beginning in 1930 uncovered two fortified sites called Old Nisa and New Nisa separated by 1.5 kilometers. The Royal Treasury building yielded ivory rhytons and the Nisa Ostraca archive of 2,700 documents written in Parthian script recording wine storage from 1st century BCE. The Round Hall measured 17 meters in diameter with intact wall paintings when excavated in the 1940s. Soviet and Turkmen teams have recovered sculpture, coins, and ceramics documenting Hellenistic influence on Parthian material culture.
Kunya-Urgench in northern Turkmenistan became a UNESCO site in 2005. The monuments date from the 11th through 16th centuries when the city served as capital of Khwarezm. The Turabek Khanum Mausoleum built around 1370 displays geometric tile work covering the entire exterior and a 12-meter diameter dome. The Kutlug Timur Minaret reaches 62 meters making it the tallest surviving structure in Central Asia from before 1400. The Sultan Tekesh Mausoleum dates to the late 12th century with a conical dome 30 meters high. Mongol armies under Genghis Khan destroyed Urgench in 1221. The city rebuilt but shifted location multiple times before abandonment in the 16th century when the Amu Darya changed course. The Kyrk Molla cemetery contains an estimated 360 graves.
The Karakum Desert occupies approximately 350,000 square kilometers or 70 percent of Turkmenistan's land area. The Repetek Biosphere Reserve established in 1928 protects 34,600 hectares of desert ecosystem in the eastern Karakum. Research stations have operated continuously since 1912 studying saxaul forests and sand-adapted species. The Darvaza Gas Crater formed in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig collapsed into a natural gas cavern. Geologists ignited the methane to prevent toxic gas accumulation. The crater measures 69 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep with flames burning continuously for over 50 years. Yangykala Canyon in western Turkmenistan exposes multicolored sedimentary layers deposited when the region formed the ancient Tethys Ocean floor approximately 5 million years ago.
The Koytendag Nature Reserve in the eastern mountains contains over 60 karst caves. Kaptarhana Cave extends 57 kilometers making it Central Asia's longest cave system. Dinosaur Plateau in the same mountain range preserves over 2,500 fossilized dinosaur footprints from the Late Jurassic period approximately 150 million years ago. Paleontologists have identified at least three species of theropod dinosaurs from trackway patterns. The site sits at 1,500 meters elevation accessible by dirt roads from Koytendag village.