TURKMENISTAN – THE EMPTY CITY TO THE GATES OF HELL

Turkmenistan is one of the most isolated places in Central Asia – known for draconian dictators and the driest desert in the world. The capital is so empty it seems almost sinister. Monuments and buildings rise high in the skyline, brutalist and imposing. Sharp, strong edges dominate the plane above. But here, too, are people who live and suffer just like anyone else. They walk lonely in the desolate streets, laughing in the shadow of mountains. Outside the city, the world is different; the desert is unforgiving. The wastes seem to go on forever – thirsty sand and empty skies. Only an arresting, daunting a place like this could be home to the Gates of Hell.