Turkmen Carpet Museum — Attraction in Ashgabat City

If you should see a single museum in Ashgabat I guess it's should be this one. Carpet weaving is proclaimed to be integral to Turkmen culture (the five traditional carpet patterns even found their way to the national flag) and at this museum you get to learn a lot about this. From dying techniques, the different materials and tools used, the meaning of each pattern, everything is very well explained by the guides (most of them speak Russian and a few of them speak some good English). You also get to see some impressive pieces, including the largest hand-woven carpet in the world and a number of carpets using special techniques to create beautiful relief patterns. Totally worth the price (which is high by...

We opted for the guided tour, it took about an hour and explained how the carpets were made as well as the unique differences in design between the regions. It was really worth the tour, otherwise it would look like a carpet shop. Our guide Maya was friendly, had beautiful English and a wealth of knowledge that she was obviously truly...

Fascinating

Only takes around 45 minutes to be shown around by the guide from the museum.

You get a good understanding of the meaning of the patterns, and the importance Turkmen people place on their carpets

Small gift shop though, so if you want to buy a carpet it would be best to find...