Ashgabat rewards a particular kind of traveller — one comfortable with spectacle over substance, with political allegory made literal in marble and gold. The sights here are unlike anywhere else on earth. They are not ancient ruins or great art collections: they are the monuments of a dictatorship with oil money and nothing to prove to the outside world. That is precisely what makes them worth seeing.
Most visits are conducted through a government-approved guide, which shapes the experience significantly. Your guide will determine where you can photograph and which buildings you can enter. Outside the official itinerary, the city's bazaar and the residential neighbourhoods behind the marble facades offer an unscripted glimpse of ordinary Turkmen life.
Allow at least two full days in the capital. Combine the main marble boulevards with the carpet museum, a morning at the bazaar, and the earthquake memorial. If you have a third day, ask your guide about arranging access to one of the nine state carpet factories — it is one of the more genuine experiences available.