Ashgabat, Turkmenistan is a city of buildings in white marble with gold lettering and colossal monuments primarily to the first and second presidents of the country. But there are few people on the streets of this Potemkin village. This experience was juxtaposed with a visit to Merv, a major stop on the silk road and the during the 12th century, one of the largest cities in the world. Today, there are mostly earthen mounds that mark the city walls and a few crumbling remains of buildings.
