An amazing hawk-shaped airport in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan: 2.3 billion worth of hawks

At OK Voyage, we mentioned Saint-Martin airport, which is presented as one of the most dangerous or scariest airports in the world. What should be feared in Turkmenistan is the budget of the new airport. The state actually invested $2.3 billion in a futuristic airport with the appearance of a flying hawk.

The airport can accommodate 1600 passengers per hour.. quite surprising for Ashgabat, the capital city with the airport, which during this time actually only accommodated 12. This very optimistic project is therefore very controversial in the country. Many question the usefulness of this 150,000-square-foot building.

Hawk-Shaped Ashgabat Airport / © Polimeks

Is Turkmenistan a country abandoned by tourists?

An airport in the shape of a giant raptor is fine, but it may not bring more people into this country of dictatorship, corruption and media control.

Only 105,000 tourists visit Turkmenistan every year. This Asian country is so isolated, it’s hard to get a visa to go there, and it’s synonymous with a huge gas reserve.

Ashgabat is a city that loves original architecture

It’s not just the airport hawk in Ashgabat. The city is also an original building in the form of an open book giant hosting a publishing house and 21 meter giant statuecovered with gold leaf, it represents President Gourbangouly Berdimuhamedov.

Dev book of Ruhnama in Ashgabat / © flickr begemot

Gold statue of Gourbangouly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat / © flickr begemot

Who designed this falcon?

Turkish company Polimeks Construction Participated in the airport construction tender. At $2.3 billion (just over €2 billion), it is the most expensive construction abroad by a Turkish firm.