Turkmenistan: Awaza Beach

Awaza is a purpose-built resort area on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, approximately 8 km from Turkmenbashi. You can’t drive there and need to take a taxi or a public bus. The resort has about a dozen of over-the-top-Turkmen-style luxury hotels with pools, spas, aquaparks, a yacht club, and like restaurants and cafes. It’s all about futuristic structures ala Dubai and lots of marble and gold. Marketed as the “Caspian Riviera,” Awaza is Turkmenistan’s flagship tourist zone, but it is off limits to foreigners and is only serving state employees and officials and some Turkmen who can afford staying here (in a closed country – this is the ultimate beach vacation spot). The Caspian Sea coast is also no French Polynesia – full grey sand and retreating shallow shoreline (the Caspian is rapidly drying out in this spot in particular). It is quite likely that all these hotels will be miles away from water in the coming years.