EARTHQUAKE MEMORIAL

Two steps from the Ark of Neutrality, a huge Bull holds the earth's earth between its horns. The land is meaning underneath, but a golden child is sitting above the rubble… once again Niyazov, who survived the terrible earthquake of 1948. Reaching 9 on the Richter scale, this earthquake had razed the city and conquered more than two thirds of its population (the balance sheet was reassessed after independence: according to Soviet official information, for whom natural disasters did not exist, the earthquake had claimed a few thousand victims. Niyazov had escaped, but his mother and two brothers were among the victims.

Bronze sculpture weighs 40 tons, and was raised on the site of the former victim cemetery. An eternal flame burns at the entrance to the building bearing the statue.