Ashgabat is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asi…Ashgabat is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km away from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city has a population of 1,030,063 which makes it the second most populous city in the country after Balkanabat.