Alem Cultural and Entertainment Center () is a cultural center in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lie ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. It was officially opened to the public on May 18, 2012. The opening ceremony was attended by the President of Turkmenistan,

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profes ...

. The tall structure has a decorative spire on top and has six floors, each of which are tall (four floors are above ground and two floors are below ground).Cultural and entertainment center "Alem"
/ref> A diameter glass and white-steel casing on top of the building contains a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

known as 'Alem', meaning 'The Universe'. Alem was recognised by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the world's tallest Ferris wheel in an enclosed space at the time of the opening ceremony. The wheel itself is in height and was built by

Fabbri Group Fabbri Group is an Italian amusement rides manufacturer based in Calto, Italy. They are known for producing a number staple attractions for both amusement parks and funfairs, such as the Booster and the Kamikaze Explorer. History Fabbri was fo ...

through its Giant Wheels brand.

References

{{Coord, 37, 53, 55, N, 58, 17, 57, E, region:IR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Event venues in Turkmenistan Buildings and structures in Ashgabat Buildings and structures completed in 2012