Saparmurat Niyazov, the recently deceased president of Turkmenistan, ordered the construction of a huge ice palace near the capital city of Aşgabat in April 2004.
The eight-point green starburst (known as the Rub El Hizb (۞), a symbol of Islam, to which a majority of Turkmen profess) with golden edges features in its center a red circular disc which carries sheaves of wheat, five carpet guls, and centered upon that a smaller blue circle with a lifelike (rather than heraldized) depiction of former President Saparmurat Niyazov's pet Akhal-Teke horse Yanardag, a source of pride for the Turkmen people.
Following the death of President Saparmurat Niyazov in December 2006, there has been much speculation and uncertainty regarding the fate of Turkmenistan's natural resources.
The sport is unfortunately not so popular in Turkmenistan is ice hockey, until the President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Niyazov ordered the construction of an ice palace in the desert foothills of the Kopet Dag.