Bayrak Dushanbe

Built to commemorate 20 years of independence, the world's second tallest flagpole stands at 165m and is the centrepiece of Dushanbe's central ensemble of parks, fountains and grand new civic buildings including the adjacent Palace of Nations. The Bayrak (as it is locally known as) held the record as the world's tallest flagpole between 2010 and 2014 before Jeddah's 170m flagpole knocked it into second place, but it is still a crowning glory of a city that some refer to as the Paris of Central Asia.