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'Ashgabat' (''Aşgabat'' in Turkmen) is the capital city of Turkmenistan, a country in Central Asia. It has a population of 695,300 (2001 census estimate) and is situated between the Kara Kum desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range. Ashgabat has a primarily Turkmen population, with minorities of ethnic Russians, Armenians, and Azeris. It is 920 km from the second largest city in Iran, Mashhad.

Contents

Names

History

Economy

Climate

Notable buildings

Sister cities

See also

External links

Names

Ashgabat is ''Aşgabat'' in Turkmen, Ашхаба́д (''Ašxabád'') in Russian, and عشق آباد (UniPers: ''Ešq-âbâd'') in Persian. Before 1991, the city was usually spelt 'Ashkhabad' in English, a transliteration of the Russian form. It has also been spelt 'Ashkabat', 'Ashgabad', and '`Ishqábád'. The name is believed to derive from the Persian ''Ashk-ābād'' meaning "the City of Arsaces." Another explanation is that the name is a dialect version of the Persian عشق (''eshq'' meaning "love") and آباد (''ābād'' meaning "cultivated place" or "city"), and hence loosely translates as "the city of love."

History

Ashgabat is a relatively young city, growing out of a village of the same name established in 1818. It is not far from the site of Nisa, the ancient capital of the Parthians and the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala, which had been destroyed either by an earthquake in the first decade BC, or by the Mongols in the 13th century.
In 1869, Russian soldiers built a fortress on a hill near the village, and this added security soon attracted merchants and craftsmen to the area. Tsarist Russia annexed the region in 1884, and chose to develop the town as a regional center due to its proximity to the border of British-influenced Persia. It was regarded as a pleasant town with European style buildings, shops and hotels.
In 1908 The first Baha'i house of worship was built here. After being taken by Soviet officials, it was seriously damaged as a result of earthquake in 1948 and was demolished by the Soviet authorities in 1963. [1] [2]
Soviet rule was established, lost and then regained in 1917, and the city was renamed ''Poltoratsk'' after a local revolutionary. The name "Ashgabat" was restored in 1927 when the Communist Party was properly established in Turkmenistan, though it was usually known by the Russian form ''Ashkhabad''. From this period onward the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although this was severely disrupted by a major earthquake on October 6 1948. An estimated 7.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake killed over 110,000 (2/3 the population of the city), although the official number announced by Soviet news was only 14,000.
In 1974 another earthquake, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, killed 30,000 people and injured over 100,000.

Economy

Ashgabat is primarily a government and administrative center. The principal industries are cotton textiles and metal working. It is a major stop on the Trans-Caspian railway.
The city is served by Ashgabat Airport.

Climate

The Kopet-Dag mountain range is about 25 km to the south, and Ashgabat's northern boundary touches the Kara-Kum desert. Because of this location, Ashgabat has an arid climate with hot and dry summers and mild and short winters. Summer temperatures can easily reach 45°C (113°F) for long periods of time. June through August are hot, with night temperatures normally not falling lower than 30°C (86°F). Autumn is notably less hot, but during the day temperatures can still be 35°C (95°F) whereas nights are pleasantly cooler. Winter normally starts in December; snow is rare and there can be a lot of rain. Normally, winter temperatures are 10-15°C (50-60°F), and rarely can go as low as -10°C (14°F) in January. The lowest temperature was recorded in January 1969, -28°C (-18°F). Because of the extreme summer heat, air conditioners can be found virtually everywhere and people try to avoid being outside until the sunset. Springs are warm and mild, with plenty of rain.

Notable buildings

Museums include the Turkmen Fine Arts Museum, noted for its impressive collection of woven carpets, and a Turkmen History Museum which has artifacts dating back to the Parthian and Persian civilisations. The Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan is an important institute of higher learning. Large mosques include the Azadi Mosque (which resembles the Blue Mosque in Istanbul), the Khezrety Omar Mosque, and the futuristic Iranian Mosque. Ashgabat is also home to the Arch of Neutrality, which is a large tripod on which there is a golden statue of former President Saparmurat Niyazov (also known and generally referred to as Turkmenbashi, or leader of the Turkmens). This statue rotates in order to always face the sun during daylight hours. It is said to be made of pure gold.

★ Türkmenbaşı Palace presidential headquarters

★ Rukhiyet Palace

Sister cities

★ Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

★ Ankara, Turkey

See also

★ Names of Asian cities in different languages

External links

★ Ashgabat Photo Gallery.

★ Ashgabat Photo Gallery. Pictures of modern Ashgabat.

★ Page on modern Ashgabat