'Daşoguz' (also Dashkhovuz, Dashhowuz, Dashoguz, Dasoguz, Дашогуз; roughly "stone spring" in
Turkmen), formerly known as Tashauz, is a city in northern
Turkmenistan and the capital of
Daşoguz Province.
Geography
It is located at latitude 41.833° North, longitude 59.9667° East, at an average of 88 meters above sea level. It is about 76.7 km (49.4 miles) from
Nukus,
Uzbekistan, and 460 km (289.6 mi) from
Ashgabat.
Demographics
Daşoguz's population of 166,500 (
1999 census estimate) is predominately Turkmen and Uzbek, with smaller numbers of
Russians,
Koreans,
Karakalpaks, and
Tatars present. A large number of those forcefully displaced by ex-
President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov have been resettled in the adjoining lands to the town
[2].
History
Early in its history, it was a popular stop on the
Silk Road because of the fact that it had a spring, hence its name
[3]. Founded as a fort in the early 19th century by the
Russians, modern Daşoguz is a
Soviet-designed city with many monuments and museums acting as a local administrative and cultural center and rail junction.
Transportation
Daşoguz is also connected with Ashgabat by
air on
Turkmenistan Airlines.
Miscellaneous
Daşoguz is the main portal of tourists visiting the
UNESCO World Heritage Site of
Konya-Urgench. Some of the main agricultural products of the area are
cotton and
jute, which can be cultivated due to the city's proximity to the
Amu Darya river. It is also the location of the
football club
Turan Dasoguz.
On September 5, 1998, an
H5 meteorite weighing approximately 7 kilograms fell in Daşoguz
[4].
See also
★
Daşoguz Stadium
References
1. Turkmenistan Project reports
2. IDMC Report
3. [1]
4. H chondrite meteorites
External link
★
Photos of Daşoguz (captions in Russian)