Türkmenabat
Encyclopedia
Türkmenabat formerly and since the medieval times, Chardzhou ' onMouseout='HidePop("25239")' href="/topics/Turkmen_language">Turkmen
Turkmen language
Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan...

: Чәрҗев), also spelled Çärjew, Chardjui, Charjou, Chardzhev, Charjev, Chärjew, or Charjew (Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 for 'four canals'), ancient Amul, is a town in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

, capital of Lebap
Lebap Province
Lebap Province is one of the provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its capital is Türkmenabat...

 Province
Provinces of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces or welayatlar and one capital city district .The heads of the provinces are appointed by the President of Turkmenistan .-References:...

. As of 2009, it had a population of approximately 254,000 people (up from 161,000 in the 1989 census).

The name Chardjui is Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 (چهارجوی) and means "four streams".

Geography

Türkmenabat is located at latitude 39.1014 North; longitude 60.5750 East, at an altitude of 187 meters on the banks of the Amu-Darya River, near the border with Uzbekistan.Turkmenabat is center of Lebap province,which has borders with another three provinces Mary,Ahal and Dashoguz; also with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

History

Although now a modern industrial city, Türkmenabat has a history of over 2,000 years. In ancient times, it was known as Āmul (to be distinguished from the Iranian city of Amol
Amol
Amol is a city in and the capital of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 197,470, in 55,183 families.Amol and the old part of town is the first of the four towns that populate the world in which there is Nzamyh...

). The river Amu Darya
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya , also called Oxus and Amu River, is a major river in Central Asia. It is formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Panj rivers...

 is said to have been named after this city meaning the River of Amul. Also Turkmenabat had been hub in intersection between 3 paths of Great Silk Way,which then separated in 3 directions to Bukhara,Khiva and Merv. . Turkmenabat or Amul was an important town of a relatively backward Uzbek feudal khanate (later emirate)of Bukhara, for centuries. With the invasion of all Central Asian Turkestan by the Russian Empire, Amul became the part of a massive Russia under control of a vassalic Bukhara emir who pledged allegiance to the Russian emperor. The modern city was founded in 1886, when some Cossack Russians settled in what is now Uralka, a region in Turkmenabat, and named their settlement as New-Chardjuy. It was necessary to complete the construction of the Trans-Caspian railway
Trans-Caspian railway
The Trans-Caspian Railway is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19th century. The railway was started in 1879, following the Russian defeat of Khokand...

.
After the revolution of 1917, when the bolsheviks came into power in Russia, communists started to disintegrate former khanates into republics on a nationality basis. Thus, Turkmenabat (known as Chardjuy at those times) passed to the newly created Turkmen Soviet Socialistic Republic in a move to reduce the territory and strength of a highly nationalistic Uzbekistan.

Its role of railway junction and the high fertility of the Amu-Darya region made it the major trade center for agricultural products in the northeast region of the country. The city has food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...

, textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 (cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 processing and silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

) factories.
Chardzhou was Turkmenistan's industrial and transport hub during the Soviet period, but most of these related jobs and transport opportunities have been relocated to Ashgabat or closed since Turkmenistan's independence!

Transportation

The city is connected with the Turkmen capital Ashgabat and Turkmen port city Türkmenbaşy
Türkmenbasy, Turkmenistan
Türkmenbaşy , formerly known as Krasnovodsk and, more properly, Kyzyl-Su, is a city in Balkan Province in Turkmenistan, on the Krasnovodsk Gulf of the Caspian Sea. It is located at latitude 40.0231 North; longitude 52.9697 East, at an altitude of 27 meters. The population was 86,800, mostly...

 by Turkmenistan Airlines
Turkmenistan Airlines
Turkmenistan Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkmenistan, headquartered in Ashgabat. The airline connects its home base of Ashgabat with destinations in Russia, Europe and Asia...

 and the M37 highway and also by train to all provinces all around Turkmenistan.

Miscellaneous

Some 70 kilometers south of Türkmenabat in the East Karakum Desert
Karakum Desert
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan....

 is the Repetek Nature Reserve
Repetek Nature Reserve
Repetek Biosphere State Reserve, often referred to as Repetek Nature or Desert Reserve, is a desert nature reserve of Turkmenistan, located in Lebap Province, East Karakum Desert, near Amu Darya. It is located approximately 70 km south from Türkmenabat and is known for its zemzen...

, famed for its zemzen, or desert crocodiles.

Türkmenabat is unusual in that it has a large (60%-70%) ethnic Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...

 population, which has heavily influenced the area's culture and customs.

Tasinlikler meydanchasy is a park where people celebrate national holidays.
Turkmenabat also famous with its bazaars.The well-known are 'Gok bazar' ,'Dunya bazar' and 'Merkezi bazar'.The biggest bazaar is 'World bazaar' which is known by the name 'Dunya bazar'.People all around the country come to Turkmenabat in order to purchase local ,Chinese,Turkish,Uzbek and Russian goods. 'Dunya bazar' has many sections; such as: jewelry,home appliances,clothes,diary,cars ...

One of the most attractive places in Turkmenabat is 'Zaton', is an artificial beach,located about 5km from the center of the city .During whole summer youth gather in 'Zaton' to relax and have a fun.

The youth in Turkmenabat has no opportunities of having fun and enjoying their spare time. They spend their spare times mainly in clubs and pubs, but they do not have any place to meet the world culture. Being a city of population over 200 thousand, it doesn't have a cinema, modern theatre showing world's famous spectacles, zoo, even a lunapark with newest attractions for children and youth. The only two ex-cinemas are rent to the interpreneurs and became wed-centers, the place where the wedding ceremonies are being made. The cultural and historical knowledge of the modern youth that don't have opportunity to study abroad is poor. The city doesn't have modern libraries. The only internet caffes are held and traffic controlled by the state.

Education

Turkmenabat has one State-owned University 'Seyitnazar Seydi adyndaky Turkmen Dowlet Universiteti' ,medical college,carrier schools,public schools and Tutkmenabat Turkmen-Turkish High School. Turkmenabat Turkish High School is a leading school in the city.It follows national educational curriculum,where students have a good opportunity to learn English as well as Turkish and Russian languages.Students of this school have being attending to international Olympiads and gained many medals in different branches of Science and Technology.Students of Turkmen-Turkish Schools are honored as 'Proud of Nation'

External links

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