The former name of the city, Çärjew, is a Turkmen borrowing from thePersianchahârjuy (چهارجوى), meaning 'four streams'. This type of naming is also common in Iran, such as the villageSe Juy ('three streams'). The current name of the city is simply a combining ofTürkmen and the Persian suffixâbâd (آباد), meaning 'dwelling of'.
Türkmenabat is located at an altitude of 187 m (614 ft) on the banks of theAmu Darya River, near the border withUzbekistan. Türkmenabat is at the center of Lebap province, which has borders with three provinces in Turkmenistan:Mary,Ahal andDaşoguz. The province also borders Uzbekistan andAfghanistan.
Some 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Türkmenabat in the EastKarakum Desert is theRepetek Nature Reserve, famed for itszemzen, or desert crocodiles.
A modern industrial city, Türkmenabat's history spans 2,000 years. In ancient times, it was known as Āmul (to be distinguished from the Iranian city ofAmol). The riverAmu Darya is said to meanRiver of Āmul, named after this ancient city. Türkmenabat was the hub in an intersection of three routes of the GreatSilk Road leading toBukhara,Khiva andMerv. For centuries, Āmul was an important town of the Uzbek feudalkhanate (lateremirate) of Bukhara.
When theRussian Empire began annexing Central AsianTurkestan, Āmul was surrendered to Russians by the Bukharaemirate, which subsequently became avassal of Russia and pledged allegiance to the Russian emperor. The modern city was founded in 1886, when RussianCossacks settled in Uralka in what is now the eastern part of Türkmenabat, naming their settlementNew-Chardjuy.[5] Settlement here was necessary to complete construction of theTrans-Caspian railway.
After the 1917Russian Revolution, during which theBolsheviks came into power, communists merged the former Central Asian oblasts of the Russian Empire along with the former Khanates of Khiva (Khorezm) and Bukhara into republics on the basis of nationality. In 1924, Türkmenabat (known as Çarjuý at the time) city's sedentary and urban population wasUzbek. But at the time, asTurkmens were a largely nomadic nation, and Soviet economic and industrialization plans for the proposed Turkmen SSR required a relatively large anchor city; thus the city was passed to the newly createdTurkmen Soviet Socialist Republic.[6]
Ruins of the medieval fortress of Amul, an ancient Silk Road city located on the southern outskirts of modern Türkmenabat
Its role as arailway 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 featuresfood processing,textile (cotton processing andsilk) factories. Çärjew was Turkmenistan's industrial and transport hub during the Soviet period, but most of these related jobs and transport opportunities have been relocated toAshgabat or closed since Turkmenistan's independence.
From the article about Çarjuý in theBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (beginning of the 20th century):
Chardjuy is an urban settlement formed near the Amu-Darya station (1070 c. from Krasnovodsk) of the Central Asian Railway, on the left bank of the Amu-Darya River, on land ceded by the emir of Bukhara to the Russian government. There are 4,068 inhabitants (2,651 men and 1,417 women), including 3,501 Russians. There are wide straight streets, enough greenery, many shops, and a rather lively bazaar. Chardjuy is an important trade center, where goods going to Bukhara, Khiva, and partly to Afghanistan, are loaded onto river vessels. The steamboat of the Amu Darya fleet maintains communication between Patta Gissar (Termez) in the south and Petro-Aleksandrovsky (Khiva)... At 16 verst from Chardjuy lies the rather large Bukharan city of Chardjuy (native Chardjuy), the center of Chardjuy province (bekstvo), with the remains of walls and a fortress; 15 thousand inhabitants. Old Chardjuy (Amu-Darya) is characterized by a lively trade exchange. In 1900, 1820244 pd arrived at the station. (military supplies, sugar, timber, building material, iron, flour, tea, rice, etc.); Sent from the Chardjuy station in the same year: 963382 (leather, carpets, sheepskin, cotton seed, cotton - 516641 pd, wool, etc.).
Chardzhou, city, center of Chardzhou oblast of Turkmen SSR, pier on the left bank of the Amu Darya (where the Krasnovodsk-Tashkent railroad line crosses). From Chardzhou the Kungrad-Makat rail line begins. 113,000 residents in 1977 (51,000 in 1939). It arose in the 1880s as a Russian fortification on the territory of the Khanate of Bukhara. From 1886 the city, named New Chardzou, was a commercial and transportation hub of Central Asia (in 1888 the Central Asian Railway came through Chardzhou). From 1918-24 it was part of the Turkestan ASSR; from 1924, the Turkmen SSR. From 1937, it was named Chardzhou. From 1939-63 and since 1970, it was an oblast center.[4]
Türkmenabat has acold desert climate (Köppen climate classificationBWk), with cool winters and very hot summers. Rainfall is generally light and erratic, and occurs mainly in the winter and spring months.
Climate data for Türkmenabat (1991–2020, extremes 1894-present)
Türkmenabat is noted for possessing its owndialect of theTurkmen language. This regional dialect is a hybrid of the Turkmen andUzbek languages, which have heavily influenced the area's culture and customs. This dialect is primarily spoken in Türkmenabat and the northern districts ofLebap province.
Turkmen Railways employees pose in front of the newly commissioned rail bridge across the Amu Darya at Turkmenabat, 7 March 2017
Türkmenabat is connected with the Turkmen capitalAshgabat and Turkmen port cityTürkmenbaşy byM37 highway. In March 2017, two new bridges, one for rail and one for motor vehicles, were opened for crossing the Amu Darya at Türkmenabat. The rail bridge replaced one built in the early 1900s, and the automobile bridge replaced a pontoon bridge.[10][11]
Turkmenabat bus terminal provides regional bus connections and intercity bus connections.[12] The bus station is designed to serve 700 passengers per day.[13]
In Türkmenabat taxis are available at any time of the day or night. Passengers may also hire taxicabs via mobile apps.[14] Other hailing methods, such as telephone based calls or raising one's hand on the street, are also common as well.
The city is a short distance from the international border crossing withUzbekistan atFarap.
A new terminal ofTurkmenabat International Airport opened in 2018, located in a newly annexed part of the city at its southern edge. The capacity of the airport complex is 500 passengers per hour.[15] Türkmenabat offers scheduled air service to and fromAshgabat andBalkanabat[16]
Türkmenabat is connected withAshgabat,Mary,Kerki,Gazojak[17] and other cities in Turkmenistan by train. The Turkmenabat-Kerki line was opened on 29 September 1999, with a length of 203 kilometers.
The main railway station is located in the Türkmenabat city centre and includes a main two-story building, a ticket office building and some other technical buildings.
2G,3G andLTE networks fromAltyn Asyr are available in the city. The most popular forms of Internet access are cable networks and ADSL byTurkmentelecom. Previously popular Dial-up has almost lost its position, at the same time actively developing wireless technology Wi-Fi.
Tasinlikler meýdançasy is a park where people celebrate national holidays.
Türkmenabat is known for its bazaars.[26] The largest bazaar is "World Bazaar" (Turkmen:Dünýa bazar). Other well-known bazaars areGök bazar (Green Bazaar) andMerkezi bazar (Central Bazaar). People throughout the country come to Türkmenabat to purchase local, Chinese, Turkish, Uzbek and Russian goods.Dünýa bazar has many sections, including those for jewelry, home appliances, clothes, dairy products, and automobiles.
Zaton, an artificial beach located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the center of the city, is a major recreational area. During the summer, youth gather at Zaton to relax.[citation needed]
Türkmenabat has one state-owned pedagogical university,Seýitnazar Seýdi adyndaky Türkmen Döwlet Mugallymçylyk Instituty; a medical college, public schools, and specialised art and sports schools.
^Formerly known asAmul;Çärjew (Russian:Чарджев,romanized: Chardzhev) until 1924 and from 1940 to 1999;Çarjuý (Russian:Чарджуй,romanized: Chardzhuy) from 1927 to 1940; andÇarjow until 1992.
^Khalid, Adeeb.Making Uzbekistan: Nation, Empire, and Revolution in the Early USSR. 1st ed., Cornell University Press, 2016. JSTOR,[1]. Accessed 11 Aug. 2024.
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