Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat,) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan in Central Asia, situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range.
The Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west.
Ashgabat is called Aşgabat in Turkmen, in Russian, and Ešq-ābād (عشقآباد) in Persian. Before 1991, the city was usually spelled Ashkhabad in English, a transliteration of the Russian form, which was itself from the original Persian form. It has also been variously spelled Ashkhabat and Ashgabad. From 1919 until 1927 the city was renamed Poltoratsk after a local revolutionary.
History :
Ashgabat is a relatively young city, having been founded in 1881 as a fortification and named after the nearby settlement of Askhabad (lit. beloved city in Turkmen). Located not far from the site of Nisa, the ancient capital of the Parthian Empire, it grew on the ruins of the Silk Road city of Konjikala, first mentioned as a wine-producing village in the 2nd century BC and leveled by an earthquake in the 1st century BC (a precursor of the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake). Konjikala was rebuilt because of its advantageous location on the Silk Road and it flourished until its destruction by Mongols in the 13th century. After that it survived as a small village until Russians took over in the 19th century.
A part of Persia until the Battle of Geok Tepe, Askhabad was ceded to the Russian Empire under the terms of the Akhal Treaty. Russia developed the area as it was close 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 Bahá'í House of Worship was built in Askhabat. It was badly damaged in the 1948 earthquake and finally demolished in 1963.The community of the Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan was largely based in Ashgabat.
Soviet rule was established in Ashgabat in December 1917. However, in July 1918, a coalition of Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and Tsarist former officers of the Imperial Russian Army revolted against the Bolshevik rule emanating from Tashkent and established the Ashkhabad Executive Committee. After receiving some support (but even more promises) from General Malleson, the British withdrew in April 1919 and the Tashkent Soviet resumed control of the city.
In 1919, the city was renamed Poltoratsk , after Pavel Poltoratsky, the Chairman of the Soviet of National Economy of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. When the Turkmen SSR was established in 1924, Poltoratsk became its capital. The original name (in the form of "Ashkhabad") was restored in 1927. From this period onward, the city experienced rapid growth and industrialisation, although severely disrupted by a major earthquake on October 6, 1948. An estimated 7.3 on the Richter scale, the earthquake killed 110-176,000 (⅔ of the population of the city), although the official number announced by Soviet news was only 40,000.
In July 2003, all the names of streets in Ashgabat were replaced by serial numbers except nine major highways, some named after Saparmurat Niyazov, his father and mother. The Central Palace area is designated 2000 to symbolize the beginning of the 21st century. The rest of the streets have larger or smaller four-digit numerical names.
In 2013, the city was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's highest concentration of white marble buildings.
After 1991
After exiting the Soviet Union, the city gained many high-rise residential buildings. Modern construction techniques allows high-rise development (mainly 12-storeys) with relatively good protection against earthquakes. Primarily consisting of residential towers, the first floor is typically given a shopping area and a service department. Many of the buildings are made of white marble. The Arch of Neutrality was dismantled and re-erected in its original form in the south of the capital. Turkmenistan Tower, at a height of 211 meters, is the tallest building in the country.
Ashgabat is primarily a government and administrative centre. The business centre of Ashgabat is on the Archabil highway. Construction of several ministries and departments, teaching and research and cultural centres is complete. Development of office buildings and public spaces along the avenue continues.
Architecture:
First Baha'i Temple in the world
Main article: Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan
When Ashgabat was under Russian rule, the number of Bahá'ís in the city rose to over 1,000, and a Bahá'í community was established, with its own schools, medical facilities, cemetery.
Oguzkhan Palace, presidential headquarters.
Turkmen State Circus
The State Russian Drama Theatre named after Pushkin
Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex
Ärtogrul Gazy Mosque,Mosque in the 8th Microdistrict,Iranian mosque
Saint Alexander Nevsky Church
House of Prayer of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
