Recep Ankaralı (born April 10, 1968 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a retired professional basketball referee.
 He started his career in 1989 and retired after 2015- 2016 season.
 As the end of 2016 season, Ankaralı has officiated more than 1,000 in his career including, Turkish Basketball League, Euroleague, Eurocup, World Championship and Olympics.
 Recep Ankaralı is currently President of Turkish Basketball Federation Officiating Committee and also Director of Referees for Turkish Basketball Leagues.
The Karakum Canal (Qaraqum Canal, Kara Kum Canal, Garagum Canal; Russian: Каракумский канал , "Karakumsky Kanal", Turkmen: Garagum kanaly , گَرَگوُم كَنَلیٛ, "Гарагум каналы") in Turkmenistan is one of the largest irrigation and water supply canals in the world.
 Started in 1954, and completed in 1988, it is navigable over much of its 1375 km length, and carries 13 km3 of water annually from the Amu-Darya River across the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan.
 The canal opened up huge new tracts of land to agriculture, especially to cotton monoculture heavily promoted by the Soviet Union, and supplying Ashgabat with a major source of water.
 Unfortunately, the primitive construction of the canal allows almost 50 percent of the water to escape en route, creating lakes and ponds along the canal, and a rise in groundwater leading to widespread soil salinization problems.
 The canal is also a major factor leading to the Aral Sea environmental disaster.
Efe Aydan (born May 4, 1955 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish former professional basketball player.
 He is widely regarded as the best Turkish basketball player ever with 224 caps for the national team, he was the captain in 89 games and scored 2195 points.
 He won the TBL 6 times, the Balkan Championship once and the Mediterranean Games once.
 Aydan is also the first Turkish basketball player to be selected for the All-European team in 1981 where he displayed a memorable performance against Joventut Badalona.
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara-Gum (Turkmen: Garagum , ; Russian: Караку́мы , "Karakumy"; ] ;), is a desert in Central Asia.
 Its name means "Black Sand" in Turkic languages, in reference to the dark soil that lies beneath the sandy surface of much of the desert.
 It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan.
Ömer Faruk Aşık (] ; born July 4, 1986) is a Turkish professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
 Aşık, standing at 7'0", was sought after by many of the top Euroleague basketball teams at the age of 19.
 Aşık got his first chance playing professionally with the Turkish Basketball League team Fenerbahçe in 2005–06.
 After one season with Alpella, Aşık moved back to Fenerbahçe and eventually ended his Turkish club career with them in 2009–10.
 He gained recognition playing for the Turkish national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and as the starting center, he helped Turkey win the silver medal.
 In July 2010, Aşık signed with the Chicago Bulls.
 He was nicknamed "The Turkish Hammer" and "Asik and Destroy" by Bulls commentator Stacey King.
 In 2017, Aşık was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.
Ulug Depe is an ancient Bronze Age site in the foothills of the Kopet Dag Mountains in the Karakum Desert of Kaka District (Kaahka) in the Ahal Province of south-eastern Turkmenistan.
 It covers around 13 acre and lies on a mound at a height of about 30 meters.
Valentin Pastal (born June 9, 1984) is a Turkish professional basketball player for Best Balıkesir of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL).
 He has also competed for the Turkey national basketball team, making most of his appearances through 2004 and 2005.
 Pastal has previously been with Efes Pilsen and Pınar Karşıyaka, 2 of the 7 teams he has represented in the course of his playing career.
 Although he is generally considered to be a small forward, the Ashgabat native is known for the versatility he headlines.
 Pastal is often set side by side with NBA player and fellow countryman Hedo Türkoğlu thanks to his multipurpose attributes.
Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat , ; Russian: Ашхаба́д , "Ashkhabad"; ] ) — was named as Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк ; ] ) 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.
Dushak is a small town in the Karakum Desert on the rim of the Kopet Dag mountains of Ahal Province, Turkmenistan.
Adanaspor Basketbol is a Turkish basketball club based in Adana, Turkey that plays in Turkish Basketball League (TBL).
 They were founded in 2006 and the municipality of Adana started to support the team in 2010.
 They played in the Regional League for 3 years and they promoted to the Turkish Basketball League (TBL) in 2010-2011 season.
 Their colors are orange and white.
 They also have a football team.

Question: What Turkish city between the Karakum Desert and the Kopec Dag mountain range also boasts a famous Turkish basketball player?
Answer: Ashgabat