Türkmenabat

Türkmenabat (Turkmen: Türkmenabat, Түркменабат), formerly Amul, Cärjew/Chardzhou (until 1924 and from 1940-1999), and Novy Chardzhuy (from 1927-1940), is the second-largest city in Turkmenistan and the administrative centre of Lebap Province. As of 2022, it had a population of approximately 231,000 people (up from 161,000 in the 1989 census). From 1924 to 1927, it was also named Leninsk in honor of Vladimir Lenin.
The former name of the city, Çärjew (also Chardzhou), is a Turkmen borrowing from the Persian čahârjuy, which consists of two parts: čahâr, meaning "four", and juy, meaning "brook". This type of naming is also common in Iran, such as the village Se Juy (literally 'three brooks'). The current name of the city is simply a combining of Türkmen and the Persian suffix ābād (آباد), meaning "cultivated place" (village, city, region).
Türkmenabat is located at an altitude of 187 m (614 ft) on the banks of the Amu Darya River, near the border with Uzbekistan. Türkmenabat is at the center of Lebap province, which has borders with three provinces in Turkmenistan: Mary, Ahal and Daşoguz. The province also borders Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
Some 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Türkmenabat in the East Karakum Desert is the Repetek Nature Reserve, famed for its zemzen, 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 of Amol). The river Amu Darya is said to mean River of Āmul, named after this ancient city. Türkmenabat was the hub in an intersection of three routes of the Great Silk Road leading to Bukhara, Khiva and Merv. . For centuries, Āmul was an important town of the Uzbek feudal khanate (later emirate) of Bukhara.
When the Russian Empire began annexing Central Asian Turkestan, Āmul was surrendered to Russians by the Bukhara emirate, which subsequently became a vassal of Russia and pledged allegiance to the Russian emperor. The modern city was founded in 1886, when Russian Cossacks settled in Uralka in what is now the eastern part of Türkmenabat, naming their settlement New-Chardjuy. Settlement here was necessary to complete construction of the Trans-Caspian railway.
After the revolution of 1917, during which the Bolsheviks came into power in Russia, 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 Chardjuy at that time) city's sedentary and urban population was Uzbek. But at the time, as Turkmens 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 created Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic.
Its role as a 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 features food processing, textile (cotton processing and silk) 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 to Ashgabat or closed since Turkmenistan's independence.
From the article about Chardjuy in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (beginning of the 20th century):
The third edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia wrote of the city:
Türkmenabat has a cool desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk), with cool winters and very hot summers. Rainfall is generally light and erratic, and occurs mainly in the winter and spring months.
Türkmenabat is noted for possessing its own dialect of the Turkmen language. This regional dialect is a hybrid of the Turkmen and Uzbek languages, which have heavily influenced the area's culture and customs. This dialect is primarily spoken in Türkmenabat and the northern districts of Lebap province.
Türkmenabat is connected with the Turkmen capital Ashgabat and Turkmen port city Türkmenbaşy by M37 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.
Turkmenabat bus terminal provides regional bus connections and intercity bus connections. The bus station is designed to serve 700 passengers per day.
The city is a short distance from the international border crossing with Uzbekistan at Farap.
A new terminal of Turkmenabat 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. Türkmenabat offers scheduled air service to and from Ashgabat
Türkmenabat is connected with Ashgabat, Mary, Kerki, Gazojak and another cities in Turkmenistan by train. The Turkmenabat-Kerki line was opened On in 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.
Türkmenabat is linked to Aşgabat, Mary, Tejen and neighbouring countries by the country's 970 km motorway network.
2G, 3G and LTE networks from Altyn Asyr are available in the city. The most popular forms of Internet access are cable networks and ADSL by Turkmentelecom. Previously popular Dial-up has almost lost its position, at the same time actively developing wireless technology Wi-Fi.
There are 9 Turkmenpochta postal operator branches in the city.
Tasinlikler meýdançasy is a park where people celebrate national holidays.
Türkmenabat is known for its bazaars. The largest bazaar is "World Bazaar" (Turkmen: Dünýa bazar). Other well-known bazaars are Gök bazar (Green Bazaar) and Merkezi 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.
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.
39°05′N 63°34′E﻿ / ﻿39.083°N 63.567°E﻿ / 39.083; 63.567