Ýolöten
Ýolöten (, ) is a city and capital of Ýolöten District, Mary Province, Turkmenistan. The city is located in the delta of the Murghab River, 55 kilometers southeast of Mary. It was granted the status of a city in 1939. Etymology. Atanyyazow attributes the name to the settlement's location on the Silk Road between ancient Merv and Herat. The words "ýol" and "öten" mean "road" and "past" in Turkmen, respectively, i.e., "a place to cross". Transportation. Ýolöten lies on the Mary-Serhetabat railway line, and at the junction of the A-388 highway connecting Mary and Serhetabat and the P-25 highway  connecting Ýolöten to Baýramaly. Population. In 1989 the town had a population of 18,644, with a total of some 35,000 in the town and surrounding district. The 2009 estimate is 37,705. Economy. Ýolöten is the nearest city to the Galkynysh Gas Field, formerly known as the Iolotan or South Yolotan–Osman field, the second-largest gas field in the world, and support of natural gas operations is a major part of the city's economy. It is also a center for agricultural product processing, due to its location in the Murghab River oasis.