Turkmenistan
Fast facts
- Capital
- Ashgabat
- Largest city
- Ashgabat
- Official language
- Turkmen
- Languages
- Russian
- Currency
- Turkmen new manat
- Time zone
- TMT
- Drives on
- Right
- Calling code
- +993
Facts from Wikipedia’s “Turkmenistan” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Turkmenistan ( or ; , ;), also known as Turkmenia, is a country in South-Central Asia. It has borders with Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. It has no ocean but it is on the Caspian Sea to the west. The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashghabat. The majority of the country is Muslim at 93%.
Turkmenistan is a non-aligned and fully neutral country.
History
Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union since its creation, in 1922. At first, Turkmenistan was an autonomous republic within Russian SFSR. In 1925 it was promoted to a Soviet republic. Turkmenistan is an independent country since 1991, after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Saparmurat Niyazov became Turkmenistan’s first president in 1991.
Provinces
Turkmenistan is divided into five provinces and one capital city district. The provinces are divided into districts which may be either counties or cities.
Climate
Turkmenistan is one of the driest desert areas in the world. Some places have an average annual precipitation of only 12 mm (0.47 in). The highest temperature recorded in Ashgabat is 48.0 degrees Celsius. Kerki, an extreme inland city located on the banks of the Amu Darya river, recorded 51.7 degrees Celsius in July 1983, but this value is unofficial. 50.1C is the highest temperature recorded at Repetek Reserve, recognized as the highest temperature ever recorded in the whole former Soviet Union.
Geography
Turkmenistan is the world’s 52nd-largest country. It is slightly smaller than Spain and somewhat larger than the US state of California. Over 80% of the country is covered by the Karakum Desert.
The Turkmen shore along the Caspian Sea is 1,768 kilometres (1,099 mi) long. The Caspian Sea is entirely landlocked, with no access to the ocean.
The major cities include Aşgabat, Türkmenbaşy (formerly Krasnovodsk) and Daşoguz.
Turkmenistan has a humid climate. Annual rainfall is low, particularly in summer. Winters are dry and mild. The wettest region in Turkmenistan is Köýtendağ Range. Köýtendağ is in southeastern Turkmenistan on the borders with Uzbekistan.
Written for younger readers
Turkmenistan, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Asia
Turkmenistan is a country formerly known as Turkmenia, is a Turkic state in Central Asia.
It is bordered by Caspian sea to the west, Iran to southwest , Afghanistan to southeast , Uzbekistanto north east. The capital city is Ashgabat
There are 4.5 million people estimated living in Turkmenistan according to 1995 census. Natives identifies themself as Turkmens (85%) with large minorities of Uzbeks (5%) and Russians (4%). Small minorities include the Kazakhs, Tatars, Ukrainians, Kurds, Armenians, Azeris, Balochs and Pashtuns. The census is quite dated because President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow withheld the results of the last two censuses.
The national language of Turkmenistan is Turkmen, which is a Turkic language spoken by about 5 million people in Turkmenistan
89% of Turkmen are affiliated with Islam and acknowledge Islam as an integral part of their culture. The Central Asian country of Turkmenistan has no official religion, and there is provision for freedom of religion in the country’s constitution.
Falconry Team Hunting is national sports of Turkmenistan. Turkmen let falcons attack a bag in turn. With the bird’s help, they hunted for fur-bearing animals, wild ducks, pigeons and partridges.
Darvaza Gas Crater - Also known as Door to Hell or Gates of Hell. It is a large crater in the Karakum Desert of north-central Turkmenistan. The origin of this man made wonders is in 1971 when a Soviet drilling rig accidentally punched into a massive underground natural gas cavern, causing the ground to collapse and the entire drilling rig to fall in. Having punctured a pocket of gas, poisonous fumes began leaking at an alarming rate. To prevent gas discharge, the geologists decided to burn it off, hoping the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days. Unfortunately, the fire won’t stop burning. The flames are caused by natural gas seeping from the surrounding rock into the crater. The gas travels through joints (natural near-surface fractures), permeable rock units, and bedding plane separations.
Köw Ata Underground Lake - The lake lies on the Turkmenbashy – Ashgabat road, between Balkanabat and Nokhur. The lake is located in the underground cave which is built with stairs leading to the lake. The name Kow ata means “father of caves”. Legend has it mentioned during the era of the Parthian kings, there is a happening a miraculous healing of rebel slaves who were supposed to be tortured to death. The warm waters of the lake contain a high amount of different salts and minerals, most notably sulfur, which is responsible for the distinct pee smell within the cave. It is also a natural monument, established to protect the largest known colony of bats in the whole of Central Asia.
The Great Kyz Kala - It is a monumental mudbrick, fortified-building, one of a number of similar structures known as köshks, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Merv, Turkmenistan. Renowned for its massive scale and 15m tall corrugated walls, it is not only the largest and best preserved example of this unique building type to survive into the modern era, it is also one of the largest mudbrick buildings standing anywhere in the world
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Turkmenistan” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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