Brief information about the Ashgabat
Ashgabat Satellite view of Ashgabat Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt]) — formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia.
The city was founded in 1881, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake but has since seen extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov’s “White City” urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble.
The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west.