Ashgabat (redirected from Asgabat)

Ashgabat (əshkhəbät`), formerly Ashkhabad, city (1991 pop. 412,200), capital of Turkmenistan, near the border with Iran, on the Trans-Caspian RR. The city has textile, motion picture, and crafts industries. Ashgabat was founded in 1881 as a fortress. From 1919 to 1927 it was named Poltoratsk. An earthquake in 1948 virtually destroyed the city, which stands in a major fault zone. The southern section of the city has been extensively developed since the 1990s. The Turkmenistan Academy of Sciences is in Ashgabat.

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Ashgabat

 formerly Ashkhabad

City (pop., 2002 est.: 743,000), capital of Turkmenistan. It lies in an oasis at the northern foot of the Kopet-Dag Range near the Iranian border. Founded in 1881 as a Russian military fort, it was the capital of Turkmenistan S.S.R. (1924–90). A violent earthquake destroyed the city in 1948; it was rebuilt on the same plan. It is now an industrial, transportation, and cultural centre.

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Ashkhabad, Ashgabat

the capital of Turkmenistan. Pop.: 598 000 (2005 est.)