Turkmenistan

Ashgabat is the capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Köpetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 mi) away from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city has a population of 1,030,063.

Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov was a Turkmen politician and dictator who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan as the first president for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Daşoguz, formerly known as Tashauz until 1992 and Dashkhovuz until 1999, is a city in northern Turkmenistan and the capital of Daşoguz Province. The border with Uzbekistan is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.

Mary is a city on an oasis in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, located on the Murgab River. It was founded in 1884 about 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the ruins of the ancient abandoned great city of Merv and was actually named Merv until 1937.

Balkanabat, formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the administrative centre of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat and 160 km east of the seaport city of Türkmenbaşy. The city layout is a grid of apartment blocks called kvartal (quarters).

Türkmenabat, formerly known as Çärjew, 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. From 1924 to 1927, it was given the name Leninsk in honour of Vladimir Lenin.