Ashgabat
[key], formerly Ashkhabad, city (2020 pop. 846,000), 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, with
wide boulevards and monumental buildings, many them clad in white marble. The Turkmen Academy
of Sciences is in Ashgabat.
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