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Ashgabat

Capital of TurkmenistanBetween desert and mountains in southern Turkmenistan, Ashgabat has the Karakum Desert at its northern edge and the Köpetdag range about 25 km to the south. The border with Iran is only about 50 km away.

Why it's the capital

The city was officially founded as a fortified garrison on 18 January 1881, the same month Russian forces defeated the Teke army at Geok Tepe. When the Turkmen SSR was created in 1924, the city, then called Poltoratsk, became its capital, and since October 1991 it has been the capital of independent Turkmenistan.

Fun facts

  1. In modern Persian the name literally means 'city of love' or 'city of devotion'.
  2. In 2013 Guinness World Records listed Ashgabat as the city with the world's highest concentration of white marble buildings.
  3. The Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying water from the Amu Darya river from east to west.

Finding it on the globe

Look just north of Iran's border, east of the Caspian Sea: Ashgabat is about 50 km from that border, roughly north-east of Tehran.

Sources: Wikipedia: Ashgabat