Kerki
Atamyrat (1999-2017)
Zamm (in antiquity)
Kerki airport
Kerki airport
Kerki is located in Turkmenistan
Kerki
Kerki
Location in Turkmenistan
Coordinates: 37°51′11″N 65°14′13″E / 37.85306°N 65.23694°E / 37.85306; 65.23694
Country Turkmenistan
ProvinceLebap Province
DistrictKerki District
Population
 (2011)
 • Total96,720
Time zoneUTC+5

Kerki is a city in and capital of Kerki District, Lebap Province, Turkmenistan. It was formerly known as Zamm[1] and, between 1999 and 2017, as Atamyrat.

Geography

It is situated on a plain on the left bank of the Amu Darya river. Nearby towns and villages include Mukry (3.3 nm), Amydarýa (2.1 nm), Surhy (3.1 nm) and Kerkichi (2.2 nm).[2]

Etymology

According to Atanyyazow, the name Kerki is most likely of Persian origin, from ker ("fortress") and kuh ("mountain"), meaning "fortress on a mountain".[3] However, Muqaddasī and de Goeje assert it is a Turkified pronunciation of the Persian name Karkuh (کرکوه), meaning "deaf mountain".[4] The ancient name, Zamm, is of obscure origin.

On 29 December 1999, by Parliamentary Resolution HM-60, the city and district of Kerki were renamed Atamyrat in honor of Atamyrat Nyýazow, father of Saparmurat Niyazov, who had worked in Kerki as a teacher before being killed in World War II. On 25 November 2017, by Parliamentary Resolution No. 679-V, Atamyrat was changed back to Kerki for both the city and the district.[5]

Architecture

The city centre comprises multiple single-storeyed brick buildings from the tsarist era.[6]

Transportation

Air

The town is served by the new Kerki Airport, which replaced a defunct municipal airport in 2021.[7]

Road

Kerki lies on the P-36 and P-39 highways, which both lead northwest to Turkmenabat, one on each side of the Amu Darya. Nearby junctions connect to the P-89, which leads north to the border with Uzbekistan at Tallymerjen, and the P-37, which leads southeast to the border with Uzbekistan at Kelif. In the opposite direction the P-36 also continues south to a junction with the Kerki-Ymamnazar ýoly, which in turn leads to the border with Afghanistan at Ymamnazar.[8] In February 2013, a road bridge connecting the city with Kerkichi was commissioned;[9] it replaced an old pontoon bridge.[6]

Rail

In 1999, the rail line from Türkmenabat to Kerki was finished, linking Kerki to the Turkmen railway network without having to detour into neighbouring Uzbekistan.[10] In late 2016, a railway line was built south to Ymamnazar on the border with Afghanistan and further to Aqina, turning Kerki into a railway hub.[11]

Sights

Astana Baba Mausoleum is managed by the Kerki city museum, and consists of a minaret and tomb built in the 11th century. Allamberdar Mausoleum is also part of the Kerki city museum. This 11th-century building represents Seljuk architecture of northern Khorasan.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bosworth, C. E. (1989). "ĀMOL (ĀMŪYA)". Archived copy. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 9. pp. 982–983. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2016-02-08.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ Falling rain gazetteer
  3. ↑ Atanyýazow, Soltanşa (1980). Түркменистаның Географик Атларының Дүшүндиришли Сөзлүги [Explanatory Dictionary of Geographic Names in Turkmenistan]. Ashgabat: Ылым. p. 182.
  4. ↑ Muqaddasī, Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad, and M. J. de Goeje. 1967. Kitāb Aḥsan al-taqāsīm fī maʻrifat al-aqālīm. Bibliotheca geographorum Arabicorum, pars 3. Laydin: Maṭbaʻ Brīl.
  5. ↑ "Внесены изменения в административно-территориальное деление Лебапского велаята" [Changes to the administrative-territorial divisions in Lebap velayat] (in Russian). Türkmenistan Bu Gün. 2017-11-27. Archived from the original on 2018-07-30. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
  6. 1 2 Brummell, Paul (2005). Turkmenistan. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-84162-144-9.
  7. ↑ "Kerki Airport awarded ICAO Code and International Certificate of Conformity". "Turkmenistan: Golden Age". 24 June 2021.
  8. ↑ OpenStreetMap
  9. ↑ Президенты Украины и Туркмении открыли мост через Амударью и заложили новый аэропорт
  10. ↑ Grantham, Andrew (15 July 2008). "Atamyrat to Afghanistan railway plan". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Salehai, Zarghona (28 November 2016). "Afghan-Turkmenistan railroad inaugurated". Pajhwok Afghan News. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
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