Arkadag (Turkmen ''arka'' "behind" + ''dag'' "mountain", connoting "protector") is a city in southern

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. It became the regional capital of

Ahal Province Ahal Region ( tk, Ahal welaýaty; from fa, آخال, Axāl) is one of five provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-center of the country, bordering Iran and Afghanistan along the Kopet Dag Range. Its area is and population 939,700 (2005 ...

effective 20 December 2022. It is a largely greenfield development started in 2019 with a budget of $1.5 billion. The city was named in honor of former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, whose official nickname is Arkadag.

Geography

The city is situated on a plain due west of the city limit of Turkmenistan's capital city,

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

, and east of the neighboring city of Gökdepe at latitude 38.0659 degrees north and longitude 58.0727 degrees east.

History

In November 2018, then-President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow began reviewing project proposals for construction of a new capital for Ahal Province. On 4 March 2019, Berdimuhamedow issued a decree ordering construction to begin. Construction began with a ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the new provincial administration building on 10 April 2019. Although earlier project proposals had planned for the city's area to cover no more than 880 hectares, the approved project was for 1002 hectares. By parliamentary decree of 20 December 2022, the city was named Arkadag in honor of Berdimuhamedow, the seat of Ahal Province was moved from

Anau Anau may refer to: * Anau, Bora Bora, commune in Bora Bora * Anau, Turkmenistan Anau (also spelled Annau, tk, Änew) is a city in Turkmenistan. Until 20 December 2022 it was the capital of Ahal Province. It is situated 8 km southeast of ...

to Arkadag, and the nearby village o
Aba Annayew
was annexed to the city. Local media reported,

With the goals of improving living conditions of the population in the framework of the first phase of construction 258 2-, 5-, 7- and 9-story apartment buildings will be built. In addition, 19 retail stores, 3 repair centers, a hotel, a shopping mall and a leisure park are being built.

City inauguration celebrations

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov ordered the Cabinet of Ministers to prepare celebrations in honor of the city's opening for 2023, including a military parade and concert on the Main Square.

Architecture

Buildings

The city was built based on a centralized architectural plan following a design competition involving five separate submissions. All buildings are faced with white marble along symmetrically laid out streets. The following facilities will be named as follows: * Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Health and Rehabilitation Center * Arkadag Monument * Aba Annaev International Academy of Horse Breeding * Berdimuhamed Annayev Akhal Velayat Pedagogical Secondary Vocational School * Sachly Dursunova Akhal Velayat Medical Secondary Vocational School * Gerogly State Equestrian Circus * Dovletmammed Azadi Akhal Velayat Library * Aman Gulmammedov State Drama Theater * Sakhy Jepbarov Specialized Art School of Akhal Velayat * Shukur Bakhshi Children’s Art School

Smart city

Arkadag is intended to be Turkmenistan's first "smart city".

Street names

People's Council of Turkmenistan Chairperson and former President of Turkmenistan Berdimuhamedov has proposed naming Arkadag's streets after "great personages, who left their undimmed impact on national culture, art, literature, and history," and in particular named

Berdi Kerbabayev Berdi Muradovich Kerbabayev ( tk, Berdi Myradowiç Kerbabaýew; russian: Берды Мурадович Кербабаев, Berdy Muradovich Kerbabayev; 3 March 1894 – 3 March 1974) was a Soviet and Turkmen writer, the national writer of the T ...

Kerim Gurbannepesow Kerim is both a masculine given name and a surname. People with the name include: Given name *Kerim Chatty (born 1973), Swedish man suspected of attempted hijacking of an aircraft in 2002 *Kerim Erim (1894–1952), Turkish mathematician and physic ...

Gurbannazar Ezizow Gurbannazar Ezizov or Gurbannazar Ezizow (1 March 1940 – 20 September 1975) was a Turkmen poet and winner of the Magtymguly State Prize of Turkmenistan. Biography Gurbannazar Ezizow was born on 1 March 1940 in Büzmeýin. He began attending ...

, Alty Garlyyev, and

Maya Kuliyeva Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...

, among others.