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 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 Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profes ...

, 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 lie ...

, and east of the neighboring city of

Gökdepe Gökdepe, also Geok Tepe, is a city in and the administrative center of Gökdepe District, Ahal Region, Turkmenistan, north-west of Ashgabat. The city is built around a former fortress of the Turkmens which bore the same name. The city lies alon ...

at latitude 38.0659 degrees north and longitude 58.0727 degrees east.

History

In November 2018, then-President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957), also known as Arkadag (Cyrillic: Аркадаг, "protector"), is a Turkmen politician who served as the second president of Turkmenistan from 2006 to 2022. A dentist by profe ...

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 A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

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 The People's Council of Turkmenistan ( tk, Halk Maslahaty, ɑlq mɑθlɑxɑt̪ɯ "People's Council") is the upper chamber of Turkmenistan's Parliament, the " National Council" ( tk, Milli Geňeş). It consists of 56 members, 48 elected from th ...

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, Kerim Gurbannepesow, Gurbannazar Ezizow, Alty Garlyyev, and Maya Kuliyeva, among others.