Kerki is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in and capital of
Kerki District
Kerki District (formerly Atamyrat District) (1999–2017) is a district of Lebap Province in Turkmenistan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Kerki
Kerki is a city in and capital of Kerki District, Lebap Province, ...
,
Lebap Province
Lebap Region ( tk, Lebap welaýaty/Лебап велаяты from the Persian language, Persian ''Lab-e āb'') is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya ...
,
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 was formerly known as Zamm and, between 1999 and 2017, as Atamyrat.
Geography
It is situated on a
plain
In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...
on the left bank of the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
river. Nearby towns and villages include
Mukry
Mukry is a town in Köýtendag District, Lebap Province, Turkmenistan. It is located near Kerki and Amu Dar'ya.
Etymology
Mukry is the name of a Turkmen tribe. The town was named Akgumdänajy ( Акгумдәнаҗы) at some point but the name ...
(3.3 nm),
Amydarýa (2.1 nm),
Surhy (3.1 nm) and
Kerkichi (2.2 nm).
Etymology
According to Atanyyazow, the name Kerki is most likely of Persian origin, from ''ker'' ("fortress") and ''kuh'' ("mountain"), meaning "fortress on a mountain".
However, Muqaddasī and de Goeje assert it is a Turkified pronunciation of the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
name Karkuh (کرکوه), meaning "deaf mountain". 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
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. On 25 November 2017, by Parliamentary Resolution No. 679-V, Atamyrat was changed back to Kerki for both the city and the district.
Architecture
The city centre comprises multiple single-storeyed brick buildings from the tsarist era.
Transportation
Air
The town is served by the new
Kerki Airport, which replaced a defunct municipal airport in 2021.
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. In February 2013, a
road bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
connecting the city with Kerkichi was commissioned;
Президенты Украины и Туркмении открыли мост через Амударью и заложили новый аэропорт
/ref> it replaced an old pontoon bridge.
Rail
In 1999, the rail line from Türkmenabat
Türkmenabat ( tk, Türkmenabat, Түркменабат), formerly and since medieval times Chardzhou, (russian: Чарджоу, ''Chardzhou''; tk, Çärjew, links=no, ) ( fa, چهارجوی 'čahârjuy', meaning 'four brooks') and in ancient ti ...
to Kerki was finished, linking Kerki to the Turkmen railway network without having to detour into neighbouring Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
. In late 2016, a railway line was built south to Ymamnazar on the border with Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and further to Aqina
Aqina ( prs, اقينه; ps, اقينه), also known as Aqina Port, is a border checkpoint and border crossing in the northern Faryab Province of Afghanistan. It has a train station by the same name, which serves as the second rail service betwe ...
, turning Kerki into a railway hub.
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
* List of cities, towns and villages in Turkmenistan
*List of cities in Turkmenistan
This is a list of cities in Turkmenistan. For a full list of settlements see the list of cities, towns and villages in Turkmenistan.
Which municipalities are categorized as "cities" is established by law in Turkmenistan. Cities fall into three c ...
References
External links
Satellite map at Maplandia.com
Populated places in Lebap Region
{{Turkmenistan-geo-stub