Merki (, ''Merkı'') is an administrative center in the
Merki region located in the
Jambyl Region
Jambyl or Zhambyl Region (; ), formerly known as Dzhambul Region () until 1991, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is Taraz. The population of the region is 1,209,665; the city is 335,100. The region borders Kyrgyzstan, and is ...
in the south of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
. It is located near to the mountains that serve as a border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It has an estimated population of roughly 35,900. The postal code of Merki is 080500. The phone code is +7 72632. The nearest airport to Merki is located in
Taraz
Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...
.
Merki is located at the
Kyrgyz Ala-Too
The Kyrgyz Ala-Too also known as Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyz Range, and Alexander Range (until 1933) is a large range in the northern Tien-Shan. It stretches for a total length of 454 km from the west-end of Issyk-Kul to the town Taraz in Kazakhs ...
mountain range that serves as a border with the
Kyrgyz Republic. The international highway M39 crosses Merki and connects three big cities in
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
:
Almaty
Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
,
Bishkek
Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
and
Tashkent
Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
. Historically, Merki was located close to the
Great Silk Road. Merki's coat of arms symbolises an ancient city, a mosque, the Great Silk Road in the form of a caravan with camels and mountains at the top.
In 2024, Merki's akim (city mayor in Kazakh) is Zhorabek Baubekov.
People
The total number of the population of Merki region is estimated to be 100,000 people. The population of Merki consists of various ethnicities with Kazakhs constituting the main ethnic group. Among other groups are
Iranian Azeris that were forced to migrate there by
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
s (in 1938).
Climate
Merki has a dry-summer
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dsa''),
with hot, dry summers and cold winters. The southern part of Kazakhstan including Merki is highly vulnerable to
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.
See also
*
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...
*
Azerbaijanis in Kazakhstan
Notes
External links
Populated places in Jambyl Region
{{JambylRegion-geo-stub