300px, Map of districts of the city of Ashgabat. Büzmeýin District is shown in green, with the Büzmeýin neighbourhood shown on the northwest border with Bagtyýarlyk District (yellow).">Bagtyýarlyk District">Ashgabat. Büzmeýin District is shown in green, with the Büzmeýin neighbourhood shown on the northwest border with Bagtyýarlyk District (yellow). Büzmeýin is the name of both a borough (),

Büzmeýin District Büzmeýin District (, from 2002 to 2018 called Abadan District, expanded in 2018 to include former Archabil District and Chandybil District) is a borough of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. As a borough, it is headed by a President of Turkmenistan, pre ...

, and a neighborhood () of Aşgabat, Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Formerly a separate city in Ahal Province, in 2013 the city was incorporated into Ashgabat as part of a program that expanded the capital's area by about 15%. The municipality was founded as a "town of urban type" but granted the status of a city in 1963. It bore the name Büzmeýin until October 2002, when its name was changed to Abadan by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Saparmurat Niyazov Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov (19 February 1940 – 21 December 2006) was a Turkmenistani politician who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the Secretary (title), first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenist ...

. In January 2018, the original name was restored. The traditional Russian form of the name is Bezmein (Безмейн).

Etymology

According to the Turkmen Academy of Sciences, "Büzmeýin" is derived from medieval Arabic "buza" (alcoholic beverage, beer) plus Persian "mayim" (raisin, grape plant), a reference to the area's historic use for wine grape production and wine warehousing, dating back to when Nisa was capital of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

. Niyazov claimed Büzmeýin to be a meaningless word, and in late 2002 the new name became Abadan (

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 ...

: آبادان, literally meaning 'the Prosperous Place') — a billboard at the town-entrance even features an eponymous poem by him.

Transport

About 25 km. from central Ashgabat, the center of the former town is served by a station on the national railway system and by municipal bus service. The M37 highway passes through the neighborhood.

Industries

Büzmeýin was developed as an industrial town. Niyazov worked at the Büzmeýin State Electrical Power Plant for three years, before entering a political career.

2011 explosion

On 7 July 2011, around 16:45 local time, massive blasts struck the city. According to government officials, they occurred at a fireworks warehouse, killing 2 military men and 13 civilians. Opposition groups, however, claim it was in fact a Soviet-era arms depot that caused the explosions, with a death toll exceeding 1,300 victims.

References

{{Turkmenistan-geo-stub Populated places in Turkmenistan Ashgabat 1963 establishments in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1963 2002 disestablishments in Asia Populated places disestablished in 2002

Etymology

Transport

Industries

2011 explosion

See also

References