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Trans-Caspian Railway
The Trans-Caspian Railway (also called the Central Asian Railway, ) is a railway that follows the path of the Silk Road through much of western Central Asia. It was built by the Russian Empire during its expansion into Central Asia in the 19th century. The railway was started in 1879, following the Russian victory over Khokand. Originally it served a military purpose of facilitating the Imperial Russian Army in actions against the local resistance to their rule. However, when Lord Curzon visited the railway, he remarked that he considered its significance went beyond local military control and threatened British interests in Asia. History Construction Construction began in 1879 of a narrow-gauge railway to Gyzylarbat in connection with the Russian conquest of Transcaspia under General Mikhail Skobelev. It was rapidly altered to the standard Russian gauge of , and construction through to Ashkabad and Merv (modern Mary) was completed under General Michael Nicolaivitc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narrow-gauge Railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter rails; they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where the traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge. In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard: Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. It is located in northeastern Uzbekistan, near the border with Kazakhstan. Before the influence of Islam in the mid-8th century AD, Sogdian people, Sogdian and Turkic people, Turkic culture was predominant. After Genghis Khan destroyed the city in 1219, it was rebuilt and profited from its location on the Silk Road. From the 18th to the 19th centuries, the city became an Tashkent (1784), independent city-state, before being re-conquered by the Khanate of Kokand. In 1865, Tashkent fell to the Russian Empire; as a result, it became the capital of Russian Turkestan. In Soviet Union, Soviet times, it witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to Population transfer in the Soviet Union, forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Unio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. Bukhara served as the capital of the Khanate of Bukhara, Emirate of Bukhara and later Bukhara People’s Soviet Republic. It was the birthplace of the scholar Imam Bukhari. The city has been known as "Noble Bukhara" (''Bukhārā-ye sharīf''). Bukhara has about 140 architectural monuments. UNESCO has listed the historic center of Bukhara (which contains numerous mosques and madrasas) as a List of World Heritage Sites in Uzbekistan, World Heritage Site. Names The exact name of the city of Bukhara in ancient times is unknown. The whole Oasis of Bukhara, oasis was called Bukhara in ancient times, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samarkand
Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlements Kimyogarlar, Farxod, Farhod and Xishrav, Khishrav. With 551,700 inhabitants (2021), it is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, third-largest city in Uzbekistan. There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city dating from the late Paleolithic Era. Though there is no direct evidence of when Samarkand was founded, several theories propose that it was founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Prospering from its location on the Silk Road between East Asia, China, Persia and Europe, at times Samarkand was one of the largest cities in Central Asia,Guidebook of history of Samarkand", and was an important city of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia, south of the fertile plains of Southern Russia in Eastern Europe, and north of the mountainous Iranian Plateau. It covers a surface area of (excluding the highly saline lagoon of Garabogazköl to its east), an area approximately equal to that of Japan, with a volume of . It has a salinity of approximately 1.2% (12 g/L), about a third of the salinity of average seawater. It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southeast. The name of the Caspian Sea is derived from the ancient Iranian peoples, Iranic Caspians, Caspi people. The sea stretches from north to south, with an average width of . Its gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Michael Nicolaivitch Annenkoff
General Mikhail Nikolayevich Annenkov (formerly also transcribed Michael Nicolaivitch Annenkoff; ; 1835 in St. Petersburg – January 21, 1899 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian nobleman, author, military officer, and engineer. An important figure in the history of the Russian conquest of Turkestan in the 19th century, he was Governor-General of the Transcaspian Region (today's Turkmenistan). General Annenkov was the builder of the strategic Transcaspian Railway in its initial stages through what is now Turkmenistan, which made possible the bloody defeat of the Turkmen at Geok-Tepe in 1881. He was also involved in the planning of the Trans-Siberian railroad, which was under construction at the time of his death. He also played a major role in the Pendjeh Crisis of 1885, when the UK and Russia nearly went to war. Education and early career Born into the wealthy Annenkoff family, son of General Nicholas Annenkov, Governor of Odessa and the southwestern provinces and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary, Turkmenistan
Mary (; Cyrillic: Мары) is a city on an oasis in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, located on the Murgab River. It was founded in 1884 about from the ruins of the ancient abandoned great city of Merv and was actually named Merv until 1937. Mary is the capital city of Mary Region. In 2022, Mary had a population of 167,000, up from 92,000 in the 1989 census. Etymology Atanyýazow notes that the name "Muru" appears in Zoroastrian texts alongside the toponyms Sogd (Sogdia) and Bakhti (Bactria), and that the name "Margiana" appears carved into rocks at Behistun, Iran, dating back 2,500 years. Atanyyazow adds, "the name was used in the form Merv-ash-Shahizhan", with subsequent forms including Muru, Mouru, Margiana, Marg, Margush, Maru, Maru-shahu-jahan, Maru-Shahu-ezan, Merv, and Mary, and that some scholars interpret the word ''marg'' as "green field" or "grassland", noting that in Persian ''marg'' can mean a source of livestock. History The ancient city of Merv was an o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashkabad
Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 mi) away from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city has a population of 1,030,063 (2022 census). The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke (Turkmen tribe), Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924 when it was known as Poltoratsk. Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov's "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Today, as the capital of an independent Turkmenistan, Ashgabat retains a multiethnic population, wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Track Gauge Conversion
Track gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another. In general, requirements depend on whether the conversion is from a wider gauge to a narrower gauge or vice versa, on how the rail vehicles can be modified to accommodate a track gauge conversion, and on whether the gauge conversion is manual or automated. Sleepers If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing timber sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if the conversion is to a significantly wider gauge. Some sleepers may be long enough to accommodate the fittings of both existing and alternative gauges. Wooden sleepers are suitable for conversion because they can be drilled for the repositioned rail spikes. Concrete sleepers are unsuitable for conversion. Concrete sleepers may be cast with alternative gauge fittings in place, an example being those used during the conversion of the Melbourne–Adelaide railway from to . ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
