Balkanabat (), formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

Balkan Province Balkan Region () is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkana ...

, the largest province in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. It lies at the foot of the

Balkan Daglary Balkhan Ranges or Balkan Ranges, also Balkhans, Balkans (, Balkan Mountains) are mountains by the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea in the Balkan Region of Turkmenistan. They consist of the Greater Balkan, or Uly Balkan and the Lesser Balkan . ...

mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of

Ashgabat 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 ...

and 160 km east of the seaport city of Türkmenbaşy. The city layout is a grid of apartment blocks called ''kvartal'' (quarters). The main streets are Magtymguly, Pervomayskiy and Gurbansoltan eje şaýoly.

Etymology

The town was founded in 1933 as Neftedag, meaning "Oil Mountain" (Russian ''neft'', "oil", and Turkmen ''dag'', "mountain"), as a settlement along one of the stations of the

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 19t ...

. In 1946, when it was transformed into a city, it was renamed "Nebit-Dag", also meaning "Oil Mountain", but this time using the Turkmen word ''nebit''. Nebit Dag was renamed Balkanabat (''Balkan'' from the name of the Balkan mountains (not to be confused with the Balkan mountains in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

), ''abat'' – meaning “settlement” in Persian) in 2001 by decree of former

President of Turkmenistan The president of Turkmenistan (), officially the president and chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, is the head of state and head of government of Turkmenistan. The president is also the supreme commander in chief of the Armed ...

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 ...

Administrative Subdivisions

The city of Balkanabat, being a district-level city, also has the following administrative subdivisions under its jurisdiction: * Towns (şäherçeler) **

Gumdag Gumdag (romanized Russian Kum Dag) is a town in Balkan Province, Turkmenistan. It is located 43 km southeast of the city of Balkanabat. To the south-east of the town, lies the Boyadag Mud Volcano. Etymology The name is derived from two words in ...

Hazar Hazar may refer to: People * Hazar (name), including a list of people with the name Places * Hazar, Turkmenistan * Hazaran, or Hazar, a mountain in Iran * Hesaruiyeh, or Hazar, Iran * Lake Hazar, Turkey * Hazar, Norway See also * Hezar (disa ...

(''inc.'' Garagöl) ** Jebel ** Oglanly (''inc.'' Oglanly obasy) ** Uzboý (''inc.'' Zähmet, Mollagara, 123-nji duralga)

History

A large monument at the far western end of the city, "Pioneers" (), also called "Desert Explorers", depicts a camel, Ivan Gubkin, and Gubkin's peers, struggling to hike through the windy

Karakum Desert The Karakum Desert ( ; rus, Каракумы, p=kərɐˈkumɨ), also spelt and (; ), is a desert in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly , of Turkmenistan. The po ...

while prospecting for petroleum. Balkanabat's history is tightly linked to the petroleum deposits in Goturdepe, Barsagelmes and Nebitdag. The first colonists had to live in unbelievable conditions in tents, tilt carts, without power and even without water.

Amenities

The city adjoins a "Health Path", a concrete circuit hike path to give a moderate hike along the mountainside. It was opened in 2004 in the template of that of Ashgabat. The city has five ''

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

s'' (markets) Gök, Jennet, Gündogar, Bereket and 5th Microdistrict bazaar. The city is served by two hotels, Nebitçi and Sport, a theater, museums, restaurants and parks. The north side of town features the large Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy Park, which offers trees, tennis courts, a life-size chess board and many benches. In the 2000s, the city underwent significant transformations, including the improvement of streets, the construction of large-scale housing facilities, and the addition of supplementary amenities. The State Drama Theater, the Museum of History and Local Lore, a diagnostic center, a wedding palace, the Balkanabat Railway Station, the Balkan Provincial Library, a stadium with 10,000 seats, a general oriental market, and other social and cultural facilities were built during that period.

Demographics

In 2011, the population was estimated to be 120,800 residents, 80% of them Turkmen (mainly

Yomud The Yomut, also spelled Yomud or Iomud, are a Turkmen tribe who reside in Turkmenistan and Iran. There is a common belief about the origin of the name Yomut. It is said that a long time ago, Indigenous people settled by the Caspian Sea and we ...

tribe), 15% Russians, 3%

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

, 2%

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

is, 10% others, including Lezgins, Armenians, Uzbeks, Tatars, and Jews. The Yomud tribe is associated with the Balkan region and the Yomud carpet ''göl'' (rosette) is one of the five rosettes represented on the

Turkmen flag The national flag of Turkmenistan () features a white crescent and five stars representing the five regions of the country and the Five Pillars of Islam. Placed upon a green field is a symbolic representation of the country's famous carpet indust ...

Climate

Balkanabat has a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWk'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Industry, economy and transport

The city is an industrial center for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

production. A branch office of the Russian petroleum company

Tatneft Tatneft (; traded as: (ordinary shares), (preferred shares), (ADRs)) is a Russian vertically integrated oil and gas company with headquarters in the city of Almetyevsk, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, Russian Federation. It is the fifth larges ...

is located in Balkanabat. Animal husbandry and production of wheat and cotton are other pursuits.

Transport

The city lies on the east-west M37 highway and is connected to other cities by rail and bus. While there is no official cab company, private citizens operate shared cabs.

Air

The

Balkanabat Airport Balkanabat Airport (), also known as Nebit Dag Airport, was a provincial airport located southeast of Balkanabat in Turkmenistan. Since 2025, a new Balkanabat International Airport, has been operating in Jebel, 20 kilometers from Balkanabat ...

terminal was opened in October 2004 with a design capacity of 200 passengers per hour. At present

Turkmenistan Airlines Turkmenistan Airlines (, commonly known as Türkmenhowaýollary) is the flag carrier and only airline of Turkmenistan, headquartered in Ashgabat. An open joint-stock company, it operates domestic and international passenger and cargo services ma ...

offers no scheduled service in or out of this airport.

Rail

Balkanabat sits on the

running east–west, connecting the capital,

, with the

Balkan Region Balkan Region () is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkana ...

. The railway offers both passenger and freight transport. Balkanabat Railway Station is the city's main rail station.

Communication

The city has one mobile operator, Altyn Asyr. Internet access and cable TV are provided by

Turkmentelecom Turkmentelecom () is a national telecommunications company in Turkmenistan founded on April 7, 1993. The head office is located in the city of Ashgabat. It has branches in all regions of Turkmenistan. Turkmentelecom covers all the main target m ...

. There is one internet cafe in the city. Turkmenpochta is the official national postal service of Turkmenistan. It currently operates four post offices in the city.

Education

The city has an Oil and Gas Industry School, which operates as a branch of the

International Oil and Gas University Yagshygeldi Kakayev International Oil and Gas University () is a university located in Ashgabat, the main university of the Turkmenistan oil and gas community. It was founded on May 25, 2012 as the Turkmen State Institute of Oil and Gas. On Augus ...

. The school trains students in such specialties as geology, drilling of oil and gas wells, development and operation of oil and gas fields, chemical technology of oil and gas processing, construction, operation of oil and gas storage, and oil and gas pipeline operation. It is the functional successor to the Polytechnic Institute, which was an extension of the

Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas () is a public university in Moscow, Russia. The university was founded in 1930 and is named after the geologist Ivan Gubkin. The university is colloquially known as Kerosinka (), meaning 'keros ...

in Moscow during the Soviet period. High school graduates may receive secondary-specialized education in the following vocational schools: Balkanabat Medical School, Special School of Arts, Financial and Economic Secondary Vocational School, and Oil Secondary Vocational School of the Turkmennebit State Concern.

Religion

The vast majority of the population adheres to

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

. The main

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

has a capacity of 3,000 worshippers. Four minarets, each 63 meters high, rise above the two-story mosque. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin has operated since 1997 in the 13th microdistrict.

Culture

A giant yurt-shaped building, ''Türkmeniň ak öýi'' ("Turkmen White House") was built for special events in 2021. The complex includes a concert hall with 3,000 seats and additional buildings, as well as a special

sadaqah ' ( , "charity", "benevolence", plural ) in the modern-day Islamic context has come to signify "voluntary Charity (practice), charity". Unlike zakat, which is a obligatory form of almsgiving and one of the five pillars of Islam, ''ṣadaqah'' ...

hall of the same capacity.

Notable people

* Gulshat Orazmuhammedova (born 1974), Turkmen statesman

Media

The daily state newspaper

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

is published in Balkanabat.

Twin towns and sister cities

Almetyevsk Almetyevsk (; ; ) is a city in Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Zay River (Kama's tributary) southeast of Kazan. Population: 77,000 (1969); 49,000 (1959). History Almetyevsk is one of the youngest cities in the republic. Lo ...

Sports

The city features the Balkanabat Sport Toplumy stadium, at which is based the Nebitçi professional football club, which plays in the ''

Ýokary Liga The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga ( Turkmen: ''Ýokary liga futbol klublarynyň arasyndaky futbol boýunça Türkmenistanyň çempionaty''), is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, operat ...

'' ("Upper League").

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Balkan Region Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1933 1933 establishments in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic