Mary (Turkmenistan)

37.661.8333Koordinaten: 37 ° 36 'N, 61 ° 50'

Mary is a city in southeastern Turkmenistan with 126 150 inhabitants ( 2010). It belongs to the administrative unit Mary Welaýaty. It was until 1930 also as the some 30 km distant ruined city of Merv called.

Geography

The city is situated at an oasis in the Karakum, the river Murghab. The area is accessed by the Trans-Caspian railway.

Industry

It is a center of Turkmen natural gas and cotton production, which represent two major export products of the country. Mary was originally founded in 1884 as a Russian administrative center. The Mary region has the largest natural gas reserves in Turkmenistan. The natural gas field Schatlyk, one of the most important, was discovered here in 1968.

Military Base

The Military Base Mary and especially its airport, close to the Iranian and Afghan border is one of the most strategically important throughout Central Asia and was the beginning of the decade also the largest; the United States are said to have on several occasions, but so far in vain for its use. Mary had already been one of the largest bases of the Soviet Army.

Attractions

Ruhyyet Palace ( Congress Hall)

Pokrowskaja Church

State Theatre of Mary

World War II Memorial ( with eternal flame )

Museum of Mary

Sons and daughters of the town

  • Jelena Georgievna Bonner, pediatrician and dissident and human rights activist Andrei Sakharov and second wife of
  • Hydyr Saparlyýew, Turkmen politician
  • Eduard Arkadyevitch Asadov, Russian poet

Culture

It is twinned with Istanbul in Turkey.

See also: List of cities in Turkmenistan

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