Serhetabat
Gushgy (1885-1999)
Serhetabat is located in Turkmenistan
Serhetabat
Serhetabat
Location in Turkmenistan
Serhetabat is located in South Asia
Serhetabat
Serhetabat
Serhetabat (South Asia)
Coordinates: 35°17′N 62°21′E / 35.283°N 62.350°E / 35.283; 62.350
Country Turkmenistan
ProvinceMary Province
DistrictTagtabazar District
Elevation747 m (2,454 ft)
Population
 (1991)
  Total5,200 (approximate)
Time zoneUTC+5 (TMT)
Southern Cross of the Russian Empire in Serhetabat, Turkmenistan

Serhetabat (formerly Gushgy) (Turkmen: Guşgy; Russian: Кушка, Kushka) is a city in Tagtabazar District, Mary Province, Turkmenistan.[2] Serhetabat lies in the valley of the Kushka River. The population was 5,200 in 1991. It is immediately opposite Torghundi, Afghanistan, with which it is connected by a road and a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) gauge railway.

Etymology

The name of the city is a Turkmen borrowing from Persian سرحدآباد, consisting of two words: سرحد (sarhadd) meaning "border" and آباد (ābād) meaning "inhabited place" (commonly used as a Persian suffix for naming places, such as Khorramabad, a city in Iran, and Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan). The name of the city corresponds to its geographic location on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan border. A historical part of the Iranian city Karaj shares the same name, Sarhadabad. Gushgy is a Turkmenized form of the Persian-Afghan word kushk (کوشک), a term referring to mountain forts. In 1885 after taking the Panjdeh oasis Russian troops constructed a fort on the site of present-day Serhetabat and named it for the village of Kush in Afghanistan.[3] The Turkmenistan government changed the name to Serhetabat on 29 December 1999 by Parliamentary Resolution HM-67.[4]

Overview

Soviet soldiers returning from Afghanistan. 20 October 1986, Kushka, Turkmen SSR

In 1885, Serhetabat and the surrounding region were seized from Afghanistan by Russian forces as a result of the Panjdeh Incident (also referred to as the Battle of Kushka), in which about 600 Afghan soldiers were overwhelmed by over 2500 Russian troops.[5]

The settlement was founded in 1890 as a Russian military outpost. A local rail line branching from Merv (now Mary) on the Central Asian Railway was inaugurated on 1 March 1901, causing some degree of international excitement.[6]

A point south of the city is the southernmost point of Turkmenistan and used to be the southernmost point of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.[7] A 10-metre stone cross, installed to commemorate the tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913, is a memorial to this fact. This cross was one of four erected in 1913, but is the only one still remaining.

Transport

The broad gauge railway crosses into Afghanistan at the station, Torghundi being the railhead station on the other side. It was built in 1960. In February 2018, the existing rail line between Serhetabat and Torghundi was restored to service.[8][9] This line is planned to be extended to Herat, where it could potentially connect to a rail line under construction from Khaf, Iran.[10] Serhetabat is the southern end of Turkmenistan highway A-388, which connects the city to Ýolöten, Murgap, and Mary. The nearest airport is at Galaýmor.

Climate

Serhetabat has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with cool winters and very hot summers. Rainfall is moderate in winter and spring, but summer is extremely dry.

Climate data for Serhetabat (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1904-present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 27.1
(80.8)
31.0
(87.8)
37.6
(99.7)
37.8
(100.0)
42.3
(108.1)
47.6
(117.7)
45.3
(113.5)
43.5
(110.3)
43.4
(110.1)
38.6
(101.5)
34.0
(93.2)
31.5
(88.7)
47.6
(117.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2)
11.7
(53.1)
17.2
(63.0)
23.6
(74.5)
30.5
(86.9)
35.5
(95.9)
37.3
(99.1)
35.5
(95.9)
30.8
(87.4)
24.3
(75.7)
16.9
(62.4)
11.7
(53.1)
23.8
(74.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.1
(39.4)
5.6
(42.1)
10.6
(51.1)
16.4
(61.5)
22.6
(72.7)
27.6
(81.7)
29.7
(85.5)
27.4
(81.3)
21.8
(71.2)
15.3
(59.5)
9.4
(48.9)
5.4
(41.7)
16.3
(61.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1)
0.5
(32.9)
5.2
(41.4)
10.0
(50.0)
14.5
(58.1)
18.5
(65.3)
20.3
(68.5)
17.9
(64.2)
12.6
(54.7)
7.3
(45.1)
3.4
(38.1)
0.6
(33.1)
9.2
(48.5)
Record low °C (°F) −33.8
(−28.8)
−27.7
(−17.9)
−19.6
(−3.3)
−5.5
(22.1)
−0.8
(30.6)
4.1
(39.4)
9.7
(49.5)
5.5
(41.9)
−3.7
(25.3)
−10.5
(13.1)
−19.0
(−2.2)
−24.5
(−12.1)
−33.8
(−28.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 48
(1.9)
58
(2.3)
70
(2.8)
40
(1.6)
20
(0.8)
1
(0.0)
1
(0.0)
1
(0.0)
0.4
(0.02)
5
(0.2)
26
(1.0)
44
(1.7)
314
(12.4)
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) 2
(0.8)
1
(0.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.4)
2
(0.8)
Average rainy days 7 9 11 7 3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.3 2 5 7 52
Average snowy days 5 6 2 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 1 3 17
Average relative humidity (%) 74 73 71 62 43 28 25 25 30 43 58 71 50
Mean monthly sunshine hours 126.5 128.5 166.6 230.2 320.9 360.3 388.7 366.5 319.2 263.0 163.9 137.9 2,972.1
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[11]
Source 2: NOAA[12]

References

  1. "Kushka, Turkmenistan". Falling Rain Global Gazetteer. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  2. "Постановление Меджлиса Милли Генгеша Туркменистана" (in Russian). Электронная газета «Золотой век». 10 November 2022.
  3. Atanyýazow, Soltanşa (1980). Түркменистаның Географик Атларының Дүшүндиришли Сөзлүги [Explanatory Dictionary of Geographic Names in Turkmenistan]. Ashgabat: Ылым. p. 122.
  4. Turkmenistan Geoname Changes
  5. Clements, Frank. Conflict in Afghanistan: A Historical Encyclopedia. pp 198. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  6. "Russia's secret railroad: Unknown to the world, 220 miles of rails have been laid". The Deseret News. 1899-04-08.
  7. USSR A Reference Book of Facts and Figures. London: Farleigh Press Ltd. 1956. p. 5 via Internet Archive. The extreme points on the mainland area as follows:{...}South: 35° 08' N. Lat. (south of Kushka)
  8. "TRAIN SERVICE OPENS ON NEW TURKMEN-AFGHAN RAILWAY: SERHETABAT–TORGHUNDI". Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. February 24, 2018.
  9. "Torghundi and the railway from Turkmenistan". Andrew Grantham.
  10. Cuenca, Oliver (December 9, 2020). "Iran – Afghanistan railway ready for traffic". International Railway Journal.
  11. "Weather and Climate-The Climate of Serhetabat" (in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  12. "Climate Normals for Kuska". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
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