Turkmenistan

Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat, also Ashkhabad in transliteration from Russian or formerly Poltoratsk between 1919-1927) is the capital and largest city of Turkmenistan, a country in Central Asia. It has a population of 695,300 (2001 census estimate) and is situated between the Kara Kum desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range. Ashgabat has a primarily Turkmen population, with minorities of ethnic Russians, Armenians, and Azeris. It is 250 km from the second largest city in Iran, Mashhad.