Turkmenistan
By Keian Secrist
General Information
- Head of State: President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
- Head of Government: President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
- Government: Presidential Republic; highly authoritarian.
- Capital: Ashgabat.
- Languages: Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
- Population: 5,231,422 people.
Sports and Entertainment
Soccer is easily the most popular sport in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan holds a few soccer tournaments. The tournaments are the Ýokary Liga and the Turkmenistan Cup. Some famous soccer players are Kurban Berdyev and Hemayat Komekov. They play for the country's soccer team.
Olympics
Turkmenistan first competed in the Olympic Games in 1996. They competed in mainly field and running events. Before this they competed as the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union collapsed, they were part of the Unified Team in 1992. They have Never done very well since 1996.
Entertainment
The city with easily the most entertainment would have to be Ashgabat. There are old places and new places. An old place that is slowly rotting away is the Pushkin Russian Drama Theater. A newer place that is flourishing is the Mollanepes Drama Theater. The biggest nightclub in all of Turkmenistan is Kumush Ay. Other places consist of the Magtymguly Theater and the Mukan Club.
Geography
Turkmenistan is located in Central Asia. It borders Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. It also borders the Caspian Sea. Its total size is 488,100 square kilometers. The land coverage is 469,930 square kilometers. The water coverage is 18,170 square kilometers. Total land border length is 4,158 kilometers. Total water border length is 1,768 kilometers.
Climate, Terrain, and Elevation
The climate is considered subtropical desert. The terrain is flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south. There is low mountains along border with Iran. Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea in west. The mean elevation is 230 meters.The lowest point in Turkmenistan is Vpadina Akchanaya. It is at -81 meters. Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya, the lake has dropped as low as -110 meters. The highest point is Gora Ayribaba. It is at 3,139 m.
Resources
The natural resources consist of petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, and salt. The land is used mainly for agriculture and permanent pasture but there are many others. Agricultural land is 72%. Arable land is 4.1%. Permanent crops are 0.1%. Permanent pasture is 67.8%. Forest is 8.8%. There is 19.2% used for other reasons. The total renewable water resources are 24.77 cubic kilometers. The total freshwater withdrawl per year is 27.95 cubic kilometers.
Bibliography
Ashgabat. Digital image. Theatlantic. Web. 16 May 2016.
Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 06 May 2016.
"Famous Turkmens." Famous People From Turkmenistan, Famous Natives Sons. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Sport in Turkmenistan." Sport in Turkmenistan. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Subscriber Area Only." CultureGrams Online Database: Subscriber Area Only. Web. 09 May 2016.
Turkmenistan Flag. Digital image. Wikimedia. Web. 16 May 2016.
Turkmenistan President. Digital image. Wikipedia. Web. 16 May 2016.