Daşoguz formerly known as Tashauz |
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Daşoguz
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Coordinates: | |
Country | Turkmenistan |
Province | Daşoguz Province |
Incorporated | |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mammetnyyaz Owezovic Nurmammedov[1] |
Elevation | 88 m (289 ft) |
Population (2004) | |
• Total | 210,000 |
Postcode |
Daşoguz (also Dashkhovuz, Dashhowuz, Dashoguz, Dasoguz, Дашогуз; roughly "stone spring" in Turkmen), formerly known as Tashauz (Russian: Ташауз), is a city in northern Turkmenistan and the capital of Daşoguz Province.
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It is located at latitude 41.833° North, longitude 59.9667° East, at an average of 88 meters above sea level. It is about 76.7 km (47.7 mi) from Nukus, Uzbekistan, and 460 km (290 mi) from Ashgabat.In nearby Lake Sarykamysh, you can find 65 different varieties of fish.
Daşoguz's population of 166,500 (1999 census estimate) is predominately Turkmen and Uzbek, with smaller numbers of Russians, Koreans, Karakalpaks, and Tatars present. A large number of those forcefully displaced by ex-President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov have been resettled in lands adjoining the town.[2]
Early in its history, it was a popular stop on the Silk Road because it had a spring, hence its name.[3] Founded as a fort in the early 19th century by the Russians, modern Daşoguz is a Soviet-designed city with many monuments and museums acting as a local administrative and cultural center and rail junction.DZ
Daşoguz Airport provides a connection with Ashgabat, Mary, Turkmenabat, Balkanabat, Turkmenbashy with Turkmenistan Airlines.
Daşoguz is the main portal of tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Konya-Urgench. Some of the main agricultural products of the area are cotton and jute, which can be cultivated due to the city's proximity to the Amu Darya river. It is also the location of the football club Turan Dasoguz.
On September 5, 1998, an H5 meteorite weighing approximately 7 kilograms fell in Daşoguz.[4]
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