Dushak


Dushak is a small town in the Karakum Desert on the rim of the Kopet Dag mountains of Ahal Province, Turkmenistan.

Geography

It lies on the M37 highway which connects the town to Ashgabat in the west and Tejen in the east and is also connected by rail on the Trans-Caspian railway. The settlement lies 37 kilometres east of Kaakhka. There are notable Bronze Age settlements in the area such as Ulug Depe and several shrines such as Malik Baba which attracts pilgrims. The Mausoleum of Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr is also of note.

History

The village was occupied on October 14, 1918 during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. 570 British and Indian troops were sent in to occupy the town. After heavy fighting in mid October the Bolsheviks retreated from Dushak.
In 1994, the Mount Dushak–Erekdag Observatory was built some kilometres from Dushak.