Serdar (city)


Serdar is a location in Turkmenistan, located north-west of the capital, Ashkhabad on the road to the Caspian Sea. The population of Serdar is 50,000 people, mainly Turkmen. The main language spoken in the region is Turkmen. It is near the northwest end of the line of oases on the north slope of the Kopet Dag that extends southeast to Ashkhabad.

History

Serdar is close to the old Persian city of Farava. In ancient times, the region was inhabited by the Dahae, an Indo-European people. The city is located on the edge of the Karakum Desert at the foot of the Kopetdag ridge..
During the Russian conquest several exploring expeditions reached here, but the main fighting was at Geok Tepe. The modern city was established in 1881 with a station on the Trans-Caspian Railway.
In July 1918, following his declaration of martial law in Ashgabat, Commissar V. Frolov, head of the Tashkent Cheka, came to Kyzyl-Arvat to impose the authority of the Tashkent Soviet. However the railway workers had heard of his execution of strike leaders in Ashgabat and organised an armed response. He was shot with some of his followers and the rest were disarmed. This action opened the way to the formation of the Transcaspian Government.

Modern

During the reign of the respected President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the city has expanded to the north-west: a culture house, a carpet factory, a secondary school, a kindergarten, an art school, a shopping center, a sports complex with a stadium, a swimming pool and playgrounds for various sports have been erected. In addition, the infrastructure of the city was updated. In particular, a new railway and bus station, a flyover bridge and a collector for draining mudflows, sewage treatment plants, and a number of other engineering facilities were built here.
The planned private construction of the northern outskirts of the city also takes on a comfortable look, began a massive arrangement of urban road infrastructure.

Transportation

Serdar station is on the Trans-Caspian railway. Construction began in 1879 of a narrow-gauge railway to Gyzylarbat in connection with the Russian conquest of Transcaspia under General Mikhail Skobelev.
Road transport includes bus, there are 2 bus routes. Small PAZ buses serve the local population.

Climate

Serdar has a cool desert climate, with cool winters and very hot summers. Rainfall is generally light and erratic, and occurs mainly in the winter and autumn months.