Balkan

Balkan Region is the westernmost of five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south) and the Caspian Sea (west). The capital city is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. The boundaries of the region are identical to those of the former Krasnovodsk Oblast’ , a Soviet-era province of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. This oblast was liquidated and restored many times in the mid- to late nineteen-hundreds and in 1988 it was abolished for good. However, the administrative boundaries of the region were restored in 1991 when Balkan Region was established.

The city’s former name, Nebitdag, means “Oil Mountain,” and it is the headquarters of the Turkmen oil industry. Balkanabat grew up on the Transcaspian Railway after large oil deposits were discovered in the area in the early 1930s; it became a city in 1946. It has been carefully planned, with much greenery to mitigate the effects of the surrounding desert.