Balkan Province

Balkan Province (Balkan welaýaty / Балкан велаяты) is one of the Welayatlar (provinces) of Turkmenistan. It is in the far west of the country, bordering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and Iran. Its capital is Balkanabat, formerly known as Nebit Dag. It has an area of 138,000 square kilometers and a population of approximately 424,700 people. Its population density of 3.3 persons per square kilometer is the lowest in Turkmenistan.

Other cities include: Turkmenbashi (Türkmenbaşy), Gumdag, Serdar, Hazar, Etrek, Esenguly.

Balkan Province has significant energy reserves, which account for 94% of Turkmenistan's natural gas production and 12% of its petroleum production. It also generates 18% of the country's electric power. Due to the very low water supply, agriculture is negligible, and only 4.5% of Turkmenistan's arable lands are within the province.

Off its Caspian shores the Balkan Province includes the island of Ogurja Ada, the most important island in Turkmenistan and one of the largest in the Caspian Sea.

Districts

Balkan Province is divided into 6 districts ("etraplar"; singular: "etrap") and 7 cities ("il") [ [http://whp057.narod.ru/balka.htm Балканский Велаят ] ] [ [http://www.statoids.com/ytm.html Turkmenistan Districts ] ] . Name changes since 1995 are shown in parentheses:

*Districts
**Bereket District (formerly Gazanjyk)
**Esenguly District
**Etrek District (formerly Gyzyletrek)
**Magtymguly District (formerly Garrygala)
**Serdar District (formerly Gyzylarbat)
**Türkmenbaşy District

*Cities
**Balkanabat City
**Bereket City
**Garabogaz City (formerly Bekdaş)
**Gumdag City
**Hazar City (formerly Çeleken)
**Serdar City (Kyzyl-Arvat/Farava) [ [http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=481 Forum 18 Search/Archive ] ]
**Türkmenbaşy City
**Dasharvat area - a unique place near Balkanabat city, 12 km from Jebel village

ee also

* Balkan newspaper, Turkmenistan
* Ogurja Ada

References