Türkmenabat
Türkmenabat, formerly known as Çärjew, is the second-largest city in Turkmenistan and the administrative centre of Lebap Province.
As of 2022, it had a population of approximately 231,000 people. From 1924 to 1927, it was given the name Leninsk in honour of Vladimir Lenin.
Getting to Türkmenabat
Turkmenistan Airways operate 4 daily flights from Ashgabat (US$12). The airport is 2 km east of the city center. Turkmenistan Railways run trains to Turkmenabat from Ashgabat (2 trains per day, 16 hours, US$2.50), Mary/Merv (3 trains per day leaving Mary at 22:00, 01:20, 03:30, 7 hours, US$1) and Turkmenbashi (1 train per day, 23 hours, US$2.50). The railway station is in the city center.
Worth seeing
Lebap Regional Museum, Shaidakov köcesi 35. Mon-Sat 09:00-13:00, 14:00-18:00. It has an ethnographic section with a yurt and a diorama of a silversmith workshop. US$0.20. Russian Orthodox Church, Magtymguly sayoli. Amul' Settlement (10 km from the city center).
Where to eat
Restaurant Lebap, Puskin köcesi,. 09:00-23:00. US$2. Restaurant Vostok, Shaidakov köcesi. US$1. Restaurant Traktir, Arsarybaba köcesi 14,. 11:00-23:00. US$2.
Getting around Türkmenabat the local way
- Get inTake a taxi from Bukhara to the border (US$8) at Farab or a shared taxi to Uzbek Olot (Qarakul) and then a taxi to the border.
- Get inA taxi should cost about US$5 and a seat in a shared taxi less than US$1.
From Wikivoyage: Türkmenabat, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Bohndorf Film-Team (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.