Kerki
Kerki is a town in eastern Turkmenistan. It is located in Lebap Province. It was formerly known as Zamm and, between 1999 and 2017, as Atamyrat. It is situated on a plain on the left bank of the Amu Darya river.Overview
Nearby towns and villages include Mukry, Amyderya, Surkhi and Kiikchi.
The town is served by Kerki Airport located from the town centre. In August 2012, the state national company Turkmenistan Airlines announced an international tender to design and construct a new complex with the capacity of 100 passengers per hour. In February 2013 a road bridge connecting the city with village Kerkichi was commissioned
In 1999, the railway line from Türkmenabat to Kerki was finished, linking Kerki to the Turkmen railway network without having to take a detour into neighbouring Uzbekistan. In late 2016, a railway line was built south to Imamnazar on the border with Afghanistan and further to Aqina, turning Kerki into a railway hub. It is expected to become part of a railway corridor through northern Afghanistan.
The name of the city - Kerki - is a Turkified pronunciation of the original Persian name Karkuh meaning "Deaf Mountain. In 1999, the city was renamed Atamyrat by Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov in honour of his father Atamyrat Niyazov, who had worked here as a teacher before being killed in World War II. In November 2017 the name was changed back to Kerki by president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
