Turkmenbashi or Türkmenbaşy [key], city (1991 pop. 59,500), W Turkmenistan, on the Krasnovodsk Gulf of the Caspian Sea. It is the western terminus of oil and natural gas pipelines and of the Trans-Caspian RR, which links the Caspian region with central Asia. An oil-refining center, the city also is a transshipment point for agricultural produce. The city was founded in 1869. A small naval base is there; a large modern port opened in 2018.
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