THE BALKANS IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE!
The Great Peninsula in the southeast of the Old Continent, although certainly the most famous, is not the only Balkans in the world.
Far from Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Balkan countries, near the Caspian Sea and its salt lagoon Bogaz Gol, there is another Balkans. It is a province in the west of Turkmenistan, which borders Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the north, and Iran in the south.
The Turkmen Balkans cover 139,270 square kilometers and are home to about 553,500 people, according to the 2005 census. Its capital is Balkanabat, which was once called Nebit Dag.
The Balkans in Turkmenistan are rich in energy resources – as much as 94 percent of the country’s natural gas comes from it, as well as 12 percent of oil. This region is also responsible for 18% of the electricity produced in Turkmenistan.
Although much less known than our Balkans, it is interesting to know that there is an area of the same name somewhere, about which, unfortunately, little is known.
