| Official Name: | Gubadag |
| Other Name: | Telmansk (1949-1993) Town Named for Thälmann (Russian: посёлок имени Тельмана) (1938-1949) Täzä-Gala Таза-Кала (?-1938) |
| Pushpin Map: | Turkmenistan |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Turkmenistan |
| Coordinates: | 42.0667°N 117°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name: | Turkmenistan |
| Subdivision Name1: | Daşoguz Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Boldumsaz District |
| Postal Code: | 745190 |
Gubadag is a city in Boldumsaz District in Daşoguz Province of Turkmenistan.[1] Gubadag is known for its special round meat pie, known as fitchi (Turkmen: "fitçi"; Russian: "фитчи"). The city is located on the border with Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan), near Mang‘it.
Until December 1938 the city was named Täzä-Kala (Turkmen: new fortress). From 1938 until 1949 it was called Town Named for Thälmann (Russian: посёлок имени Тельмана), a russification of the last name of Ernst Thälmann (1886-1944), a German Communist involved in the international communist movement. In 1949 this was abbreviated to Telmansk (Russian: Тельманск).[2] The name was changed to Gubadag in 1993 by Presidential Decree No. 1327.[3]
Frank's and Touch-Werner's dictionary defines guba as "reddish-brown" and dag as "mountain". Atanyyazow asserts the name derives from the reddish-brown hills in the vicinity.[4] [5]