In December 1880 in the Siege of Geoktepe it was attacked by 6,000 Russians under General Mikhail Skobelev against 25,000 defenders.

[4] Eventually, the defenders, and the 40,000 civilians inside the fort, fled across the desert, pursued by General Skobelev's cavalry.

[5][6] Gökdepe is the site of a cotton ginning mill and of the Gökdepe Textile Factory named for Hero Atamyrat Nyýazow (father of the first president of independent Turkmenistan, Saparmyrat Nyýazow).

The city's central market, Ak Bazar, located across the M37 highway from the central train and bus stations, draws villagers from the surrounding area both to sell their wares and to purchase necessities.

The city's main architectural attraction is the Saparmyrat Hajji Mosque, completed in 1995 by order of President Nyýazow to commemorate the fallen in the Battle of Geok Depe.