[4] However, Muqaddasī and de Goeje assert it is a Turkified pronunciation of the Persian name Karkuh (کرکوه), meaning "deaf mountain".

On 29 December 1999, by Parliamentary Resolution HM-60, the city and district of Kerki were renamed Atamyrat in honor of Atamyrat Nyýazow, father of Saparmurat Niyazov, who had worked in Kerki as a teacher before being killed in World War II.

[8] Kerki lies on the P-36 and P-39 highways, which both lead northwest to Turkmenabat, one on each side of the Amu Darya.

In the opposite direction the P-36 also continues south to a junction with the Kerki-Ymamnazar ýoly, which in turn leads to the border with Afghanistan at Ymamnazar.

[12] Astana Baba Mausoleum is managed by the Kerki city museum, and consists of a minaret and tomb built in the 11th century.