#874 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The capital of Turkmenistan is one of the most bizzare cities I have ever visited. It feels like a ghost town, and is a frightening example of Totalitarianism at its worst. The longtime dictator of Turkmenistan who liked people to call him Turkmenbashi (father of the Turkmen), created the town from scratch after a 1948 earthquake flattened it, and it is a monument to himself in memory of his family killed there.

The buildings are statuesque and grand, if quite plain. They line the highways in repetition of white glamour. The monuments are bordering on idolatry: there was one in solid gold of Turkmenbashi himself which rotates with the sun so that he is always basking in the glory of light.

A curfew exists, and all tourists are restricted to their hotels and closely monitored. Soviet service (poor) survives, and the obligatory seedy nightclub vies with the in-house Chinese restaurant for tastlessness.

The soul of the city is in the outskirts where you can find the famous Tolkuchka bazaar. There, you can buy anything from a camel to sheep, to a teapot or a cup of tea. Many Chinese goods are imported, but they also have carpets, shawls, clothing, and foodstuff. Turkmen carpets are my favorite carpets in the world. The famous Bukhara carpets actually originate here!

In a spectacular location at the foot of the Kopet Dag mountains, with golden domes of newly built mosques, it is one of the hardest places in the world to visit, and has a long history despite its newness. The impressive Azadi mosque, Independence and Peace Monument, numerous museums and government offices survive, but in August 2010, Turkmenbashi's successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov removed the Arch of Neutrality (the golden Turkmenbashi statue!) from Parliament Square.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashgabat

Ancient Merv Turkmenistan

The State Historical and Cultural Park "Ancient Merv" is the oldest and most completely preserved of the oasis cities along the Silk Roads in Central Asia. It is located in the territory of Mary velayat of Turkmenistan. It has supported a series of urban centres since the 3rd millennium BC and played an important role in the history of the East connected with the unparalleled existence of cultural landscape and exceptional variety of cultures which existed within the Murgab river oasis being in continually interactions and successive development. It reached its apogee during the Muslim epoch and became a capital of the Arabic Caliphate at the beginning of 9th century and as a capital of the Great Seljuks Empire at the 11th-12th centuries.

Continent: Asia

Country: Turkmenistan

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II)(III)

Date of Inscription: 1999

Today "Ancient Merv"

Today "Ancient Merv" is a large archaeological park which includes remains of Bronze Age centres (2500-1200 BC) such as Kelleli, Adji Kui, Taip, Gonur, and Togoluk; Iron Age centres (1200-300 BC) such as Yaz/Gobekli Depes and Takhirbaj Depe; the historic urban centre and the post-medieval city, Abdullah Khan Kala. The inscribed property covers the area of 353 ha with a buffer zone of 883 ha.

The historic urban centre consists of a series of adjacent walled cities: Erk Kala, Gyaur Kala and the medieval Sultan Kala or Marv al-Shahijan. Erk Kala (20ha), is a walled and moated polygonal site with walls surviving to some 30 m and an internal citadel. Gyaur Kala, is roughly square in plan, with walls about 2 km long. In the interior are the remains of a number of important structures: the central Beni Makhan mosque and its cistern; the Buddhist stupa and monastery; and the "Oval Building" consisting in a series of rooms around a courtyard on an elevated platform.

Ancient Merv

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Medieval Sultan Kala was walled in the 11th century, with its Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar (1118-57) which originally formed part of a large religious complex; the fine details of the Mausoleum such as the elegant brickwork, the carved stucco, and the surviving mural paintings, make it one of the most outstanding architectural achievements of the Seljuk period. The walls (12 km) of the medieval city and of the citadel (Shahriyar Ark) are unique and represent two consecutive periods of 11th-13th centuries military architecture, including towers, posterns, stairways, galleries, and in places, crenellation. In addition to these main urban features, there are a number of important medieval monuments in their immediate vicinity such as the Mausoleum of Muhammad ibn Zayd.

The walls of the post medieval city are of exceptional interest, since they continue the remarkable continuous record of the evolution of military architecture from the 5th century BC to the 15th-16th centuries AD.

There are also major monuments from different historical periods in the oasis. Among them it can be mentioned the köshks, one of the most characteristic architectural features of the oasis, fortresses and many fine mosques and mausolea

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Kunya-Urgench Turkmenistan

Kunya-Urgench provides exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition (the Islamic culture of the Khorezm) and is unique in its state of preservation. The tradition of architecture expressed in the design and craftsmanship of Kunya-Urgench has been influential in the wider region to the south and south-west (Iran and Afghanistan) and later in the architecture of the Mughal Empire (16th-century Turkmenistan). The origins of Kunya-Urgench go back to the 6th or 5th centuries, the early Achaemenid period. In 712, Kunya-Urgench was invaded by Arabs and named Gurgandj. Being at the crossing of trade routes, the town prospered, becoming a major centre from the 10th-14th centuries. It was the capital of Khorezm from the 12th century and the second city after Bukhara in Central Asia.

Continent: Asia

Country: Turkmenistan

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II)(III)

Date of Inscription: 2005

Kunya-Urgench Destroyed, Rebuilt

The city, destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1221 but rebuilt, was described as the finest city of the Turks with fine bazaars and impressive buildings. It was ravaged by Timurid troops between 1372 and 1388 and never regained its position. In the 16th century, the capital was transferred to Khiva, and the city was finally abandoned (the Amu Darya River changed its course at the same time). The city was newly colonized by Turkmen from 1831: however, the new development took place outside the old town, which later served as a graveyard.

The southern section is limited on its east, south, and west sides by the remains of the 14th-century fortification walls. In the south-east corner there are the remains of the fortress of Ak-Kala. The centre of the section is partly occupied by the fortress of Tash-Kala, with the gate of a ruined caravanserai and the remaining base of the Mamunminaret. In the south-eastern corner there is the ruined fortress of Khorezm-bag, built as a residence for Khan Muhammed Emin in the mid-19th century.

Kunya-Urgench

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From Tash-Kala, a road leads to the northwest, passing by most other monuments in this section, all built from brick. These include the remains of the Kyrkmolla Fortress, dated to the 5th century BC, the period of the city's foundation. Kutlug-Timur Minaret is the most visible landmark of the site with its 60 m height and its brick surface has fine geometric patterns.

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Il-Arslan Mausoleum is relatively small with a square plan and conical roof. The roof has geometric patterns in brick, and the front gate is surrounded by terracotta inscriptions. Tekesh Mausoleum has a similar form, but is bigger. Also here, the roof is decorated in brick patterns with some turquoise tiles still in position. Seyet Akhmet Mausoleum is simpler in its architecture. The present structure has been rebuilt after the original collapsed in 1993. Turabek-Khanum Mausoleum has an octagonal floor plan, with tall niches opening outward. The entrance is a tall gated structure. The original conical outer roof shell has collapsed. The interior has an exceptional spatial composition crowned with a dome of extremely refined blue and white decoration in a delicate geometric pattern.

The northern section consists of a large Muslim graveyard in the middle of modern urban development. In the centre of the graveyard there is a group of three buildings. Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra Mausoleum was built in the first half of the 14th century. It was named after Ahmed Ibn Omar Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra al-Khorezmi (born in 1145), the founder of the Kubravid School of Sufism, as well as being a painter, physician and chess master. The Sultan Ali Mausoleum is located opposite to the previous, and is linked with the name of Sultan Ali, who ruled in the 16th century. The Piryar Vali Mausoleum is a small complex built in the 13th-14th centuries. It contains the burial places of several distinguished persons. At the entrance in the east, the Dash Mosque, built in the early 20th century, has been converted into a site museum.

The western section is a small area in the western part of the old town. The monument of Ibn Khajib was built in honour of Ibn Khajib, a talented disciple of Najm-ad-Din al-Kubra. The ensemble was built in several phases from the 14th to 19th centuries.

Browse All UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkmenistan. The original UNESCO inscription Here!!!

Parthian Fortresses of Nisa Turkmenistan

The Parthian Fortresses of Nisa consist of two tells of Old and New Nisa, indicating the site of one of the earliest and most important cities of the Parthian Empire, a major power from the mid-3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. They conserve the unexcavated remains of an ancient civilization which skilfully combined its own traditional cultural elements with those of the Hellenistic and Roman west. Archaeological excavations in two parts of the site have revealed richly decorated architecture, illustrative of domestic, state and religious functions. Situated at the crossroads of important commercial and strategic axes, this powerful empire formed a barrier to Roman expansion while serving as an important communication and trading centre between east and west, north and south.

Continent: Asia

Country: Turkmenistan

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II)(III)

Date of Inscription: 2007

Traces of human activity

Traces of human activity was dating back to the 4th-2nd millennia BCE show that long before the beginning of the Parthian Empire the area of Nisa was already colonized by sedentary populations. It is believed that there was a large settlement there as early as the 1st millennium BCE. Nisa underwent a major development in the mid-3rd century BCE, when impressive buildings were erected by the Parthians, who decided to build a royal residence, probably the first of the Parthian dynasty.

The name of the site, Mithradatkert, and an indication of the date of its foundation are known from an inscription written on one of the 2,700 administrative ceramics (ostraka) found at Nisa. Mithradatkert means 'the fortress of Mithidrat,' referring to King Mithradat I (174-138 BCE).

Parthian Fortresses of Nisa

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In addition, some ancient sources, such as Isidorus of Kharax, mention the city of Parthaunisa as an administrative and economic centre for the Arsacid dynasty. From their royal residence (Old Nisa) and the adjacent city (New Nisa), the Arsacid dynasty carried out huge conquests over a very large territory stretching from the Indus to the Euphrates. Nisa became a major city located in a strategic point, at the crossroads of many cultures - from Persia, Greece, and Central Asia.

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At the local level, the centuries BCE saw the golden age of the fortresses, with the early development stages of its monumental buildings (Old Nisa) and the expansion of its economy. This period seems to have continued for a long time, until the first centuries CE.

In 224 CE, however, the Parthian kingdom collapsed. Ardashir, the Parthian governor-general in Persia at the beginning of the Sassanid dynasty, checked Parthian expansion and conquered their cities and territories. Destruction and diminished populations in Nisa led to its partial abandonment, although it continued to be an important centre until the Islamic period (12th-14th century CE).

Browse All UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Turkmenistan. The original UNESCO inscription Here!!!

#999 Merv (Mary), Turkmenistan

In this modern day and age, it is hard to imagine the world's biggest city in the world melting into nothing more than a few piles of dirt. Merv, also known as Mary, which is in the middle of the deserts of Turkmenistan, was once the biggest city in the world, and as construction was mostly in mud-brick, most of what it was is now very flat, almost as if a giant raindrop fell and reduced it to sludge. Walking through it meant lots of the silty brownness collected on our shoes, and that has been happening for so long, it's a wonder anything still remains at all. 

A major oasis-city that was part of the chain of centers of the Silk Road, Merv does not really have any modern inhabitants, although pilgrimage sites and religious monuments (Muslim and pre-Muslim) are scattered within the walls. Alexander the Great visited, and it was home to Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and many other religions.

I find it an amazing place because hardly anyone's heard of it. It's incredibly isolated, and visitors are quite rare. It is abandoned, yet majestic. Important, yet forgotten. A huge area left wild, with rich history and, of course, a really difficult place to get to.

'Gates of Hell' [The Door To Hell], Turkmenistan

There is a strange phenomenon in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. Near the remote village, inhabited Derweze 350 people, there is a crater roughly 60 meters in 20 meters. The crater is constantly fire and burned for 38 years.

By locals, this smoldering crater called Darvaza Gas Crater or more well-known as the 'Gates of Hell'. These craters can be seen from a distance of several kilometers.

This is not a natural phenomenon, but rather the result of industrial accidents. In 1971, a Soviet drilling rig accident on an underground cave that stores natural gas in large quantities. It causes the ground to collapse and the whole rig drilling into it. Toxic natural gas leaking from the hole.

To overcome the potential environmental disaster, the Soviets set up a hole. The crater is not stopped burning since then.