Mary Region: Ancient Merv, Culture and Nature

Ancient Merv is in the Mary Region, about 40 kilometers from the city of Mary. The State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancient Merv” is the oldest and best-preserved of the oasis cities along the Silk Roads in Central Asia. Across the vast oasis area, the remains encompass 4,000 years of human history. Those interested in historic urban sites will find various forms of fortification, religious architecture and settlement history here.

Urban Sites and Building History in Ancient Merv

The sites can be distinguished by their layouts and architectural features. Erk Kala is roughly polygonal in plan, fortified and surrounded by a moat. Its walls survive to a height of about 30 meters and enclose an inner citadel. Gyaur Kala is approximately square in plan and has walls about two kilometers long. Within the site are the remains of the central Beni-Makhan Mosque and its cistern, as well as a Buddhist stupa. The Oval Building is also located in Gyaur Kala: it consists of a series of rooms around a courtyard on a raised platform. Fortifications, religious buildings and a courtyard-centered complex thus stand alongside one another as distinct architectural features.

The medieval city of Sultan Kala was given a defensive wall in the 11th century. The walls of the medieval city and the Shahriyar Ark citadel extend for 12 kilometers and represent two successive periods of military architecture from the 11th to the 13th centuries. The Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar was originally part of a large religious complex in Sultan Kala. Those exploring the architectural history can read the fortifications and religious architecture as distinct aspects of the historic city.

Bronze Age and Later Monuments

Gonur is a Bronze Age center in the Ancient Merv archaeological park. Gonur-Depe was discovered in 1972 by an expedition led by archaeologist Viktor Ivanovich Sarianidi, which unearthed the ancient civilization of Margush, also known as Margiana. The Bronze Age is therefore one of the different historical layers that shape the area. Great Gyz-gala was built of mud bricks more than a thousand years ago. Big Gyz-gala is a historic building at the entrance to the Ancient Merv area.

Monuments from later centuries also add to this picture: Abdullahan Gala was built southwest of Sultan Kala in the 15th century AD, and Bayramalihan Gala was built southwest of it in the 18th century AD. The Askhab Mausoleums are associated with later Merv; the architectural complex of Hoja Yusup Baba is also among the later monuments. The development of Ancient Merv’s system of monuments over different periods is also linked to the Murgab River’s course shifting from east to west.

Museums, Library and Mosques

The city of Mary lies along the routes of the Great Silk Road and has historical ties to science, art, crafts and trade. The Mary Region Museum of History and Local Lore was founded in 1968 as the Mary Museum of History and Revolution; its first exhibition opened in 1974. The collections include ancient jewelry, clothing, tapestries and documentary photographs on ethnographic and historical themes. These collections offer a different way to explore regional history than the architectural remains at Ancient Merv.

The Mary Regional Library houses the Museum of the History of the Turkmen Book. Beneath its dome-shaped ceiling, designed to resemble tulip blossoms, the library has an observatory equipped with a powerful telescope. The mosques also reflect different religious connections: the Gurbanguly-Haji Mosque is in the center of the city of Mary and opened in 2009. The Yusuf-Hamdani Mosque in Ancient Merv is in use and is visited by pilgrims from across Turkmenistan and neighboring countries.

Nature in the Badkhyz Nature Reserve

The Badkhyz Nature Reserve is also in the Mary Region and is distinguished by its unique natural complex. Its landscape consists of pistachio woodland, desert steppe and depressions. Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are protected there; the reserve is also home to about 1,300 species of invertebrates. A 800-year-old pistachio tree stands in the Kepele Valley. In bad weather, the Eroilanduz depression is a gathering place for gazelles and argali. These landscapes and animal groups offer a different focus from the region’s architectural and collection history.

When planning your stay, you can first decide whether Ancient Merv, the regional collections and buildings, or Badkhyz should be your main focus.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Mary, Daşoguz Region, Balkan Region, Ashgabat, Ahal Region, Lebap Region.

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