State Historical and Cultural Park "Ancient Merv"

Merv is the oldest and best-preserved of the oasis-cities along the Silk Route in Central Asia. The remains in this vast oasis span 4,000 years of human history. A number of monuments are still visible, particularly from the last two millennia. It is located in the territory of Mary velayat of Turkmenistan. UNESCO has listed the site of ancient Merv as a World Heritage Site in 1999. 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. Today "Ancient Merv" is a large archaeological park which includes remains of Bronze Age centres (2500-1200 BC); Iron Age centres (1200-300 BC); the historic urban centre and the post-medieval city. The inscribed property covers the area of 353 ha with a buffer zone of 883 ha. 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.