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Merv oasis ( 40 km from Mary) is one of the most ancient territories of Central Asia . There irrigation was first introduced. So it's not surprising that it was there that one of the largest cities of ancient world - Merv ( Margush, Margiana, Mary) was built on that territory . The origin of Merv is shrouded in mysteri e s . O ne fact is known for sure, though - the first written references to this city were found in Avestian chronicles of approximately the 8th - the 6th centuries B.C. T he chroniclers widely used bright epithets naming it "a soul of a king", "a mother of Khurasan cities " , and , finally, «the city on which the Universe rests " . Omar Khayyam, As - Samani , Imamaddin - Isphakhani and other great thinkers of the Middle Ages used to live there .
The m odern ruins comprise at least five ancient settlements - Erk - Kala , Gyaur-Kala , Sultan-Kala , Abdullakhan - Kala and Bairamalikhan - Kala . The most part of them is heavily destroyed , some of them remind sagged hills but nevertheless Merv remain s one of the most unique historical monuments.
Among the most interesting historical monuments is the mausoleum of Sultan Sandzhar Dar-al-Akhir ( 1 , 140 A .D.) whose name is connect ed to the prosperous period of the g reat Seljuk Empire. This amazing landmark is a lmost 40 m high . This medieval " skyscraper "'s originality is highlighted by its legendary dome constructed from two thin brick shells.
Other well- known Merv landmarks are : Sultan- Kala , Shazriar - Ark Citadel , the ruins of Abdillakhan - Kala fortifications (the 15th century), the ruins of Bairamalikhan - Kala fortress and its towers , the ruins of Kyz-Kala fortress (the 6 th - 7th centuries), the mausoleums of Al - Khakim ibn Amir al- Jafari and Buraid ibn al - Khusein al - Islami ( the 15th century , a place of pilgrimage), Mukhammad ibn Zeid mausoleum (the 12th century), Talkhatan - Baba complex with the mausoleums of Talkhatan - Baba , imam Kasim, imam Shafi and imam Bakr of Seljuk epoch, the mosque of Jusuf Khamadani (the 13th century, reconstruct ed in the 19th century ), the ruins of Erk - Kala fortress ( the 6 th century), the ruins of a Christian temple and a Buddhist monastery in Gyaur - Kala (ancient Antiokhia Margiana) , the ruins of Beni - Makhan mosque (the 7th -12th centuries ), the high walls of fortress - like structures Big and Small Kyz - Kala , Kyz - Bibi mausoleum as well as numerous remains of baths, palaces, main halls and other s .
Other attractive landmarks are mosques of Dandankan and Talkhatan - Baba (the 12th century), a keshk ( a fortified house) Akuili - Koushuk (the 9th - 13th centuries), Kh aras- Keshk Castle (the 9 th -13th centuries), Durnali ancient settlements ( the 1st I- the 2nd ), Gebekly ancient settlement . Many archeological finds discovered during excavation s of ancient cities can be seen at Merv Historical M useum .
Today Merv is entered into the list of the World L egacy of UNESCO as a well -preserved ancient center of the Great Silk Road .
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