Merv
ancient city site
In the 11th century the Seljuk Turks appropriated Merv, an ancient city near Ashgabat, as the center of a dominion that stretched from Afghanistan to Egypt. Merv became one of the most important Muslim cities in the world.
Oldest fortification dating to Alexander the Great
In the autumn of 1220, Genghis Khan captured Termiz on the Oxus River (present-day Amu Darya) and in the early part of the winter was active in the upper reaches of that river in what is today Tajikistan.
Grand Kyz
Kala
(7th century, used until the Seljuks, 11th century)
Small Kyz Kala
At the beginning of 1221 he crossed the Oxus into northern Afghanistan and captured the ancient city of Balkh. Soon after the fall of Samarqand he had dispatched his elder sons north into Khwarizm to lay siege to Muhammad's capital. He now sent his youngest son into eastern Persia to sack and destroy the great and populous cities of Merv (now Mary, Turkmenistan) and Nishapur (now Neyshābūr, Iran).
land around the old mausoleums used as modern Muslim grave yard
Mausoleum
of Muhammel ibn Zevdin
(12th century)
Muslin shrine where petitions are placed on the tree
caretaker of the shrine
his residence
Bazar in the modern town of Mary
typical dwelling
child sleeping
his brother and sister
now tea hostesses
