Kunya-Urgench and Merv, two high quality silk road tresures

Kunya-Urgench and Merv are far apart and not closely connected, but both played important roles on the ancient Silk Road. Kunya-Urgench is situated in north-western Turkmenistan. Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm region, part of the Achaemenid Empire. Merv is located east of Ashgabad and served as the eastern capital of the Seljuk Sultanate in the eleventh century. UNESCO protects both sites.

Daşoguz

To reach Kunya-Urgench, we had to take an internal flight to Daşoguz, near the Uzbekistan border. There are big contrasts between Ashgabad and the smaller cities in Turkmenistan. Yes, you do have some white marble buildings and gold statues of a president. But people are a bit more relaxed; cars do not have to be white, and you do not see guards on every corner.

However, they do like flashy buildings and neon lights. I walked around the neighbourhood in the afternoon, and most people were quite reserved, but you could see they were a little bit curious. Like this man on his bicycle, he smiled broadly, happy to have his picture taken. We were told not to take pictures of people because they don’t like it. I think it is more the government that does not like to lose control over the country’s human aspects.

At the market

After visiting many Muslim countries around the world, one thing stood out in Turkmenistan. Yes, I know, Turkmenistan is very secular, but still, there is a significant difference. And that the women ran the markets. Women served most stalls; aside from a language barrier, they were neither shy nor pushy. It was mostly young boys who liked to say “Hello”. Since I do not know the languages, I cannot tell, of course, but we were told that most people in this market spoke Uzbek, so our guide had to ask them to speak Russian so she could understand them.

Kunya-Urgench

Now it was time to visit the historic sites. Urgench contains a series of monuments, mainly from the 11th to 16th centuries, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums, and a 60-m-high minaret. The monuments testify to outstanding achievements in architecture and craftsmanship whose influence reached Iran and Afghanistan, and later the architecture of the Mughal Empire of 16th-century India.

The minaret looks quite plain, but it has a pattern in the bricks and tiles all the way to the top. There were not many tourists here, but a few groups of Turkmenistani visitors. Some groups consisted of only women. And I guess that when a man did not guard them, they could be freer to take contact with us. We took part in so many group pictures and even selfies. They really thought we looked different from them. The interesting buildings were quite spread out, so we had some nice walks between the sights.

The overall integrity of Kunya-Urgench as an archaeological site results from its historical condition. Accordingly, Kunya-Urgench is considered to have retained its integrity better than most other sites in Central Asia, as its defining attributes remain. The details in the buildings are fantastic.

Mary

Mary is a city in an oasis in the Karakum Desert. It was founded in 1884, about 30 kilometres from the ruins of the ancient, abandoned great city of Merv. Even here, we go through with the usual white marble buildings. A great library, unfortunately, is closed most of the time, but the building looks impressive. They also have a huge new mosque. The building I want to show here, though, is the Virgin Mary Orthodox Church. A richly decorated Russian church built in 1900.

Merv

Merv is the oldest known city in Central Asia, with origins dating back over 4,000 years. The city has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, serving as the capital of various states, and by the 12th century, it was the largest city in the world with a population of half a million. Merv was also part of Alexander the Great’s empire in the 300s BCE.

The ruins of the metropole Merv cover a vast area, and the distances between the truly interesting structures are great. Therefore, it is easiest to have a car to get around. Many of the structures are still covered with sand, so that the first impression can be somewhat disappointing. The Great Kyz Kala was an elite palatial suburban residence, perhaps intended for the governor of Merv.

The historical sites of Merv can be divided into two main categories: fortress ruins and mausoleums. The desert people didn’t build with eternity in mind. Their most important building material was clay soil, which does not stand the test of time. So, it is maybe not so much what you can see of ancient structures that will impress you here, but more the thought of what this place has meant for the history of humanity.

This concludes my trip to Turkmenistan. It was such an interesting country to visit. From the crazy Ashgabat, to the Darvaza Gas Crater and the Yangykala Canyon. Ancient history, Soviet inheritance, and dictators of the worst kind. Still, people live here, most of them have no choice, and we should remember that. And spread the word and support wherever we can. My next trip to Central Asia will be to Uzbekistan in the autumn of 2026.