MERV ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

It is, of course, for this magnificent archaeological site, classified as UNESCO World Heritage, that tourists are turning to Mary. The entrance costs 30 manats, which must be added 50 manats to make photos. A car and a guide are required to survey the site, which stretches over 100 km ². Try to quickly assess the cultural knowledge and language competence of your guide: for a novice, the site visit will be a bit hollow if it is not commented.

History. The first traces of urbanization date from the Achaemenid dynasty, in the century before our era. The fortress turned into a town, and became known as Margiane or Margush in the time of Alexander the Great. It then welcomed a genuine mixture of people and religions, as evidenced by the various religious sites uncovered during excavations (Buddhist stupas, Zoroastrians temples). The city continued to develop to reach its peak in the th and th centuries under the dynasty of Seljoukides Turks. Merv was then the most important city in the Islamic world after Baghdad, with a population of nearly two million.

This rise and prosperity experienced a brutal end with the arrival of Mongols in 1221. In retaliation for an affront suffered three years earlier, Mongolian armies have made it a duty to completely shave the city and eliminate the least of its inhabitants. The splendid Merv never gave up.

The sites. They can be addressed by following their chronology. Forteresse fortress remains only Erk Kala, a 800-metre long wall that surrounded the citadel of the th century B.C. The palace of the Iranian dynasty was in the heart of the circle defined by the ramparts. Walls drawing a very broad concentric circle around Erk Kala date from the period of Alexander the Great. He partially destroyed the old town to build his «Alexandria Margiane». The sites are presented in alphabetical order and not according to the meaning of the visit.