Our last stop in Turkmenistan was a night’s stopover in Mary, a small town towards the east of the country. Mary is about a 3+hour drive away from the capital of Ashgabat and getting there was a bit of an ordeal – first we had to brave the long 4-hour ride from the Gates of Hell in Darvaza towards Ashgabat, and then we took another bus eastwards to Mary.
The city of Mary is pretty nondescript – it is one of the larger cities in Turkmenistan founded by the Russians in the late 1800s, not as ostentatious as Ashgabat but still home to some unusual buildings – but more importantly it’s the gateway to another city called Merv where we saw lots of ancient ruins that hint at Turkmenistan’s illustrious history.
Thanks to our intrepid young guide Arsen (he’s only 14 years old but a much more interesting tour guide compared to our older historian guide) who took us around Merv and showed us some of its sights in a morning before we headed over to Uzbekistan (Travelling to and from Turkmenistan was… an experience both at its land checkpoints and airport).
As always, check out the Youtube video my travel mate Oheyjelly made, or see my IG story highlights for more on Merv.
What’s so special about Merv?
Merv is a UNESCO treasure, one of the oldest and most well-preserved cities found along the ancient Silk Road that’s seen a slew of ups and downs through the centuries – it was a centre for science and art until Genghis Khan came along and destroyed it in the 1200s. The ancient structures and ruins in Merv date pretty far back (4,000 years!), though not much remains standing so you do need a decent guide to tell you some stories and prod that imagination a bit.
Here’s a map of Mary and Merv to give you a sense of where everything is. After Merv we took another looooong drive up north towards Farap and the border with Uzbekistan.
Merv itself is about an hour’s drive away from Mary, and you’ll definitely need a driver to shuttle you around the various ruins here as there isn’t any other means of public transport out in these parts.
Greater Kyz Kala
The greater Kyz Kala is quite eye catching because its exterior looks like a ginormous termite mound as they are made out of mud and have these towering angular pillars. This fortified palace dates back to the 600s and there is a lesser Kyz Kala (smaller) nearby but we didn’t go to see it.
The interior was split into two levels with a central courtyard and rooms around it, and there was even a well in this fortress. They believe that this fortress mostly housed women in it.
Ashkab Mausoleums
Next stop were the mausolea of the Ashkab brothers. You could consider them early Islamic missionaries of sorts from the 7th century. The mausoleum portion with the tombs are the smaller buildings in front, and the larger arches behind are the Timurid style iwans (gateway arches) that were built later in the 15th century – these arches were something we would see more of in Uzbekistan.
Are there actual bodies in here? Who’s to say, but there are some very intricately decorated tombs within. Also the iwans behind are not all original either, as they were left in disrepair for a long time and only restored more recently – look closely at the tiles to see the old 1600s vs newer 1990s.
Erk Kala
The central fortress of Merv is known as the Erk Kala, or more accurately, what remains of the original central fortress. The best view is from the top of a small but steep hill.
These days this place is basically a viewpoint of the surrounding Merv area, but if you look closely at the land around the knoll, you can see different layers of walls of the fortress and cities that once stood here. You have to use your imagination a bit, but it makes you wonder what our current homes would look like centuries into the future – what would be left behind to show that we once lived there?
Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum
Last sight of Merv was also one of its most well-preserved – the Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum dating back to the 12th century. There was a ticket booth at the entrance!
The interior is both more grand that you’d expect, but also more rundown than something of similar importance in other countries. I’ve always loved the Islamic style of architecture with the intricate geometric designs, and this mausoleum was no exception.
The walls of this mausoleum proved super durable and even when the Mongols invaded, they apparently couldn’t destroy it. There is even a bolthole which leads to the outside in case of trouble – of course it’s been sealed up and people have been tossing money in for some reason.
Where to stay: Hotel Margus
We stayed one night in the town of Mary in Hotel Margus, which is a pretty nice hotel – newer and better maintained that Ak Altyn in Ashgabat for sure. Also we had just spent the previous night in the desert yurt with its hard beds and lack of ensuite toilets, so this room was pretty much like heaven.
There is a hotel restaurant where we had breakfast, and a lobby bar for drinks where we tried the local Turkmenistan Zip beer. Generally quite light but still tasted ok, definitely much better than the Tajik Yak beer we tried later on!
Our first night here we had a bit of time and freedom to go walk around a little. About 10 mins walk away from the hotel was the Cafe Caynek – you definitely couldn’t quite tell what it looked like because the exterior was a somsa stall, but the staff took us upstairs to a nicer looking room with tables and we had dinner here, a variety of somsa (the local puff pastry which has spinach, meat or pumpkin fillings) and kebabs.
Have you been to Mary or Merv? Read more of my Turkmenistan posts to learn more about my time in one of the least visited countries in the world.
