Mary
Mary is the fourth largest city in Turkmenistan. The city is a major railway junction.
The history of the city of Mary dates back to the first millennium BC, when the city of Merv appeared 30 kilometers from here. The city stood on the banks of the Murghab River, it was the main satrapian city of Margiana (which received its name from the city of Merv) and the capital of the Seljuk state. In the first centuries of our era, the city was one of the central cities of Parthia, occupying an area of about 60 square kilometers (which is equal to the area of the modern country of San Marino) and was surrounded by several rows of city walls. We have to say that the Merv oasis was inhabited at the end of the third millennium BC and was mentioned in cuneiform texts.
The city of Mary is located in the south of Turkmenistan in the delta of the Murghab River. To the south of the city passes the Karakum Canal. The climate is sharply continental with warm winters and moderately hot summers - the air temperature in the hottest months reaches 30-32 degrees Celsius. The population of the city is about 150 thousand people.
The city is known for its ancient monuments, located in its vicinity. At 30 kilometers east of Mary are the ruins of the most famous in ancient times, the city of Merv. Here you will find the fortress Gyaur-Kala, whose name is translated as “Fortress of the Pagans”; the ancient fortress "Big and Small Kyz-Kala", it seems that their walls are corrugated; Sultan-Kala fortress or “Sultans fortress”, built in 11-12 centuries AD and surrounding the whole of Merv.
Here are the tombs of the brothers Al-Hakim ibn Amr Al-Gifari and Bureida ibn Al-Husseib Al-Aslami Eskhabov, who stood at the origins of Islam and were associates of the Prophet Mohammed. This memorial complex was built in the 15th century and is a mausoleum, in the center of which are located two tombs of black marble, on the center of the back wall there is an inscription “Allah” written in Kuffi language. Away from the tombs there are two directed to the south aivans (verandas), the initial height of which was about 12 meters.
Among the sights of the city of Mary there are monuments to the famous poets Mollanepes, Kemin and Makhtumkuli, as well as the monuments “Motherland”, “Eternal glory” and “Eternal Fire”. To the south of the city of Mary is located the mosque-mausoleum Talhatan-Baba, built in the 11th century.