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Traces of human activity dating back to the 4th-2nd millennia BC show that long before the beginning of the Parthian Empire the area of Nisa was already colonized by sedentary populations. It is believed that there was a large settlement there as early as the 1st millennium BCE. Nisa underwent a major development in the mid 3rd century BC, when impressive buildings were erected by the Parthians, who decided to build a royal residence, probably the first of the Parthian dynasty. The name of the site, Mithradatkert, and an indication of the date of its foundation are known from an inscription written on one of the 2,700 administrative ceramics (ostraka) found at Nisa. Mithradatkert means ‘the fortress of Mithidrat,’ referring to King Mithradat I (174-138 BC).
The down side is that is it another place the Mongols did for, and after several thousand years it went the way of many of these ancient places although it is believed that there are lots of things yet to be dug up.
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The place is on an outcrop with a huge flat plain below and huge mountains in the distance over which you could fine Iran.
Next is the mausoleum of the late president (the helicopter guy) Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov died in 2006 and lies with his family in Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque or Gypjak Mosque in the village of Gypjak about 7 kilometres west of the city. I think the mosque now dwarfs the village which was his birth place. The current President is less of a totalitarian and you see less of him than his predecessor.
There are of course no pictures allowed inside but again the gardeners (who outnumber the visitors) are all completely covered up to protect themselves from the sun and the heat.
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PS don’t even think about using the toilets.
Turkmenistan 12
We are visiting a place called Kunya Urgench which was the capitol of the once powerful Khorezm Kingdom, dont worry I have not idea about any of this either but the book says it has been here since 6th century BC which probably makes it the oldest are a we will see on this trip.
This place is also the first time we encounter history we “might” know something about. You should have heard about Genghis Khan well it should be Chinghis Khan so that’s that cleared up. Anyway you know he was a bloodthirsty type and liked conquering things well this place is one of them.
The Shah responded by shaving the heads of the Mongol ambassadors, and sent their interpreter home without a head
The Payback:
When he learned about the massacre of his envoy, Genghis nodded and quietly went off into the mountains to count to 10 and compose himself.
After thinking it through for a few days, he returned refreshed, then gave Khwarezmid a pounding unlike any the world would see until World War II.
To avenge his lost messengers, Genghis deployed three of his “four dogs” of war, which included Subutai, better known as the greatest general who ever lived. After laying siege to Inalchuq’s citadel for six months with newly-acquired Chinese technologies,
Then he went after the Shah. Genghis Khan stormed into Khwarezmia with up to 200,000 of the best trained soldiers in the world, destroyed an army five times his size, and even diverted rivers to wipe the Sultan’s birthplace off the map.
So the great Khwarezmian Empire dissolved in a campaign that lasted less than six months.
Although always ruthless, Genghis Khan was especially vindictive; the great cities of the empire–Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Merv and Urgench–were destroyed.
You have never heard of Merv and Urgench because the destruction was that thorough.
(A town in northern Iran became so crowded with refugees from the Mongols that it grew to some prominence: Tehran).
While the Khwarezmian Empire is not remembered, Genghis Khan’s visit there is. It still is studied in military science as the inspiration and prototype of modern mechanized warfare. Blitzkrieg should be a Mongolian word.
So now you know =========================
The photos are not from the original settlement (unsurprisingly)
but from the post Timurid period (there’s that name again)
This is the Turabeg Khanum Mausoleum described in my book as and I quote “One of Central Asia’s most Perfect buildings” a giant calendar, 365
sections, 24 pointed arches 12 large arches and 4 big windows not sure anyone
would have worked this out from what I saw but maybe after renovation it will
return to its former glory.
Gutlug Timur Minaret built 1320’s 59 meters tall (it used to be taller).
Urgench 11 (New)
Turkmenistan 10
Breakfast is a surprise because even at 6:30 the place is busy, well its not a surprise that the people filling the place are Germans but lucky of us they are not off to the border like us they are headed in the other direction.
Well “it is what it is” is my response so bring it on.
After an hour or so on the coach we arrive at the border 21 people all dragging their bags towards a young chap in a nice smart uniform with a big shiny machinegun strapped across his chest this is the “before you get to the border check, check”
Now in reality each passport should not take that long however they dont give them back until all of them have been processed so this does take a little time. This is extended as on of our group (no names Michael) seems to have a different passport number to the one on the list which seems to be catastrophic and something which can not be rectified here at the border so the member will be left behind in Uzbekistan on his own whilst the guide tried to sort it out.
After arranging transport back to the hotel and someone to look after them we are making sure the team member has lots water, fruit, boiled sweets, telephone numbers and are saying our goodbyes where behold a solution is found (after the guide takes some staff member away into a quiet corned and talks to them) and we all get back in line excitement over for now.
When you enter Uzbekistan you fill out a form which notes all the different currencies you have and you do the same on exit and they using a calculator work out how much you have spent. They then put this back onto the form you gave them stamp it twice and let you go to the next checkpoint where
they type all your details into their computer and eventually stamp your visa
(I never told you how much fun we had getting the visa in the first place, another time perhaps).
Once stamped you get to go and wait outside whilst everyone else goes through the same process. Now some of our party seem to be taking out more money than they brought in which is a bad thing and there is plenty of changes being made and lots of head scratching going on.
We arrive at the Turkmenistan checkpoint and our passports are collected again
and taken away again (we all have visas so this should not present too much of
an issue and 45 minutes later they come back and we are scanned through with
passports stamped. Only one more young man in uniform with a gun to go and we are now getting onto our next coach for another adventure.
All in all about 3 hours which our guide says is not bad.
No pictures sorry its not the done thing at borders
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There were also plenty of gold teeth on view
The small amounts of local vodka which were consumed I believe may have added to the joviality.
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A lot of very delicate tile work and plenty of things to delight the eye even a carriage acquired from the Tsar of Russia and a Medieval Friday Mosque.
We are advised that nominally there are three types of mosques an Everyday Mosque, a Friday Mosque and a Special Celebration mosque.
in return they show me how to clamber across the roof tops of the houses below us which gives me some great shots from a different angle.
OK job done and a quick dash back to the hotel for a shower before dinner which Jonathan says will be special so who knows what we will end up eating.
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We are enjoying Khiva very much and spend the rest of the time hanging around and drinking coffee watching the locals and haggling for souvenirs.
They have lots of carpets, wall hangings, paintings chess sets and trinkets although i am biding my time until we get to Buchars where Jonathan says the is more choice and keener prices.
As the day starts to wind down we are hatching a plan to come back later to try and get some sunset shots from a highpoint we have spotted before meeting up with the group for dinner somwhere in the center ofthe town.
Khiva 6
and here are the walls of Khiva
gates we are confronted by a maze of streets which eventually lead us through
ruins and great mosques. It is a very picturesque place with several Madrassa
museums minarets and the slave cells inner citadel (Kunya Ark) and quite a few
people selling items which they are touting as hand made.
Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. There is a picture below notice to the right hand side of the picture these are tombs which are a ruse as attackers were not allowed to walk over graves and so it was a sort of extra protection for the city.
The inner town, or Itchan Kala, is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls date back to the late 17th century and attain the height of 10 meters. The old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, mostly dating from the 18th or the 19th centuries.
Djuma Mosque, for instance, was established in the 10th century and rebuilt in
1788-89, although its celebrated hypostyle hall still retains 112 columns taken
from ancient structures.
It’s difficult to imagine what exactly ancient Khiva was like, considering the historical areas were restored to a scrubbed and squeaky-clean look by the
Soviets in the 1970s.
It is not often the Soviets are praised for their work but this time you have to take your hats off to them an this place could so easily have been lost given how close Bukhara and Samarkand are to it.
The clustered array of mosques, madrassahs and tiled minarets within a area of less than 3km give you a sense of how crowded and bustling this town must have been throughout its history. It was noted as being very crowded with so many people inside the walls it was difficult to make your way around.