Dekhistan

During travel around Turkmenistan, it is hardly possible to imagine the barren plain of the Misrian plateau, which is part of the southeastern part of the Caspian Sea, at some point in history there was a flourishing fertile oasis. But if you look from the height of a flight, then it will immediately become clear that there are traces of ancient irrigation: channel channels, squares of irrigated fields, where, according to researchers, many crops - from wheat to rice - were grown. Scientists have already been able to collect enough data about the land of Dehistan and the fact that it has been used for about three thousand years. In addition to this, it also became clear that once the fields were abandoned and cultivated again centuries later.

In the tour you will learn that there are 3 historical periods of this area in Turkmenistan. the first is the Bronze Age (II millennium BC), which continues until the fall of the Parthian state, when this territory was called Hyrcania. The second era is associated with the state of the Sassanids and covers the 3rd-7th centuries A.D. At that time, representatives of different tribes lived here. The remains of their settlements in the form of huge sliding mounds can be found now in the vast plateau Misrian. The third era, from the 8th to the 14th century, was the most interesting from the point of view of archaeologists since more traces were left. Already by the find of medieval Dehistan they say that the lands were very developed, but this continued until the water ran dry.

Archaeologists have discovered about forty of the cities of this territory, and some of them are not inferior to medieval cities in size. Most of them are not inferior to other famous cities Merv, Gurganj, Samarkand. You can have a tour to them too. In addition for you to know they used burnt brick not only in public buildings, but also in citizens' dwellings when erecting walls about a thousand years ago. Relying only on a small part of the monuments, it demonstrates that the architecture of Dehistan as a large historical and cultural region with a rich past undoubtedly had its own special look, features and style. During the tour you will learn that the village of Mashhad Misrian is the largest monument of medieval Dehistan. Taking into account the Arabic manuscripts that have survived to this day, they say that the capital of Misrian was also called Dehistan from the 9th century. The central part was surrounded by a double defensive wall with semicircular towers and a moat, occupying about 200 hectares which was a classic fortification. The fortress included a vast suburban area. In addition to the craft and other areas, you can also highlight gardens, parks and a market that were located in southern rabad, and traces of dense residential buildings are visible in the western part. Due to the fact that eastern and southern rabads were crowded, irrigation canals and the main canal passed, providing the city with water. There was also a madrasah, the only one known in Turkmenistan, which dates back to the pre-Mongol period. And a huge number of different types of clay products that made a distinctive feature of archaeological finds in Dehistan. In addition to the glazed ones, bronze pots, lamps and other metal products with artistic processing were also found, as well as a number of glass products. All these findings suggest that the level of development was very high. Here one could see not only irrigation systems, but also water supply and sewage systems, baths, and brick roads were paved. This city suffered from the Mongols, although it could be reborn, but was soon abandoned again about 6 centuries ago. Unfortunately, there were not so many impressive buildings that today have significant artistic value as vivid examples of Islamic culture. First of all, this is the mosque of Muhammad II, the Shah of Khorezm and two minarets next to it. It is also worth noting several medieval mausoleums in ancient a cemetery seven kilometers from the settlement. The funeral mosque of Mashhad-Ata with magnificent decor of very delicate works dating back to the 9th-10th centuries was also of particular importance. You can visit this incredible cultural monument that also called Shir-Kabir in the travel, It is considered to be a classical period in the architecture of Central Asia.