In the oasis of Merv, in southern Turkmenistan, the landscape is dotted with strange buildings of mud brick with walls that look like they have been folded or pleated, rising like fortresses from the fields. These are koshks, fortified manor houses built by the landed elite in the early Islamic period, from about the seventh to the tenth centuries, and the corrugated walls were not just decorative: they strengthened the structure and cast shadows that kept the interior cool. Ovliali koshk, near the town of Murgab, is one of them, and like the others it is part of the World Heritage site of Ancient Merv, one of the great cities of the Silk Road.
Merv was a succession of cities built next to each other over two and a half thousand years. Erk Kala, a huge circular earthwork, dates from the Achaemenid period; Gyaur Kala was the city of the Sasanians and early Islamic times; and Sultan Kala was the capital of the Seljuk Turks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when Merv was one of the largest cities in the world. The mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, with its massive dome, still stands among the ruins. In 1221, the Mongols destroyed the city with terrible violence, and it never fully recovered. Today, its ruins lie in a vast area of fields and desert near the modern town of Bayramaly.
The oasis is fed by the Murghab river, which flows from Afghanistan and spreads out into irrigation canals, making cotton, wheat and melons possible in the middle of the desert. The roads around Mary, Bayramaly and Murgab are asphalted, flat and straight, with some poor stretches, and you will share them with cars, trucks, donkey carts and the occasional camel. Turkmenistan's visa rules make independent travel difficult, and most visitors come with a guide, which is a good idea anyway at Merv, because the sites are spread out and hard to understand without help.
Murgab is about eight kilometres away and has fuel and basic shops, and Bayramaly and Mary are larger towns with hotels, restaurants and markets. The heat in summer is intense, so visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Try plov, rice cooked with meat, carrots and onions, and the bread baked in tandoor ovens, eaten fresh and warm.