The Murghab river flows out of the mountains of Afghanistan and dies in the sands of the Karakum desert, and where it fans out into a delta lies the oasis of Merv, in what is now southern Turkmenistan. For thousands of years people have farmed here, building cities one beside another as rivers shifted and empires came and went. Takhirbaj Tepe is one of the oldest of these settlements, a mound in the northern part of the oasis dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, long before the great medieval city that made Merv famous. It forms part of the State Historical and Cultural Park Ancient Merv, listed by UNESCO in 1999, alongside sites such as Yaz Tepe and Gobekli Tepe nearby.
Merv reached its peak in the twelfth century as a capital of the Seljuk empire, and by some accounts was one of the largest cities in the world at the time. In 1221 it was destroyed by the Mongols, with a massacre so terrible that the city never fully recovered. Today, the vast site is a landscape of crumbling mud walls, mounds and monuments: the great mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar with its double dome, the strange corrugated walls of the Kyz Kala fortresses, and walls stretching for miles across the desert.
Turkmenistan is one of the most closed countries in the world, and travel there needs serious planning. Tourist visas usually require a letter of invitation and a guide, while many overland travellers on motorbikes use a short transit visa, which forces a tight schedule. Check current rules well in advance. Fuel is cheap, though not always easy to find off the main roads, and roads vary from new highways to badly broken stretches with deep potholes.
The landscape is flat and dusty, with cotton fields, irrigation channels and desert. Summers are fiercely hot, often well above forty degrees, while winters can be cold, with occasional snow. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for a visit.
The nearest city is Mary, the modern successor to Merv, with fuel, hotels and markets. Try plov, rice cooked with meat and carrots, or shashlik grilled over coals, and drink green tea, which is offered everywhere and helps in the heat. Carry plenty of water when exploring the site.