Balkan

Culture and history info

Dekhistan

Dekhistan is considered the most important medieval oasis of south-west Turkmenistan. Here once was located the City of Misrian which reached its maximum splendour when it belonged to the Shahs of Khoresm. Having been destroyed by the Mongols, It died out at the end of the Xth century Because of the interruption of theIrrigation system.

Geoktchik Depe

During the Bronze Age north-east Iran and the south-west of Turkmenistan are characterised by large urban areas, some of which are notable for specialised crafts (ceramics, metallurgy, working in stone), indicating a high level of technology. The presence of public buildings (palaces, high terraces with a cultural use, notably at Tureng Tepe and Altyn Tepe), great collective works (irrigation) and finally evidence for long distance trade links complete the image of these 'urban societies'.

However, the ceramic evidence differs, pointing to two great cultural areas: one has grey, smooth, hand-made pottery (supposedly one of the indications of Indo-Europeans) west of the Kopet Dagh, especially in north-west Iran (plain of Gurgan); the other has painted ware, not made on a wheel of the Namazgah type from the foothills of the Kopet Dagh, east of Ashqabad. This brilliant period is followed by what is usually called the 'crisis of urbanisation', where at the beginning of the 2nd millennium (Middle and Late Bronze Age) there become apparent considerable modifications in the economy, types of occupation, architecture and material culture of these regions.

Paraw Bibi Shrine

This shrine is one of the most impressive and popular sites of pilgrimage in the country. It is located in western Turkmenistan approximately 20 kilometers northwest of Gizilarbat in the village of Paraw. The actual shrine is set some 100 meters up a rocky mountainside overlooking the village and consists of a white mausoleum-like structure (described in historical sources as a mosque). Next to the shrine is an adjoining chamber with an outside entrance. At the foot of the mountain is a large one-story building which serves as a guest house (mihmanhana, mihman jayi). A roofed platform (bassirma) located nearby the guest house serves as a place where pilgrims congregate and have meals. Near the guest house and adjacent to the village are the remains of the town Ferava/Afraw dating from the ninth century.