Forwarding tours in Turkmenistan.

«The Seljuk empire stretched from the Aral to the Mediterranean and controlled most of the western Silk Route. By the end of the XII century Merv had never been richer nor more populous; the oasis as a whole supported more than a million people. And yet Armageddon was nigh»

Individual excursions across Turkmenistan.

North of here partly hidden by holy saxaul trees, the Mohamad Ibn Zayd mausoleum is named after the founder of the Shiite sect even if it is not his real resting place. Ibn Zayd, a fifth generation descendant of the Prophet died in the VIII century, but the mausoleum dates from the early XII and until the XVI was thought by Sunni Muslims to be a shrine to their imam Mohamad Ibn Hannab.
The cupola was rebuilt in 1936 but the yellow bricks in the north wall and the sea-shell decoration in the mihrab in the east wall are original. Outside the mausoleum are the remains of an even older caravanserai and kitchen.
These housed and fed pilgrims during the spring festival of khudajuli, when wishes made the  previous year by trying strips of white cloth to the saxaul trees were supposed to come true. Two centuries after the Mongol invasion, Merv rose again as Abdullah Khan Kala, built by Tamerlane’s son Shahrukh, to which the Turkmens added Bairam Ali Khan Kala at the end of the V century.
Their remains are south of Sultan Kala on the outskirts of modern Bairam Ali. Originally - the central domed building over the grave of one of the revered Shite "holy" who lived at the end of VII - VIII century. Cubiform volume tomb surmounted by a vast dome.
The walls are raw, lined with burnt bricks, cupola and dome construction - brick. The main facade has a special design in the form of three arches and the sloping contours of the panel in a U-shaped frame. Carved figured bricks and hewn out of the calculations girihov brick gives it a rich ornamentation.
The side facades are smooth. In the interior there are traces of ornamental painting, and Kufic inscription and masonry arch shaped sails. Later, the mausoleum are attached to the premises and namogilnikom memorial mosque devoid of any decoration.
Near the ruins Mohamad Ibn Zayd mausoleum of Sardoba XI - XII centuries.

Authority:
Bernshtam A.N. «History-archeologic sketches Central Tien-Shan and Pamir-Alay». “ Religious and spiritual monuments of the Central Asia». The author of M. Khashimov. Publishing house " Saga ", 2001 Tolstov S.P. «Ancient Khoresm», 1848. Tolstov S.P. «On traces Ancient Khorezm civilizations», М.-L., 1948.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.