Murche is an abandoned village in the Ahal Region of Turkmenistan.[1][2] The site is famed for the Mausoleum of Zengi Baba.[1][3]
History
editUpon construction of the Karakum Canal to its north in the 1960s, inhabitants of Murche settled at a new site closer to the canal.[1] Murche was left to ruins and crumbling mud-walls and doorways are all that survives.[1]
Turkmen archaeologists have rebuilt a mud-tower and fireplace in traditional style — imparting feels of antiquity.[1]
Mausoleum of Zengi Baba
editThe most preeminent shrine of Zangi Baba, this mausoleum dates either from the 13th-14th centuries, when bricks taken from earlier establishments were put to reuse, or the 10th-11th centuries and then reconstructed a few centuries later.[1]
It is a square building with an over-span dome — transition between walls and dome is marked with four niche-separated squinches.[1] The cenotaph is tiled with different geometric patterns.[1] Outside the mausoleum, a large collection of ovoid objects (prob. cannon balls; ascribed to be dinosaur eggs in local tradition) and stones of peculiar appearance (esp. ammolites) are preserved and imparted with sacred functions.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Brummell, Paul (2005). Turkmenistan. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 117–118. ISBN 978-1-84162-144-9.
- ^ Durabov, S. (1994). "On the structures in Merche". Turkmen Journal of Arxhaeology. 4: 45–56.
- ^ Muradov, Ruslan (2017-01-01). "Muradov_Shrines of Kopet-Dag_Syyahat_5-6_2017.pdf".
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Further reading
edit- Ferraton, Matthew (2014-09-14). "Burn Up the Road: Ancient Ruins of Abiwert and Abandon Village of Murche; Turkmenistan, Central Asia". Burn Up the Road. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- Laren and Mike (2009-07-03). "A Journey to the Caspian, Dinosaur Eggs, and a long road across the Kara Kum Desert | ATC". Retrieved 2021-12-06.