The first thing you see as you drive up to the historical sites is a huge wall that, I'm guessing, is more than twenty feet tall. Every so often there are structures built into the wall that had to have been guard towers. This wall extends as far as the eye can see. I'm not sure if this is the wall the guide was referring to, but one of them (yes, there is more than one) was built by an old king, one of the first to build a structure in the area, in order to preserve the oasis, flora and fauna that he found there. Though it is nothing but desert today, it had lush greenery and forests then, or that is what we were told.
One of the walls was said to contain a great city that included great scholars, happy people, and was the center of civilization during its day. The fortress and the great city that once was in these walls was eventually destroyed by the Moguls, to the point where tens of thousands of people were killed. The great king within the fortress walls was able to keep the Moguls from invading initially, but then their water was cut off. The Moguls told him that they would invade "peacefully" if the great walls to the fortress were opened. The King had no other choice and this beacon of civilization and research was quickly destroyed completely and set on fire. Unfortunately, tales like this (Monguls destroying great civilizations) seem to be common around Turkmenistan.
We went from the wall to the first large fortress, which is said to be the Maiden's fortress. You can still clambor up the stairs to the second floor and see the basement and other structures. It is very, very tall-- about ninety or so feet. The outside is very striking and has ripples built into it in order to adjust and deal with the wind pounding against it. It almost looks like a series of mud brick columns that were built very close to each other. What is most incredible is that the entire structure is built out of mud brick and has survived for centuries.
Within a five minute walk is another fortress, though it is not as well preserved. This fortress is known as the Young Man's Fortress. Turkmen love stories and tales, and the happier one for these two is that there was a group of young men in the one fortress and a group of young ladies in the other. For great feats of bravery, a young man could choose his bride, and the common challenge was that if a man could throw an apple over the wall of the maiden's fortress (keep in mind, this is five- ten minute walk away, so a long distance, plus the height of the wall), he could choose any maiden he wanted. Well, the young men wanted the ladies so much and were so much in love that they kept trying and trying until they devised a catapult like device to get the apples over the other wall. Then all the men and women were happy when the men could choose their brides.
Stories such as these pervade the ruins, moreso than any real history that I heard, and they are all very beautiful. Our last major stop was at one of the old mausoleums. Though it was also ransacked during the time of the Moguls, you can still see some of the old tilework and designs that once were throughout the inside. It is a pilgrimage site for some people in the country. The legend of the king who built the mausoleum goes like this. A King fell in love with a fairy but was told that he had to obey three rules in order to marry her. The first was never to look at her when she was walking. The second was never to look at her while she was doing her hair, and the third was never to embrace her.
The King promised and the two married and were very happy and very much in love. Then the King broke the first rule and looked at his wife while she was walking. He saw that she was not walking, but was flying and floating along. She was very, very angry when she found out, but loved him so eventually forgave him, after he promised not to break the other two. Well, he eventually broke the second rule, and saw that while brushing her hair, she took her head off her shoulders to do so. He was not disgusted for he loved his wife very, very much. She was again angry, but forgave him.
Finally, the King could no longer resist expressing his love for his wife and embraced her. She told him that she had to leave, for he had broken all three rules and she could not remain with him. He was heartbroken and could not stand to be parted from her. She loved him very much, and she told him that if he built a structure that was very tall, and there was a hole for her to come down and look through, she would always meet him once a week.
So the King, bereft, built the mausoleum, and there is a hole in the ceiling. He was said to visit her every week on Fridays and became happy, for he was able to speak with his love. When he was dying, he asked to be brought to the mauoleum and begged to be able to speak with her one last time. She heard his plea and came down in time to see him.
Unfortunately I can't remember the full ending of the story, but such romance and tragedy is what makes Turkmen stories so beautiful and so common in the country.
The final two stops we made were impromptu and had nothing to do with the ruins. We were driving along and saw a herd of camels that had to have about a hundred in them. We all got out of the car and, very excited, began to take pictures. The boys in charge of the herd told us to come around and that they had a camel that was trained to allow people to mount her. We walked around the stream and over the low wall (that still went from the old fortress) and got to mount and (in my case) just stand next to the camel. There is a great photo of me looking nervously at the camel as her head came around. They are known to spit and bite. I was very excited to see so many camels, though!
The second stop was to a local store to buy this special type of cookie. Our guide told us that they were the best in Turkmenistan, and they were very good. They are soft, kind of like a firm cake, and have a glaze on them. Mine had honey in them. They were very good and we happily carried bags of the cookies back to the airport.
Mary had a very different feel from Ashgabat. You can feel the history pressing down from the past, as you can see ruins on the edge of town and see more of the neighborhoods that don't seem to exist as much in Ashgabat. There were fewer statues and grand marble buildings, which was nice to see as we got more of a feeling of the actual people in the country. I'm told that Mary is the second largest city in Turkmenistan, and it was a true pleasure to be able to tour, even if just for a day or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment