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

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Upon 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

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The 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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Durabov, S. (1994). "On the structures in Merche". Turkmen Journal of Arxhaeology. 4: 45–56.
  3. ^ Muradov, Ruslan (2017-01-01). "Muradov_Shrines of Kopet-Dag_Syyahat_5-6_2017.pdf". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading

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