The railroad and the high-speed highway between Gyzylarbat and Bereket in the Balkan region of Turkmenistan run parallel to each other, passing near the barely discernible ruins of the medieval city of Ferawa. Overlooking these ruins looms Mount Ezzetdag, crowned by a winding path visible even from the speeding trains and cars. This trail climbs upward to a gleaming white shrine nestled among the rocks—the sacred site of Parau-Bibi. Shrouded in a misty haze, the shrine seems to hover in mid-air. Built on a narrow, elevated rocky ledge where a spring once flowed, this site is a revered monument. Its waters were believed to have healing properties.
Parau-Bibi is not a mausoleum—no one is buried there. Instead, it functions more as a mosque, evidenced by the presence of a mihrab, a pointed niche in the wall indicating the direction of prayer. The shrine’s name, however, is not a personal one. It derives from the abandoned city of Parau, adapted into the Turkmen language with the honorific “bibi,” meaning “lady” or “respected one.” Over time, the shrine became associated with a saintly figure—Parau-Bibi, regarded as the protector of women, particularly those who are pregnant or wish to conceive.
Ethnographer Sergey Demidov explains, “Pilgrims came here not only from nearby areas but often from other regions as well.” Within the dome-shaped sanctuary of Parau-Bibi, a carpeted curtain conceals a niche in the wall. Narrowing as it extends, the niche appears to delve deep into the rock. According to legend, it was here that Saint Parau-Bibi sought refuge from enemies of Islam. Her pursuers were turned to stone by divine intervention, their petrified forms scattered at the base of the mountain trail.
Yet, historian Galina Pugachenkova believed the site’s veneration predates the spread of Islam in the Khorasan region and the construction of the Arab fortress at Ferawa. “The site’s origins lie in the worship of water, an essential element for agricultural communities,” she suggested. The addition of a mosque formalized its integration into the sphere of Islamic sacred sites, while echoes of ancient beliefs persisted in the rituals of Turkmen women who continued their pilgrimages to Parau-Bibi.
In pre-Islamic times, the area was likely dedicated to Anahita, the Zoroastrian deity of water, fertility, and motherhood. Representing the cosmic waters, Anahita symbolized maternal and generative forces. Her cult left enduring traces in the beliefs of the region’s inhabitants. The connection between water, fertility, and divine femininity endured in the collective consciousness, even as Islam reshaped the spiritual landscape.
The name Anahita also bears celestial significance in ancient Iranian astrology, corresponding to the planet Venus. Similarly, in ancient Rome, Venus was the goddess of beauty, love, fertility, and prosperity. When 19th-century European archaeologists unearthed small figurines of robust women with exaggerated feminine features, carved from bone, ivory, or soft stone, they dubbed them “Venuses.” These sculptures, often interpreted as symbols of fertility, evoke the archetype of the Mother Goddess.
The Mother Goddess metaphorically represented nature itself. Her earliest depictions, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000–10,000 years ago), reflect profound faith in her as the source of life. By 25,000 BCE, her sculptures emphasized exaggerated female forms, underscoring her association with fertility and motherhood. These figurines celebrated the nurturing and life-giving aspects of the feminine divine.
The name Anahita also bears celestial significance in ancient Iranian astrology, corresponding to the planet Venus. Similarly, in ancient Rome, Venus was the goddess of beauty, love, fertility, and prosperity. When 19th-century European archaeologists unearthed small figurines of robust women with exaggerated feminine features, carved from bone, ivory, or soft stone, they dubbed them “Venuses.” These sculptures, often interpreted as symbols of fertility, evoke the archetype of the Mother Goddess.
The Mother Goddess metaphorically represented nature itself. Her earliest depictions, dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000–10,000 years ago), reflect profound faith in her as the source of life. By 25,000 BCE, her sculptures emphasized exaggerated female forms, underscoring her association with fertility and motherhood. These figurines celebrated the nurturing and life-giving aspects of the feminine divine.
According to American prehistorian Marija Gimbutas, these statuettes were not mere fertility talismans but profound symbols of life, death, and regeneration. They embodied the cyclical renewal of life, a concept deeply rooted in ancient spirituality. The iconography of the Paleolithic Mother Goddess evolved during the Neolithic era with the advent of agriculture and pottery, giving rise to clay figurines that were mass-produced and used in sacred rituals.
Archaeological discoveries in southern Turkmenistan attest to the complex symbolic systems surrounding the worship of the Mother Goddess. Neolithic representations often featured prominent breasts or were adorned with geometric motifs such as chevrons and zigzag lines, symbols repeated over millennia. These artifacts were studied in detail by archaeologists Vadim Masson and Viktor Sarianidi, whose seminal work, Central Asian Terracottas of the Bronze Age, cataloged figurines from ancient settlements like Altyn-Depe, Namazga-Depe, and Anau. Their research demonstrated the enduring legacy of the feminine pantheon across millennia.
Such figurines, likely domestic idols or protective amulets, were highly personalized. Excavations at the Chalcolithic site of Yylgynly-Depe in southern Turkmenistan, led by archaeologist Natalia Solovyova, unearthed hundreds of terracotta statuettes, including the distinctive “singing priestess” with an open mouth, seated with outstretched legs. This figurine belongs to a tradition spanning regions such as Balochistan, Iran, and Syria. By the Bronze Age, Sumerian mythology introduced the name Inanna, the Great Goddess of vegetation and fertility, who played a central role in agrarian rituals, including the sacred marriage.
The Akkadian Empire of the 24th century BCE revived the cult of the Great Goddess, spreading it across Mesopotamia and beyond. During this time, in southern Turkmenistan, Neolithic “goddesses with extended legs” were replaced by Bronze Age figurines with outstretched arms, symbolizing a new divine image. Despite their schematic forms, these figurines incorporated details absent in earlier representations, emphasizing the head and facial features.
By the late 20th century, extraordinary finds began emerging from northern Afghanistan, once the land of Bactria. These included intricately carved figurines of opulent matrons, associated with the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) or the Oxus Civilization, uncovered by Viktor Sarianidi in Margiana. Alongside seals and amulets depicting winged women or deities atop leopards, lions, or snakes, these statues embodied the divine feminine’s enduring presence in ancient cultures. Often found in burial sites, they attest to a tradition that revered the Mother Goddess as the eternal source of life and renewal.
