Looking at the map of any country, one can notice that the network of roads, both past and present, serves as the framework upon which the centers of human settlement and activity rely. Each road has its own destiny and character, shaped by nature, architecture, and, of course, history.
Many paths have been forged over the centuries, representing the shortest and most convenient connections between cities and countries. One such road in Turkmenistan, known in the past as Ali-yol, linked two key points of medieval trade activity—present-day Bayramali and Turkmenabad (formerly known as Chardzhou).
The powerful archaeological sites on the outskirts of these two Turkmen cities were known throughout the Muslim world until the 15th century as Merv and Amul. Between them stretched a chain of caravanserais and other roadside points for nearly two hundred kilometers, catering to the intensive movement of people and goods transported by camels, horses, mules, and donkeys, whether hitched to carts or ridden, slowly traversing the desert from one oasis to another. Such caravans would cover about thirty kilometers in a day, meaning the distance that can be traveled today on a paved highway in two to three hours would take them five to six days, with overnight stays and rest for the pack and draft animals.
How can one find the ancient caravan routes in the desert? They are difficult to spot among modern dirt roads marked by numerous tire tracks. These tracks are chaotic, with multiple branches, typically made by shepherds and hunters—tourists rarely visit such places. And when driving in an off-road vehicle among sand dunes or clay plains, through thickets of saxaul or yandyk, across fields covered with juniper, or through swampy lowlands among reeds, it is almost impossible to see them.
However, they are clearly visible from above, in satellite photographs! Their sharp expression in the terrain suggests significant antiquity. Along these paths, one can find other evidence: pottery from various eras, burials from different times on the slopes of basins, as well as traces of ancient wells. But the best landmarks are the ruins of clay walls of long-forgotten structures that still rise above the horizon.
But let us return to the past. The organization of caravan trade is detailed in the works of historians. Caravans prepared for long journeys very carefully and for a long time: the entire region was informed of the planned trip, groups of willing participants were gathered, and provisions and water were prepared for the journey. Then an experienced guide—a caravan chief—was selected, and a “lucky day” for departure was appointed. Small caravans consisted of several dozen camels, while larger ones could number from several hundred to a thousand. Caravans set off under the protection of armed horsemen and slowly traveled for months from East to West and from West to East.
Caravan trade required complex support. Therefore, caravanserais were built at all segments of the journey in cities and villages. These had rooms (hujras) for merchants and service personnel, shelters for horses, camels, mules, and donkeys, along with necessary fodder and provisions. The caravanserais buzzed with lively business activity: trade contracts were concluded here, caravan chiefs and owners of pack animals offered their services, and one could buy or sell goods in bulk, as well as learn commercial news and prices. Local residents also came to exchange news and listen to stories from travelers. In the evenings, after finishing their business, negotiations, and disputes, people would sit down to relax. Then, in the dimness of the rooms, illuminated by oil lamps (chiraqs) or around a fire in the yard, long tales from seasoned travelers would begin, accompanied by songs from wandering musicians, entertaining the wayfarers.
Leaving Merv, caravans heading northeast towards the Amu Darya did not immediately fall under the influence of the Karakum. Their first stop was usually in the small town of Kushmeykhan (now the ruins of Tyaze Kishman). This was the furthest point of the oasis of the Murghab River, and from there the entire route to Amul lay through sands and steppes. This desolate zone was referred to by merchants as the “Amul Desert.” It was not only low in water but also had scant forage for animals, and, according to medieval geographers, was difficult to traverse. Therefore, as emphasized by Arab authors, well-equipped and strongly fortified stations were built along Ali-yol, sometimes even intermediate stopping points halfway through the caravans’ journeys between major stops. All of them now lie in ruins, some completely scattered or buried in sand, but the path itself has been preserved and can be traced almost throughout the entire route.
The most striking structure, truly grand by medieval standards, is located 15 kilometers north of the modern railway station Ravniy and is now known as Akcha-kala. Scientists have yet to determine what this magnificent caravanserai was called nearly a thousand years ago when it was built. The current Turkmen name can be translated as “White Fortress,” but in the last century, local shepherds referred to it as the “Money Fortress” because they found many ancient coins there. The coins partly helped archaeologists refine the dating of this monument when, in the autumn of 1952, it was first surveyed by a team from the South Turkmenistan Archaeological Expedition (YUTAKE) under the general leadership of Professor Mikhail Masson. However, the primary arguments for determining the age of the monument, given that no inscriptions have survived on it and nothing is known from medieval travelogues, are the building materials, the characteristics of the structures, and the architectural decor. Based on these features, architectural historian Galina Pugachenkova, who led the seventh team of YUTAKE that year, was able to establish that Akcha-kala was built in the second half of the 11th century.
What makes this enormous caravanserai noteworthy? The first thing travelers see as they approach it is the monumental clay facade, 80 meters long, adorned with closely spaced half-columns. Such corrugated walls have been very popular in Merv and its surroundings since ancient times, and many have survived to this day. This decorative technique was also widespread in Khorezm, with isolated cases in Maverrannahr (the territory of present-day Uzbekistan), but it is not found elsewhere in the architecture of other regions, except for rare later borrowings in the Ottoman Empire. Besides its aesthetic appeal, the corrugated finish had considerable structural importance, enhancing the strength of the walls. The fact that such walls have withstood better than others speaks for itself. She concluded that it was indeed the local tradition that influenced the forms of some caravanserais in Iran and Turkey, erected later in the 12th century.
Today, Akcha-kala is almost half buried under sand dunes; the desert slowly but surely consumes this caravanserai as well. Excavations have never been conducted here.
The thick, monolithic walls of this fort enclose a rectangular area of 1.2 hectares (120 acres). It has been revealed that the foundations and walls are constructed in layers of pakhsa (broken clay), while the walls of the courtyard structures, arches, vaults, and domes are made of raw brick on a clay mortar. Only one of the arches retains a facing row of baked bricks. The entrance to the caravanserai is framed by a high portal (peshtak), which has long since collapsed, but its massive pylons remain. The arch over the long passageway, through which caravans entered the spacious courtyard, is also gone. On the axes of this courtyard are deep ayvans (vaulted rooms, enclosed on three sides by walls and open on the fourth).
Several rectangular and square rooms, large and small, are adjacent to the main facade, evidently intended for particularly honored guests. Scholars have documented the ceremonial decoration of the interior of one of these rooms, covered by a dome nearly 10 meters in diameter. The other three courtyard facades featured open arched galleries, presumably intended for livestock, unloaded burdens, and fodder. In other words, this courtyard can be considered utilitarian, while the decorative design of the northern facade emphasizes that behind it lies the “clean” courtyard and the main group of living quarters. Their layout is now barely discernible from the eroded crests of the walls.
A slightly smaller copy of Akcha-kala is located 23 kilometers away and is a similar two-part caravanserai from the 11th-12th centuries, now known as Kunya-kala (literally “Old Fortress”). It has eroded much more significantly, as it was built from lower quality clay. Whether it had corrugations on its facades remains unknown; the worn remnants of the walls no longer reveal anything about the former decoration. It is slightly smaller than Akcha-kala, but it also had two courtyards and was flanked by towers.
It is evident that these structures influenced the architecture of the elite caravanserai Rabat-i-Sharaf, built in the foothills along the route from Serakhs to Nishapur at the behest of the governor of Merv in 1115. This masterpiece of Serakhs craftsmen is built from baked brick and has survived much better than its clay prototypes, but in the history of architectural art, their significance is no less.
However, five kilometers from Akcha-kala, another corrugated structure of a different type has survived. This is the well-known point at-Tahmalaj, whose ruins rise in the midst of a vast takyr. This compact two-story building on a high platform with sloping edges nearly abuts a large courtyard. All four facades feature closed semi-cylinders. The lower level has yet to be excavated, while the upper level appears unusual: identical square chambers, covered by shallow domes, form a grid of nine cells in plan. It does not resemble a residence; rather, it looks more like a warehouse, but this small castle appears very monumental from the outside.
Galina Pugachenkova, the discoverer of this and many other Karakum monuments, reasonably believed that at-Tahmalaj represents the earliest form of caravanserai: when there were no large stations built according to the “courtyard surrounded by rooms” scheme, travelers stopped in such compact castles.
In recent years, public interest in such remnants of a distant past, seemingly forgotten forever, has noticeably increased. All of this instills hope that our heritage will remain with us and perhaps shine with new discoveries. This is why the task of restorers is to save such invaluable testimonies of the existence of the Great Silk Road in Turkmenistan from their inevitable transformation into silent mounds.
based on article of R.Muradov ‘Karakum Fort’.