Ýekedeşik

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Ýekedeşik ( Turkmen for 'an opening', Russian Екедешик Jekedeschik ) is the name of a cave city in the Turkmen province of Mary .

location

Ýekedeşik is located in southeastern Turkmenistan near the city of Tagtabazar . The entrance is above the Murgab River , the area is shaped by the Karakum desert . The place used to have a certain strategic importance, as it was located on important caravan routes .

investment

The Ýekedeşik cave complex comprises 44 rooms on two floors one above the other. The rooms at one level are each connected by an arched corridor. The entire complex can only be entered through an above-ground opening, which explains the name Ýekedeşik, which translates as an opening . Various finds provide information about the former use of the rooms, including living rooms, prayer rooms, kitchens, a meeting room and several storage rooms. A collecting basin for groundwater was also created on the lower floor . The rooms are generously laid out so that the cave city could accommodate a comparatively large number of people.

history

Ýekedeşik has so far not been explored or explored archaeologically. It is believed that the construction of Ýekedeşik began in the 1st century BC . The rooms were carved into the sandstone with ax-like tools . However, individual rooms were created much later, probably in the 14th or 15th century . There are various theories about the motives of the builders, but it is considered likely that the city was laid out as a Buddhist monastery. Similar designed Buddhist monasteries can also be found in other places in Central Asia . A later settlement in the Middle Ages is due to the practical advantages of the cave city, including the generosity of the rooms, the water supply and the protected location. A first description of Ýekedeşik comes from Captain F. de Laessoe, who mentioned the caves in an 1885 report to the Royal Geographical Society . Today Ýekedeşik is protected as a historical and cultural monument, and archaeological investigations of the premises are ongoing. Large parts of the facility can also be entered by visitors.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tagtabazar - Ekedeshik Cave Town | Book Tagtabazar - Ekedeshik Cave Town Tour Packages - Traveloturkmenistan. Retrieved January 9, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Ekidyshik - Central Asian Tours Turkmenistan travel group and private tours. In: Central Asian Tours. Retrieved January 9, 2020 (American English).
  3. ↑ Beate Luckow: Travel Guide to Turkmenistan Sunken Desert Cities on the Silk Road . 3rd, updated Edition. Trescher Verlag GmbH, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-89794-415-2 .
  4. ^ Paul Brummell: Turkmenistan .
  5. ↑ nicDark: Euroasiatravels "Ekedeshik. Retrieved January 9, 2020 (American English).

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