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GYAUR KALA
This is a settlement built in the Seleucids period around Erk-Kala, with an
irregular rectangular plan, surrounded by adobe walls and with govern-
ment buildings in the middle. Gyaur Kala was inhabited for approximately
one thousand years during the Parthian, Sassanid and early Islam periods.
This settlement is approximately 360 hectares with all places within walk-
ing distance. It is thought that during the Abbassid period Gyaur Kala was
used as a region for craftsmen and iron and steel workshops (Fig. 7).
FIGURE 7
Erk Kala and Gyaur Kala (Wikipedia, Photo by Mark and Delwen / CC BY
2.0).
Retrieved November
15, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mervturkmenistan.
jpg
As an example of medieval civil architecture, the
koshks
(kind of cas-
tle-mansions) occupying a square land, built by landowners called
dihkan
,
are also seen in and around Merv. These are buildings totally special to
Central Asia, with the most beautiful and best-preserved samples in Merv.
Their high, thick, adobe walls are decorated with corrugations. The Great-
er and Lesser Kyz Kalas (meaning
girl castles
) to the south of the Sultan
Kala are considered among the oldest examples of koshks in Merv due to
their building techniques. (Fig. 8). Although exact dating is not possible,
it is argued that these belong to the 6th-7th century Parthian - Sassanid
period or the 8th-9th century Abbassid period. Of these two koshks 100 m
apart from each other, the Greater Kyz Kala occupies an area of 42.2 m ×
37.2 m, and the Lesser Kyz Kala 22.50 m × 22.10 m, and remains of the
rooms leading to the space in the middle are observable. There are many
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