MERV: AN OASIS CAPITAL IN THE ANCIENT PARADISE - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 139

died and was buried. The tomb, which is located about 1 km to the west
of Sultan Kala, is an 8.5 m × 8.5 m square building on the outside having
a single dome. In the later period it was turned into a building complex,
through the addition of another grave to the north-east and the addition of
a two-domed mosque to the west (Fig. 12). Inside the dome, whose facade
is decorated with brick and terracotta pieces, the walls on four sides at
the top are surrounded by a kufic inscription together with floral motives
(Sayan, 1999).
FIGURE 12 Mohammed Ibn Zayd Mausoleum, 12th century (www.culture.gov.tm).
Retrieved November 15, 2013 from http://www.culture.gov.tm/Merw/Merw_eng.html
TALHATAN BABA MOSQUE
The Talhatan Baba Mosque, remaining from the end of the 11th and
beginning of the 12th centuries and located in the Yolöten region ap-
proximately 30 km from Merv, is completely made of brick and is an
important work due to its architecture and plan (Fig. 13). The rectangular
shaped 18 m × 10 m mosque, being a single domed plan extended to the
sides by small crossed vaults, led the way of single domed 16th cen-
tury mosques of Mimar Sinan, the greatest Ottoman architect (Aslanapa,
1996).