Nisa - UNESCO World Heritage Site |
Gateway to the archaeological park of Old Nisa, 18 km from Ashgabat |
Remains of the once massive mudbrick walls surrounding the fortress of Nisa |
A large mound of dirt, once one of the 43 towers fortifying the walls of Old Nisa |
The fortress of Nisa was once capital of the ancient Parthian Empire |
While the area was inhabited much earlier, Nisa was founded in the mid-3rd C. BC by the Parthians |
Inside the walls of Old Nisa |
One of the excavated areas inside Old Nisa |
Old Nisa - the treasury of the Parthian Empire |
Pathway leading across the center of the archaeological area |
A second area of excavations undertaken by the Italians |
Partial reconstruction of the palace of Nisa |
Excavated ruins of Old Nisa |
Old Nisa |
Old Nisa |
Restored and unrestored sections of wall, Old Nisa |
Old Nisa |
Among the ruins of Nisa |
Excavations at Nissa, Turkmenistan |
Artists impression of the Round Room, thought to have been a Zoroastrian temple |
Inside the Round Room, Old Nisa |
Old Nisa |
Restored section of Old Nisa |
An ancient column base, Old Nisa |
Excavations, Old Nisa |
Architectural details, Old Nisa |
The modern village of Bagir, Turkmenistan |
The main archaeological area of Old Nisa |
Panoramic view from the walls of Old Nisa |
Shards and fragments, Old Nisa |
Room with columns, Old Nisa |
Remains of a massive brick column, Old Nisa |
The Parthian Empire collapsed in 224 AD |
What remained of Old Nisa was destroyed by the Mongols after a 15 day siege in 1220 |
Passageway, Old Nisa |
The Parthian Empire prevented further eastward expansion of the Roman Empire beyond Syria |