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Capital of Mary Province, Turkmenistan
Photo: Hans Birger Nilsen, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mary is a city in Mary Province, Turkmenistan. Most travellers' main reason to visit it is to reach the ruins of the ancient city of Merv, which are 35 km to the east.
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Mary muzeýi
The museum contains a model of Merv and objects displayed from Victor Sarianidi's excavations at the Bronze Age sites of Gonur-depe and Togolok in the northern part of the Merv oasis and discoveries from Sasanian-Islamic times at Merv. In the upper floor Turkmen carpets, a display of household items, everyday, wedding and ceremonial clothings and a fully decorated yurt are exhibited.
Gurbanguly Hajy metjidi
Theatre close to the river. Show lasts almost 2 hours, a lot of kids in attendance. Two Turkmen entertainers and a couple performing sketches. Funny experience, everything in Turkmen (and one song in Russian). No photos allowed during the performance. Very grandiose building. Tickets could be bought during the day or directly before the performance in the same building (Kassa).
Very beautifully set restaurant at the river, cheap food and expensive drinks. Wide selection of food (Turkmen, Russian, European). Could be possible to eat vegetarian there. They speak English and have an English menu.
Shashlik, Turkmen and Russian cooking.
Shashlik, Turkmen and Russian dishes.
Former Inturist hotel in terrible condition.
By rail
Turkmendemiryollari (Turkmenistan Zeleznice) (Ashgabat, phone +993 12 255545, fax 473858) runs trains from Ashgabat to Turkmenabat via Mary. Night trains leave Ashgabat at 18:00 and 20:00 for Mary.
By bus
Take the bus from Mashad bus station to Sarakhs (3½ hours, 6500 rials). The bus will drop you in the center of the village. Walk or take a shared taxi to the Iran-Turkmenistan border crossing.
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Mary · Regional · MYP
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