Dehistan/Mishrian

Lore & Background

The city of Dehistan/Mashhad-i Misrian was a double-walled settlement punctuated with guard-towers, abandoned around the 15th century. Only a few monuments survive, including the Mosque of Khorezmshah Mohammed, of which only two side columns of the main portal—18 meters in height, decorated with brickwork and turquoise glaze—and a minaret remain. The mosque's foundation, comprising numerous fired-brick columns, has been excavated and restored; in 1993, Niyazov installed three evergreen trees within a fence in the center of the courtyard.

Reader's Guide

Dehistan/Mashhad-i Misrian holds significance as a major economic center from the 10th to 14th centuries, reflecting the commercial and cultural exchanges along trade routes of Greater Iran. Its surviving monuments, such as the Mosque of Khorezmshah Mohammed and the Abu-Jafar Ahmed Minaret, illustrate medieval Islamic architecture with decorative brickwork and glazed tiles. The site's inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 1998 underscores its cultural value. The Shir-kabir Mosque-Mausoleum, as the oldest extant mosque in Turkmenistan, provides a rare glimpse into early Islamic religious structures in the region. The abandoned city and its graveyard offer insights into urban planning and funerary practices of the period, though much of the original fabric has been lost.

Did You Know?

• The Mosque of Khorezmshah Mohammed has only two side columns of the main portal remaining, each 18 meters high.
• The Abu-Jafar Ahmed Minaret was designed by one Abu Bini Ziyad in the early 11th century.
• The Shir-kabir Mosque-Mausoleum, dated to the 9th/10th century, is the oldest extant mosque in Turkmenistan.
• In 1993, Niyazov installed three evergreen trees within a fence in the courtyard of the Mosque of Khorezmshah Mohammed.