TM-5: Nissa and Geok-Depe

Just outside Ashgabat is the site of Old Nissa, a capital of the Parthian empire 2300 years ago. Mithridates reigned here, and in a celebrated battle in 53 BC, the Parthians' gleaming silk banners so frightened Crassus's Roman army that it was completely defeated. There are tales that the Parthians resettled the captured Romans in Central Asia and later in western China, perhaps the source of some strains of blond hair. Like other ruins, there isn't much left of Nissa, though several walls have been excavated and reconstructed.



Further in the same direction is Geok-Depe, the scene of another battle between the Tsarist forces and a large army of fierce Turkmen defenders. After capturing the fort, the Russians took a page out of Genghis Khan's playbook and slaughtered most of the prisoners, its general saying “the harder you hit them, the longer they will stay down.” The rest of the nomadic Turkmen tribes surrendered quickly and the Russian presence became permanent.

At a farm near Geok-Depe, we were able to see a pair of the famous Akhal Teke horses. At first the owner wanted $50 just to show them, but he quickly backed down when we refused to pay. They are indeed beautiful, tall horses, able to run all day.

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