page_title: Tourism in Turkmenistan
section_title: Historical sites
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Turkmenistan / Historical sites
caption_attribution_description: English: A view of Nisa, an ancient parthian capital, now in Turkmenistan
context_page_description: Turkmenistan is a country with large potential for an expanded tourism industry. Many of its Central Asian cities were main points of trade on the Silk Road, linking Eastern and Western civilizations. Many neighboring countries promote their countries based on their location along the Great Silk Road. Tourism has grown rapidly in recent years. Tourists from abroad are deterred by the restrictive visa regime with all countries of the world. Tourism is regulated by the Tourism Committee of Turkmenistan.
context_section_description: There are three World Heritage Sites in Turkmenistan.
  Nisa (also Parthaunisa) was an ancient city, located near modern-day Bagir village, 18 km southwest of Ashgabat. Nisa is described by some as one of the first capitals of the Parthians. It is traditionally assumed to be  founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250 BC–211 BC), and was reputedly the royal necropolis of the Parthian kings, although it has not been established that the fortress at Nisa was either a royal residence or a mausoleum.
  Merv formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana, was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of culture and politics at a site of major strategic value. It is claimed that Merv was briefly the largest city in the world in the 12th century.
  Konye-Urgench is a municipality of about 30,000 inhabitants in north-eastern Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Ürgenç, which contains the unexcavated ruins of the 12th-century capital of Khwarezm. Since 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench have been protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. (See List of World Heritage Sites in Turkmenistan)
caption: Nisa
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