Sarahs (, also written Saraghs, Serahs, Sarakhs, Saragt, or Serakhs, the last a backformation of russian: Серахс) is an

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

city in

Ahal Province Ahal Region ( tk, Ahal welaýaty; from fa, آخال, Axāl) is one of five provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-center of the country, bordering Iran and Afghanistan along the Kopet Dag Range. Its area is and population 939,700 (2005 ...

, Turkmenistan, and the administrative center of

Sarahs district Sarahs District (Turkmen: ''Sarahs etraby'', Russian Cyrillic ''Серахский этрап'') is a district of Ahal Province, Turkmenistan. Its capital is the city of Sarahs (called in the Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Unio ...

( tk, Sarahs etraby). It is located at latitude 36°31' North; longitude 61°12' East and an elevation of 285m above sea level. It is one of the oases of the ancient

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

lying between Merv to the east and

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

to the west. In 1989 the city had a population of 9,585.

Etymology

In Soviet times called Saragt in

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

, the city was referred to as Sarahs in antiquity and continuously to the present by locals. The meaning is unknown, but medieval historians asserted that it was a person's name.

History

The Sarahs Oasis surrounding the town has been inhabited since 2nd millennium BCE. The main administrative centre was Old Serakhs, located in a slightly raised area somewhat south of the towns's present location. At the original site there remain a few brick fragments of the former citadel. The town claims to have been founded in 507 BCE. Although this is considered to be a somewhat arbitrary choice of date,Bradt Guide to Turkmenistan, 1st edition, page 131. the city duly celebrated its 2500th anniversary in 1993. During the Sassanid period a Zoroastrian fire temple was constructed in Mele Hairam, about 15 km east of the town. It has been excavated by Polish archaeologists from Warsaw University since 1997. In the Seljuk Era a famous school of architects was located in Sarahs, along with a mausoleum commemorating the 11th century

sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

Abul Fazl (Serakhs Baba). In 1089 Yarty Gumbez mausoleum was constructed 8 km south of the town, possibly as a burial site for Sheikh Ahmed Al Khady. The modern settlement was established in 1884 when Sarahs Oasis was annexed by the Russian Empire. It served as a Russian military post at the Iranian border. It was inhabited mainly by settlers of Russian and Polish origin. An Orthodox church, which no longer survives, was constructed in the town. In 2010 monuments of Sarahs, including Old Serakhs, the Abul Fazl mausoleum, and the Mele Hairam temple complex were inscribed on the Tentative List to become UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a part of the "Silk Roads Sites in Turkmenistan" entry by the Turkmen government.

Climate

Sarahs has a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification ''BSh''), with cool winters and very hot summers. Rainfall is generally light and erratic, and occurs mainly in the winter and autumn months.

Transportation

Sarahs is a crossing point on the Iranian-Turkmen border and the place where

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...

s must be

changed Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

on the freight railway line from Tejen to

in Iran, which was opened in 1996. The passenger connection between Sarahs and Ashgabat is also operated. The airport at Sarahs is out of service.

References

{{Cities of Turkmenistan Populated places in Ahal Region Transcaspian Oblast Oases of Turkmenistan Iran–Turkmenistan border crossings

Etymology

History

Climate

Transportation

See also

References