Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 20 /Trend, G.Hasanov/
A delegation of culture figures and clergy of Iran arrived in the historical-cultural reserve "Ancient Merv", Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper wrote on Oct. 20.
"In the ancient Turkmen land ... there were those who came here to make a pilgrimage to holy places, to become better acquainted with the unique monuments of architecture, reminiscent of the glorious past of the city of Merv in an era when it was the capital of one of the most brilliant empires of the East," the article said.
During the meeting, special attention was paid to Imam Riza's arrival at Merv, who lived at the end of VIII - the beginning of IX century - among the Turkmens, he is known as the Kyzyl Imam. He was the eighth of the twelve imams of the Islamic world, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Hadith scholar and interpreter, a tireless preacher of the ideas of moral and spiritual perfection of humanity and freedom.
The Iranian delegation visited the monuments of different periods: the mosque and the mausoleum of the great Sufi Sheikh Khoja Yusup Hamadani, Mosque of Muhammad ibn Zayd, the tomb of Askhabov - companions of the Prophet, and saw a real masterpiece of architecture of the Seljuk era - the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar.