The Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan and the Secretariat of the National Committee of Turkmenistan for UNESCO organized an excursion to the cultural and historical reserve "Ancient Merv".

The tour was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's accession to UNESCO and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is reported by the publication turkmenistaninfo.gov.tm.

The State Historical and Cultural Reserve "Ancient Merv" (40 km from the city of Mary) is one of the oldest and most fully preserved of the oasis cities on the Silk Road in Central Asia and was the first to master irrigation. The first written references to Merv appear in the Avestan chronicles around the 8th-6th centuries. BC, but the exact date of its occurrence has not been determined.

For several centuries, Merv developed and grew, and at the beginning of the 12th century it reached its peak. The monument of former greatness is the mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, which has become a place of attraction for tourists.

In 1999, Ancient Merv was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The participants of the tour received detailed information about each of the monuments of Ancient Merv.