NISSA

The city housed the royal residence of the Parathians between the third century and the third century after J.-C. The fortress was named Mitridate Kerte, the name of its founder. It covered an area of 14 ha, of which only 30% were searched at the present time. Teams of Russian and Italian archaeologists are still working on the site in autumn and spring.

The general plan of the city has not yet been fully established. The walls, which are still partially standing today, wore 43 watchtower. A ballroom has been set up: You can still see the marks of brick columns on walls. The palace was supported by four round brick columns, an invention of the time. The walls were composed of nested diamond bricks. Two other rooms have been identified, one of which still has colour frescoes on its walls in straw and clay. The frescoes are bâchées to ensure their protection, but the guide can remove the bâches from a glance.

A round temple was excavated. On the second floor you can still see the niches that inhabited 12 statues of the gods of olympe. The Parathians religion, however, shared a common cultural base with the Greeks.

Most of the pieces found on this site are currently exposed to the 15 km National museum of Ashgabad. Nissa has only a few more or less evocative ruins, but a visit allows us to realize the scale of constructions of an ancient era.