Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor World Heritage Site

Official name

Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor | UNESCO

Country

Turkmenistan | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

39.4414° Lat, 69.6855° Lon | Map

Code

1675

Time Zone

Asia/Ashgabat (+05, +0500)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2023. The Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor is a key section of the Silk Roads in Central Asia that connects other corridors from all directions. Located in rugged mountains, fertile river valleys, and uninhabitable desert, the 866-kilometre corridor runs from east to west along the Zarafshan River and further southwest following the ancient caravan roads crossing the Karakum Desert to the Merv Oasis. Channelling much of the east-west exchange along the Silk Roads from the 2nd century BCE to the 16th century CE, a large quantity of goods was traded along the corridor. People travelled, settled, conquered, or were defeated here, making it a melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, religions, sciences, and technologies.