Yekedeshik – an opening to mystery

Yekedeshik – an opening – is the name of a cave city in the Turkmen province of Mary. Yekedeshik is located in south-eastern Turkmenistan near the city of Tagtabazar. The entrance is above the Murgab River, the area is shaped by the Karakum desert. The place used to have a certain strategic importance as it was located on important caravan routes.

The Yekedeshik cave complex comprises 44 rooms on two floors one above the other. The rooms at one level are each connected by an arched corridor. The entire complex can only be entered through an above-ground opening, which explains the name Yekedeshik, which translates as an opening. Various finds provide information about the former use of the rooms, including living rooms, prayer rooms, kitchens, a meeting room and several storage rooms. A collecting basin for groundwater was also created on the lower floor. The rooms are generously laid out so that the cave city could accommodate a comparatively large number of people.

Yekedeshik has so far not been explored or explored archaeologically. It is believed that the construction of Yekedeshik began in the 1st century BC. The rooms were carved into the sandstone with axe-like tools. However, individual rooms were created much later, probably in the 14th or 15th century. There are various theories about the motives of the builders, but it is considered likely that the city was laid out as a Buddhist monastery. Similar designed Buddhist monasteries can also be found in other places in Central Asia. Later settlement in the middle ages is due to the practical advantages of the cave city, including the generosity of the rooms, the water supply and the protected location. A first description of Yekedeshik comes from Captain F. de Laessoe, who mentioned the caves in an 1885 report to the Royal Geographical Society. Today Yekedeshik is protected as a historical and cultural monument, and archaeological investigations of the premises are ongoing. Large parts of the facility can also be entered by visitors.