Nice, nice Nisa…

One of my favorite places to do when I’m working in Turkmenistan is to visit the Parthian Fortresses of Nisa. Nisa was once the capital of the Parthian Empire, which controlled this region of Central Asia from the mid 3rd century BCE to the early 3rd century CE. Though it acted as a barrier to Roman expansion, Nisa incorporates architectural, artistic, and cultural elements of the Hellenistic and Roman “west.” If you go to Turkmenistan, take a ride out to Nisa, and explore the peace and quiet of these ruins alone–since there’s usually no one else there…