The ruins of the ancient city of Merv just outside Mary, Turkmenistan leave much to the imagination. Nevertheless, if you are an ancient history buff and/or an archaeology lover, this is a site not to miss. Although relatively recently rediscovered, Merv appears to have been one of the great early civilizations. There were five cities on the site. Unusually, they did not build over the ruins of older cities but rather adjacent to them so today you can still clearly see the outlines of each of the five cities as well as a small number of buildings which remain or have been reconstructed. Camels wander the desert among the remains of the buildings. One of the high-points of my trip to Central Asia, for sure.