Merv is located on the southern edge of the Karakum Desert. As an oasis along the Murghab River, it was a popular place for travellers in this dry area. The Murgahab River runs through the gap of the Hindu Kush mountain range (also known as the Paropamisade). This gap is located about 270 km south of Merv.
Because of it location, Merv is a kind of watch tower over the entrance into Afghanistan on the north-west. It was also a major stepstone between north-east Persia and the states of Bokhara and Samarkand.
The Murgab delta, being a large well-watered zone in the midst of the dry Karakum, serves as a natural stopping-point for the Silk Roads. Merv, locate along the Murghab Delta, lies at the junction of two important routes: the northwest-southeast route to Herat and Balkh (and thus to the Indus and beyond) and the southwest-northeast route from Tus and Nishapur to Bukhara and Samarkand.
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