Sarakhs is a city in and capital of Sarakhs County

Sarakhs County

Sarakhs County is a county in Razavi Khorasan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Sarakhs. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 85,524, in 19,485 families. The county has two districts: Central District and Marzdaran District...

, Razavi Khorasan Province

Razavi Khorasan Province

Razavi Khorasan Province is a province located in northeastern Iran. Mashhad is the centre and capital of the province.Other cities and townships are Ghouchan, Dargaz, Chenaran, Sarakhs, Fariman, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Torbat-e Jam, Taybad, Khaf, Roshtkhar, Kashmar, Bardaskan, Nishapur, Sabzevar,...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road

Silk Road

The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...

, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs

Saraghs

Saraghs is an oasis city in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It is located at latitude 36°31'44" North; longitude 61°12'41" East and an altitude of 235m above MSL. It is one of the oasis' of the ancient Silk Road lying between Merv to the East and Mashhad to the West.The town claims to have been...

 in Turkmenistan. According to the most recent national census, in 2006, the city's population was 33,571 in 8,066 families.

History

According to Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...

's Shahnameh

Shahnameh

The Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...

 the town has existed since the Afrasiab

Afrasiab

Afrasiab is the name of the mythical king and hero of Turan.-The Mythical King and Hero:According to the Shahnameh , by the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi, Afrasiab was the king and hero of Turan and an archenemy of Iran...

 period and was named for its builder, Sarakhs, son of Godarzby Keykavus. Turkmen historians consider the city to have been founded over 2500 years ago. The Mongols

Mongols

Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...

 plundered and destroyed Sarakhs in 1220, but it was rebuilt in mid 19th century by the order of Nasser-al-Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty

Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....

. For its first fifty years or so, this resurrected city was thus known as known Nasser's Sarakhs (in Persian:Sarakhs-e Nasseri, Saraxse Nāseri) and was a principally feudal town.

Geography

Sarakhs' weather is cold in winter, warm and dry in summer thanks to the influence of the Gharaghoroom Desert.

Landmarks

The main historical site of Sarakhs is the partly restored Loghman Baba mausoleum in a field just north of the town. It was built in 1356AD (757AH).

In Sarakhs district within 80 km of Sarakhs town are:

• Bazangan lake
• Mazdavand cave and reservoir
• Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam
  Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam
  The Iran–Turkmenistan Friendship Dam is a dam on the Hariroud River, which forms part of the international boundary between Iran and Turkmenistan. The dam was completed in 2004, and both countries agreed that each would have an equal right to the waters of the river, which amount to 820 million...
  
  
• Ribat Sharaf Caravanserai
  Ribat-i Sharaf
  The Ribat-i Sharaf is a caravanserai, or rest place for travellers, that is located in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran between Merv and Nishapur. Built in the 12th century , the building looks like a fortified rectangle from the exterior. The courtyard and four Iwan floorplan is that of the...
  
  
• Khatun Bridge (five-arched stone bridge between Iran and Turkmenistan)

Transport

More than a century after the early proposals of a cross-border railway at this location,
the railways of Iran

Transport in Iran

Transport in Iran is inexpensive because of the government's subsidization of the price of gasoline. The downside is economic inefficiency because of highly wasteful consumption patterns, contraband with neighboring countries and air pollution...

 and Turkmenistan

Transport in Turkmenistan

In the early 2000s, substantial work was done to restore infrastructure, which was in general disrepair, and to extend travel routes. Major new road and railroad projects were in progress in 2006...

 were finally linked here in 1996. A bogie exchange

Bogie exchange

Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the chassis containing the wheels and axles of the car, and installing a new chassis with...

 is needed to overcome a break of gauge. This will be supplemented with a quicker SUW 2000

SUW 2000

SUW 2000 is a type of variable gauge system that allows a train to travel across a railway break-of-gauge.The SUW 2000 design is manufactured by Polish company ZNTK Poznań for Polish State Railways...

 variable gauge axles track gauge changing facility (TSR).