File:Greater Kyz Kala, Merv, Turkmenistan 2019 01.jpg

English: Greater Kyz Kala (7th-12th centuries)

The so-called Greater Kyz Kala is located about 1.4 kilometers southwest of the Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum, the region's most important landmark. Although dubbed a "kala", or fortress, the monument is locally known as a köshk and probably served as the semi-fortified home of an important official, perhaps even the governor of Merv.

Construction on the monument likely began as early as the 7th century and continued well into the 12th century with likely sporadic use in later eras. It is built on a two meter high platform of rammed earth with a rectangular plan measuring 46.5 x 36.2 meters. The exterior surfaces are composed of earthen corrugated walls rising 10 meters above the platform, giving the monument an overall height of 12 meters. The walls were built of unfired mud brick and probably included a crennellated walkway along the top connecting to wooden platforms at each of the corners. The platforms and parapets would have provided a good vantage point for defending forces to fire down into massing crowds or invading armies, though the monument as a whole is too small to have served as a garrison for soldiers. Unlike similar fortress-style monuments in contemporary Uzbekistan, such as the Dzhanbas Kala, the Greater Kyz Kala does not contain any arrow slits within the walls themselves.