Prior to 1881 any buildings other than yurts were made solely from adobe and were limited to one story in height due to the seismic risk. City planning began following the Russian conquest, with "very simple planning schemes." The basic layout of downtown streets "has been preserved to this day and defined the unique character of the city structure combining linear and radial types of layout of blocks." The Russian writer Vasily Yan, who lived in Askhabad from 1901 to 1904, described the city as "a little tidy town consisting of numerous clay houses, surrounded by fruit gardens with straight streets, planted with slim cottonwood, chestnut, and white acacia planned by the hand of military engineers." Another description noted,