The Silk Road across the Karakum was never a single road. It was a series of wells, forts and caravanserais, a day's travel apart, where camels could drink and merchants could sleep behind walls. Akja Gala is one of these shelters, a square brick building with a central courtyard and rooms around it, set in sand and saxaul scrub between Merv and the Amu Darya, the river called the Oxus by the Greeks.
The route it served was a hard one. After Merv, caravans heading east crossed some two hundred kilometres of dry land to reach the Amu Darya at Amul, an ancient crossing and later the city of Chardzhou, now Turkmenabat. Water was the constant problem, and the caravanserais were built close to wells or to cisterns that stored rain. Travellers paid a toll, rested, fed their animals and carried on, and the stories and goods that moved through places like this shaped half of Asia.
Amul Settlement, the other half of this ride, is the old riverside site, and the contrast between the desert and the green belt along the Oxus is startling. Turkmenistan is difficult for independent riders, as a licensed guide is almost always required, and visas and vehicle permits take time and money. Tour operators can arrange a trip with a car and driver, and may know the track to remote sites.
The desert is a place of extremes. Summers are fiercely hot, with temperatures above forty-five degrees in the shade, and winters are cold, with frosts and bitter winds. Spring, with its short green carpet and flowers, and autumn are the times to go. Fuel and water are essential, since distances between settlements are long and the sand is soft off the road. Mary, the nearest city, has everything you need, but beyond it services are thin. A camel on the road is not a rarity, and the dust at dusk turns the sky orange.