Amul was the old name for the crossing that later became Türkmenabat, and the settlement sits only six kilometres from that modern city on the Amu Darya, the river the ancients called the Oxus. It is a flat, dusty place of low mounds and eroded walls, and you might drive past without noticing. What it marks is a ford on one of the great Silk Road routes, where caravans coming from Merv in the southwest met the river before heading on toward Bukhara.
In medieval times Amul, sometimes called Amul-i Shatt, the Amul on the riverbank, was a significant trading stop and fortress. Arab geographers describe its markets and its position on the road to Khorasan. Cities along the Amu Darya rose and fell with the river, which moves its bed across the plain; places left high and dry gradually died, and the mudbrick walls have since melted back into the earth. That is part of why this landscape feels so quiet: it is built from layers of vanished towns.
Riding out here means open desert roads. East and west of the river you will cross the Karakum, with long straight asphalt, stretches of washboard and shifting sand blown over the carriageway. Spring and autumn are comfortable; summers reach extreme heat and winters can be bitterly cold with sharp winds. Take more water than you think you need and watch for camels on the verge. Entering Turkmenistan involves visas, a transit or guide arrangement and registration, so plan it with care.
Türkmenabat, with a population of over two hundred thousand, is the practical stop and has fuel, shops and cafes. Petrol in Turkmenistan is cheap by European standards, though supply and rules for foreign vehicles change. Farap, about seventeen kilometres away, is smaller. Melons from this region are famous across Central Asia, and a slice of ripe melon in summer is a better reward than most rest stops.