Yaki Pir koshk is a name that points to a ruined building, probably a fortified house or pavilion of the kind that medieval rulers and landowners built in the Merv oasis, and it stands close to Takhirbaj Tepe, the other ride mentioned here. The word koshk comes from the Persian for a palace or pavilion, and in the Karakum world it often means a strongly built mudbrick residence with towers.
This is the Murghab delta, a vast oasis made by a river that has changed course many times, leaving behind old channels, abandoned canals and dozens of ruined settlements. It lies on one of the oldest north-south and east-west crossroads in Asia, where caravans from Persia, India, China and the steppe met. Camel trains moved across the desert for centuries, and the Turkmen tribes who still herd sheep and camels in the sands built their own traditions of carpet weaving and horse breeding here, including the lean, golden Akhal-Teke, one of the world's oldest horse breeds.
A ride in this part of Turkmenistan is as much an expedition as a day out. The tarmac road is good near the towns, with gaping potholes on side roads, and sand drifts across the surface in the windy season. Tracks to individual ruins may be unmarked, and in summer the heat is enough to ruin both rider and machine, with air temperatures regularly above forty. Early morning starts and a large reserve of water are not luxuries. Spring, when the desert flowers, and autumn are by far the best times.
As with all travel in Turkmenistan, formalities come first, since independent travel is heavily restricted and most visitors follow a guided programme. The main town nearby is Bayramaly, thirty kilometres off, with fuel and food, but carry what you need for the stretches in between. The nights in the desert are cold in winter and very clear, with a sky that shows the Milky Way in a way that cities have long forgotten.
The place rewards a quiet approach: look at the shape of the brickwork, listen for the wind in the empty rooms, and notice how the old and the new landscape of irrigation and ruin sit together, with a canal full of bright water beside a wall that has stood for a thousand years.