Why this ride
The stops in between: Konegala Caravanserai, Thulli koshk, Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of and back through Thulli koshk. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Akja Gala Caravanserai and Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 714 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 12 h 19
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Akja Gala Caravanserai
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.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Akja Gala Caravanserai is where the day begins. Next is Konegala Caravanserai.
2. Konegala Caravanserai
What I can tell you is what a caravanserai was, because the answer explains the place. Along the Silk Road, travellers needed to eat, sleep and water their animals every day or two, and rulers and merchants built fortified inns at intervals along the way, with thick walls, a single gate, a central courtyard and small rooms around the edge for people, with stables and storerooms.
Read the complete Konegala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Konegala Caravanserai comes up about 83 km into the recorded legs. Next is Thulli koshk.
3. Thulli koshk
Koshk is the local word for a fortified house, and around the oasis of Merv, in south-eastern Turkmenistan, dozens of these buildings survive from the early medieval period. Thulli koshk is one of them, a mud-brick structure with walls built in a distinctive corrugated pattern, like the folds of a curtain, which made them both stronger and more striking. These buildings were probably the homes of wealthy landowners, built to defend against raids, with rooms on two floors around a central hall.
Read the complete Thulli koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 287 km into the recorded legs you reach Thulli koshk. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
4. Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
The oasis of Merv, in south-eastern Turkmenistan, was for centuries one of the great cities of Central Asia, a stop on the Silk Road and at one point, under the Seljuks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, possibly one of the largest cities in the world. Today its ruins are spread over a vast area of desert and farmland near the town of Bayramaly, and they form the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient Merv. Scattered among them are small mausolea, tombs of holy men and companions of the Prophet, and the Mausoleum of Huday Nazar is one of these, a modest brick structure that has long been a place of local pilgrimage.
Read the complete Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of, about halfway. Next is back through Thulli koshk.
5. back through Thulli koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thulli koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Thulli koshk sits at 477 km, about halfway. Next is back through Konegala Caravanserai.
6. back through Konegala Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Konegala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Konegala Caravanserai comes up about 629 km into the recorded legs. Next is Akja Gala Caravanserai.
7. Akja Gala Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Akja Gala Caravanserai closes the day.
Leg by leg
Akja Gala Caravanserai to Konegala Caravanserai
Akja Gala Caravanserai → Konegala Caravanserai is 83 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Konegala Caravanserai to Thulli koshk
Konegala Caravanserai → Thulli koshk is 204 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Thulli koshk to Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Thulli koshk → Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to back through Thulli koshk
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → back through Thulli koshk is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thulli koshk to back through Konegala Caravanserai
back through Thulli koshk → back through Konegala Caravanserai is 204 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Konegala Caravanserai to Akja Gala Caravanserai
back through Konegala Caravanserai → Akja Gala Caravanserai is 83 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.