Bairam Ali Ding and Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Bairam Ali Ding

   North of Bayramaly, toward the edge of the irrigated land of the Merv oasis, the remains of a ding stand on the flat plain: a fortified building of mud brick, often square or rectangular, with thick walls and corner towers, used as a manor, a refuge or a watch post. The oasis is scattered with structures like this, from medieval times to the more recent past, and many are associated with the defence of farmland and water channels against raiders from the desert. They are part of the wider archaeological landscape of Merv, one of the richest in Central Asia, where every mound and wall has a story, even if not all of them have been told yet.

   Read the complete Bairam Ali Ding write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bairam Ali Ding is where the day begins. Next is Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai.

2. 2. Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai

   The Karakum desert covers most of Turkmenistan, and its eastern edge is where the Murghab river fans out into the oasis of Merv, one of the great cities of the ancient world. In the Seljuk age, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Merv was said to be among the largest cities on earth, and the countryside around it was threaded with canals, fortresses and the roadside inns the Persians called caravanserais. This point lies in that old orbit, in the plain near Bayramaly, where the desert and the irrigated fields meet.

   Read the complete Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai comes up about 272 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.

3. 3. Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip

   Four thousand years ago, in the delta of the Murghab river, a civilisation grew up around irrigated fields and fortified settlements that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Kelleli, Adji Kui and Taip are names of mounds in that delta, low hills of eroded mud brick standing in the flat plain of the Karakum, where the river once split into channels and watered an oasis. People lived here between about 2300 and 1700 BC, building walled compounds with towers, workshops, graves and what may have been temples with fire altars.

   Read the complete Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 685 km into the recorded legs you reach Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip. Next is back through Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai.

4. 4. back through Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai, late in the day. Next is Bairam Ali Ding.

5. 5. Bairam Ali Ding

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Bairam Ali Ding write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Bairam Ali Ding. That is the ride.