Besh Agyz koshk and Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Besh Agyz koshk

   Out on the edge of the Merv oasis in southeastern Turkmenistan, where irrigated fields fade into the sand of the Karakum desert, stand the ruins of buildings known as koshks. These were fortified mansions of mud brick, with heavily ribbed walls that look like giant corrugated cardboard, built in the early medieval period by the landed gentry of Merv. Besh Agyz, which means five mouths, is one of them, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the Silk Roads, alongside the vast ruined cities of Ancient Merv, a World Heritage Site since 1999. Merv was for centuries one of the great cities of the Islamic world and a key stop on the routes between China and the Mediterranean, until the Mongols destroyed it in the thirteenth century.

   Read the complete Besh Agyz koshk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Besh Agyz koshk is where the day begins. Next is Bairam Ali Ding.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.

3. 3. Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba

   The Karakum desert surrounds the oasis of Merv on three sides, and the Murghab river, which feeds the oasis, ends in the sand a little downstream. Talkhatan Baba, a brick mosque and mausoleum in the area of Mary, belongs to the medieval Islamic centuries when Merv was one of the great cities of the world, a Seljuk capital with libraries, observatories and a population that rivalled any in Europe.

   Read the complete Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba. Next is Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai.

4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.

5. 5. back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba sits at 448 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bairam Ali Ding.

6. 6. back through 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 through Bairam Ali Ding comes up about 604 km into the recorded legs. Next is Besh Agyz koshk.

7. 7. Besh Agyz koshk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Besh Agyz koshk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Besh Agyz koshk closes the day.