Why this ride
343 km from Bukhara to Bukhara, about 6 h 02 of riding. On the way it passes Vobkent Minaret, Deggaron Mosque, Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum and Dabusiya Settlement. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Chor Bakh Necropolis and Dabusiya Settlement
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 343 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 02
- 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: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Uzbekistan Silk Road Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 38 km this is Uzbekistan Silk Road Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 38 km
- Named road
- Uzbekistan Silk Road Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Chor Bakh Necropolis
A short ride west of Bukhara, in the village of Sumitan, a complex of courtyards, mosques and family tombs sits behind high walls, with blue-tiled portals rising above the surrounding houses. This is Chor Bakr, a necropolis built around the grave of Abu Bakr Said, a descendant of the Prophet who died in the tenth century. In the sixteenth century, the Shaybanid rulers of Bukhara built a memorial complex here, with a khanaqah, a mosque and a madrasa, and the cemetery became a resting place for the powerful Juybari sheikhs, a dynasty of religious leaders with great influence over the khanate. The name means "four brothers", referring to the four Abu Bakrs said to be buried here.
Read the complete Chor Bakh Necropolis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Chor Bakh Necropolis is where the day begins. Next is Vobkent Minaret.
2. Vobkent Minaret
Vobkent's minaret is a tall brick finger rising out of a small Uzbek town on the edge of the Bukhara oasis. It was built in the late twelfth century, in the same tradition as the more famous Kalyan minaret in Bukhara, which it predates in style by a few years and rivals in elegance. Standing nearly forty metres high, it is made entirely of fired brick laid in bands of geometric patterns, with a tapering shaft and a lantern top. Up close, the craftsmanship is startling: no two courses seem quite the same.
Read the complete Vobkent Minaret write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vobkent Minaret comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Deggaron Mosque.
3. Deggaron Mosque
In the village of Hazara, in the Zarafshan valley between Bukhara and Samarkand, stands one of the oldest mosques in Central Asia. The Deggaron mosque dates from the eleventh century, and from the outside it looks almost humble: a square, squat brick building with a cluster of low domes. Inside, it is a revelation, with massive brick columns supporting a forest of small domes and arches, the brickwork laid in patterns that play with light and shadow. It is a rare survivor of the pre-Mongol architecture of the region, and it forms part of the Silk Roads listing for the Zarafshan-Karakum corridor, inscribed by UNESCO in 2023.
Read the complete Deggaron Mosque write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 96 km into the recorded legs you reach Deggaron Mosque. Next is Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum.
4. Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum
Navoi is a strange and rather brilliant city. It does not appear on any old caravan map, because it was founded in 1958 in the middle of the Kyzylkum desert, to house the workers of the gold and uranium industries and to give the Soviet planners a clean slate. It was named after Alisher Navoi, the fifteenth-century poet who wrote in Chagatai Turkic and who has become the national literary hero. Wide avenues, tidy parks and rows of apartment blocks give it the air of a model town, and in the heat of the afternoon it is remarkably quiet.
Read the complete Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum, about halfway. Next is Dabusiya Settlement.
5. Dabusiya Settlement
Halfway along the old road from Samarkand to Bukhara, where the Zeravshan valley widens into irrigated plain, there is a ruined town called Dabusiya. The Sogdians founded it, and it grew into a staging post on the Silk Road, where caravans paused for water, fodder and trade. The Arabs reached it in the early eighth century and the town held out and changed hands as the region went through conquest and conversion. By the Middle Ages it was a modest brick town with a citadel, a mosque and workshops. The Mongols and later shifts in the river sealed its decline.
Read the complete Dabusiya Settlement write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dabusiya Settlement sits at 193 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum.
6. back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum comes up about 215 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Deggaron Mosque.
7. back through Deggaron Mosque
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Deggaron Mosque write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 249 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Deggaron Mosque. Next is back through Vobkent Minaret.
8. back through Vobkent Minaret
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vobkent Minaret write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vobkent Minaret, late in the day. Next is Chor Bakh Necropolis.
9. Chor Bakh Necropolis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chor Bakh Necropolis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 343 km.
Leg by leg
Chor Bakh Necropolis to Vobkent Minaret
Chor Bakh Necropolis → Vobkent Minaret is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Vobkent Minaret to Deggaron Mosque
Vobkent Minaret → Deggaron Mosque is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Deggaron Mosque to Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum
Deggaron Mosque → Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum to Dabusiya Settlement
Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum → Dabusiya Settlement is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dabusiya Settlement to back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum
Dabusiya Settlement → back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum to back through Deggaron Mosque
back through Mir Sayid Bakhrom Mausoleum → back through Deggaron Mosque is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Deggaron Mosque to back through Vobkent Minaret
back through Deggaron Mosque → back through Vobkent Minaret is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Vobkent Minaret to Chor Bakh Necropolis
back through Vobkent Minaret → Chor Bakh Necropolis is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.