Why this ride
From Bayramaly it runs 124 km to Bayramaly; allow about 2 h 53 of riding. The stops in between: Yaz and Gobekli Tepes, Durnali koshk and back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Garam koshk and Durnali koshk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 124 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 53
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Garam koshk
Out on the edge of the Karakum desert near the oasis city of Merv, odd buildings rise from the plain like giant sandcastles with ribbed sides. These are koshks, fortified mansions built of mud brick, their walls shaped into deep vertical corrugations that gave strength and shade and kept the interiors cool. Garam koshk is one of them, battered by centuries of wind and the occasional rainstorm, but still impressive in its bulk. They belong to the world of medieval Merv, and the most famous, the Kyz Kala, stand within the vast archaeological park that UNESCO inscribed in 1999.
Read the complete Garam koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Garam koshk is where the day begins. Next is Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.
2. Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Out on the edge of the Murghab oasis in south-eastern Turkmenistan, where irrigated cotton fields meet the sand of the Karakum, low mounds rise from the flat land. Tepe means hill, and these hills are the eroded remains of ancient settlements: Yaz Depe, which gave its name to an Iron Age culture of the early first millennium BC, and Gobekli Depe nearby. To an untrained eye they are just humps of clay, but they belong to one of the longest continuous stories of settlement in Central Asia.
Read the complete Yaz and Gobekli Tepes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Durnali koshk.
3. Durnali koshk
Merv was once one of the largest cities in the world, and what is left of it lies scattered across a desert plain in southern Turkmenistan. In the twelfth century, under the Seljuk sultans, it was a major capital, with libraries, mosques and markets, and travellers called it the mother of the world. In 1221 the Mongols took it after a siege and, according to the old chronicles, killed a huge proportion of its inhabitants, and the city never recovered. UNESCO listed the park of ancient Merv in 1999.
Read the complete Durnali koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Durnali koshk. Next is back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.
4. back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yaz and Gobekli Tepes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes, late in the day. Next is Garam koshk.
5. Garam koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Garam koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Garam koshk. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Garam koshk to Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Garam koshk → Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to Durnali koshk
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → Durnali koshk is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Durnali koshk to back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Durnali koshk → back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to Garam koshk
back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → Garam koshk is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.