Why this ride
From Bayramaly it runs 839 km to Bayramaly; allow about 14 h 27 of riding. On the way it passes Togoluk, Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai and back through Togoluk. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Garam koshk and Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 839 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 14 h 27
- 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. 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 Togoluk.
2. Togoluk
What I can say is that the surrounding land belongs to the Murghab oasis, where a river born in the Afghan mountains fans out into irrigated fields, then dies in the sand. This is one of the oldest farming and trading landscapes in Central Asia, and everything around here is shaped by water and by the lack of it.
Read the complete Togoluk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Togoluk comes up about 196 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai.
3. 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
about 418 km into the recorded legs you reach Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai. Next is back through Togoluk.
4. back through Togoluk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Togoluk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Togoluk, 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 Togoluk
Garam koshk → Togoluk is 196 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Togoluk to Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai
Togoluk → Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai is 221 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai to back through Togoluk
Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai → back through Togoluk is 221 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Togoluk to Garam koshk
back through Togoluk → Garam koshk is 196 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.