Why this ride
It goes by way of Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip, Togoluk, Durnali koshk and Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gonur Tepe and Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 291 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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. Gonur Tepe
Gonur Tepe lies deep in the sands north of Mary, at the end of a long track into what was once the delta of the Murghab river. Today the river runs dry long before it gets here and the desert has taken over, but four thousand years ago this was the capital of a Bronze Age civilisation that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex. Palaces, temples, fortifications and huge cemeteries have been excavated from the mounds, and walking among the mud-brick foundations in the silence of the desert is eerie and moving.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Gonur Tepe is where the day begins. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
2. 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
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Togoluk.
3. 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
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Togoluk. Next is Durnali koshk.
4. 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
Durnali koshk, about halfway. Next is Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala.
5. Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala
Two squat, ribbed fortresses stand on the plain outside ancient Merv, and they have kept their purpose a mystery. Greater Kiz Kala and Lesser Kiz Kala, the Maiden Fortresses, are fortified buildings dating from the sixth to the seventh century AD, when Merv was a provincial capital of the Sasanian Persian Empire, and they are a fine example of the fortified country house of the period. The larger one is about thirty metres square, with massive walls, rounded corner towers, and a surface made of shallow vertical grooves and arrow slits that give it a corrugated look, and the smaller one stands a short distance away, built in much the same style.
Read the complete Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala sits at 146 km, about halfway. Next is back through Durnali koshk.
6. back through Durnali koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Durnali koshk comes up about 181 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Togoluk.
7. 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
about 219 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Togoluk. Next is back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
8. back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip, late in the day. Next is Gonur Tepe.
9. Gonur Tepe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe 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 291 km.
Leg by leg
Gonur Tepe to Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Gonur Tepe → Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Togoluk
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Togoluk is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Togoluk to Durnali koshk
Togoluk → Durnali koshk is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Durnali koshk to Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala
Durnali koshk → Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala to back through Durnali koshk
Greater and Lesser Kiz Kala → back through Durnali koshk is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Durnali koshk to back through Togoluk
back through Durnali koshk → back through Togoluk is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Togoluk to back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
back through Togoluk → back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Gonur Tepe
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Gonur Tepe is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.