Why this ride
It goes by way of Takhirbaj Tepe, Besh Agyz koshk, Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of and Kushmeihan.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Gonur Tepe and Kushmeihan
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 159 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 44
- 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 Takhirbaj Tepe.
2. Takhirbaj Tepe
The Murghab river flows out of the mountains of Afghanistan and dies in the sands of the Karakum desert, and where it fans out into a delta lies the oasis of Merv, in what is now southern Turkmenistan. For thousands of years people have farmed here, building cities one beside another as rivers shifted and empires came and went. Takhirbaj Tepe is one of the oldest of these settlements, a mound in the northern part of the oasis dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, long before the great medieval city that made Merv famous. It forms part of the State Historical and Cultural Park Ancient Merv, listed by UNESCO in 1999, alongside sites such as Yaz Tepe and Gobekli Tepe nearby.
Read the complete Takhirbaj Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Takhirbaj Tepe comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Besh Agyz koshk.
3. 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
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Besh Agyz koshk. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
4. Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
The oasis of Merv, in south-eastern Turkmenistan, was for centuries one of the great cities of Central Asia, a stop on the Silk Road and at one point, under the Seljuks in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, possibly one of the largest cities in the world. Today its ruins are spread over a vast area of desert and farmland near the town of Bayramaly, and they form the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient Merv. Scattered among them are small mausolea, tombs of holy men and companions of the Prophet, and the Mausoleum of Huday Nazar is one of these, a modest brick structure that has long been a place of local pilgrimage.
Read the complete Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of, about halfway. Next is Kushmeihan.
5. Kushmeihan
The Murghab river comes out of the Afghan hills and dies in the sands of the Karakum, and where it spreads out near the town of Mary it created the oasis of Merv, one of the great cities of the medieval world. Kushmeihan is one of the sites scattered across that oasis, a low ruin in the flat, brown country east of the more famous monuments. The ancient Merv complex is listed by UNESCO, and the label here belongs to the same landscape of ramparts, mounds and mudbrick that stretches for many kilometres.
Read the complete Kushmeihan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kushmeihan sits at 80 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
6. back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of comes up about 98 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Besh Agyz koshk.
7. back through 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
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Besh Agyz koshk. Next is back through Takhirbaj Tepe.
8. back through Takhirbaj Tepe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Takhirbaj Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Takhirbaj Tepe, 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 159 km.
Leg by leg
Gonur Tepe to Takhirbaj Tepe
Gonur Tepe → Takhirbaj Tepe is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Takhirbaj Tepe to Besh Agyz koshk
Takhirbaj Tepe → Besh Agyz koshk is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Besh Agyz koshk → Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to Kushmeihan
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → Kushmeihan is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kushmeihan to back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Kushmeihan → back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to back through Besh Agyz koshk
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → back through Besh Agyz koshk is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Besh Agyz koshk to back through Takhirbaj Tepe
back through Besh Agyz koshk → back through Takhirbaj Tepe is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Takhirbaj Tepe to Gonur Tepe
back through Takhirbaj Tepe → Gonur Tepe is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.