Why this ride
From Bayramaly it runs 271 km to Bayramaly; allow about 6 h 54 of riding. On the way it passes Yaz and Gobekli Tepes, Besh Agyz koshk, Togoluk and back through Besh Agyz koshk. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis and Togoluk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 271 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 54
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis
Merv is what is left of a city that once argued with Baghdad about which of them was the greatest in the Muslim world. Today it lies as a wide spread of mud-brick walls, domes and mounds in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan, a few kilometres from the town of Bayramaly and not far from the regional capital Mary. The Murgab river fans out here into an oasis, and for more than two thousand years that thin green strip made Merv the natural halt on the Silk Road between Persia and Central Asia.
Read the complete Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis 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 28 km in. 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
56 km in you reach Besh Agyz koshk. Next is Togoluk.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Besh Agyz koshk.
5. 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
back through Besh Agyz koshk sits at 111 km, about halfway. Next is back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.
6. 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 comes up 139 km in. Next is Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis.
7. Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis closes the day.
Leg by leg
Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis to Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis → Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to Besh Agyz koshk
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → Besh Agyz koshk is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to Togoluk
Besh Agyz koshk → Togoluk is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Togoluk to back through Besh Agyz koshk
Togoluk → back through Besh Agyz koshk is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Besh Agyz koshk to back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
back through Besh Agyz koshk → back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis
back through Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.