Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip and Takhirbaj Tepe

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Gonur Tepe.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 92 km into the recorded legs. Next is Takhirbaj Tepe.

3. 3. 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

   about 150 km into the recorded legs you reach Takhirbaj Tepe. Next is back through Gonur Tepe.

4. 4. back through 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

   back through Gonur Tepe, late in the day. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.

5. 5. 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 at Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip. That is the ride.