Why this ride
A 242 km round trip from Bayramaly - roughly 6 h 33 in the saddle. On the way it passes Bairam Ali Ding, Besh Agyz koshk, Togoluk and back through Besh Agyz koshk. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kelte Minara koshk and Togoluk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 242 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 33
- 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. Kelte Minara koshk
Once there were few cities in the world as big as Merv. At its height, in the twelfth century, under the Seljuk sultans, the oasis city on the Murghab river, in the sands of what is now Turkmenistan, may have been the largest on the planet, with a population counted in the hundreds of thousands, libraries that Arab geographers praised and a position on the Silk Road between Persia and Central Asia. In 1221, the Mongols arrived, and the chroniclers say that the slaughter was beyond counting. The city never recovered its size, but the ruins, which cover a vast area of low walls, mounds and shattered brick, were listed as a World Heritage site in 1999.
Read the complete Kelte Minara koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kelte Minara koshk is where the day begins. Next is Bairam Ali Ding.
2. Bairam Ali Ding
North of Bayramaly, toward the edge of the irrigated land of the Merv oasis, the remains of a ding stand on the flat plain: a fortified building of mud brick, often square or rectangular, with thick walls and corner towers, used as a manor, a refuge or a watch post. The oasis is scattered with structures like this, from medieval times to the more recent past, and many are associated with the defence of farmland and water channels against raiders from the desert. They are part of the wider archaeological landscape of Merv, one of the richest in Central Asia, where every mound and wall has a story, even if not all of them have been told yet.
Read the complete Bairam Ali Ding write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bairam Ali Ding comes up 29 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
58 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 115 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bairam Ali Ding.
6. back through Bairam Ali Ding
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bairam Ali Ding write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bairam Ali Ding comes up 144 km in. Next is Kelte Minara koshk.
7. Kelte Minara koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kelte Minara koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kelte Minara koshk closes the day.
Leg by leg
Kelte Minara koshk to Bairam Ali Ding
Kelte Minara koshk → Bairam Ali Ding is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bairam Ali Ding to Besh Agyz koshk
Bairam Ali Ding → Besh Agyz koshk is 26 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 Bairam Ali Ding
back through Besh Agyz koshk → back through Bairam Ali Ding is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bairam Ali Ding to Kelte Minara koshk
back through Bairam Ali Ding → Kelte Minara koshk is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.