Konegala Caravanserai and Ovliali koshk

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Konegala Caravanserai

   What I can tell you is what a caravanserai was, because the answer explains the place. Along the Silk Road, travellers needed to eat, sleep and water their animals every day or two, and rulers and merchants built fortified inns at intervals along the way, with thick walls, a single gate, a central courtyard and small rooms around the edge for people, with stables and storerooms.

   Read the complete Konegala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Konegala Caravanserai is where the day begins. Next is Thulli koshk.

2. 2. Thulli koshk

   Koshk is the local word for a fortified house, and around the oasis of Merv, in south-eastern Turkmenistan, dozens of these buildings survive from the early medieval period. Thulli koshk is one of them, a mud-brick structure with walls built in a distinctive corrugated pattern, like the folds of a curtain, which made them both stronger and more striking. These buildings were probably the homes of wealthy landowners, built to defend against raids, with rooms on two floors around a central hall.

   Read the complete Thulli koshk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Thulli koshk comes up 72 km in. Next is Ovliali koshk.

3. 3. Ovliali koshk

   In the oasis of Merv, in southern Turkmenistan, the landscape is dotted with strange buildings of mud brick with walls that look like they have been folded or pleated, rising like fortresses from the fields. These are koshks, fortified manor houses built by the landed elite in the early Islamic period, from about the seventh to the tenth centuries, and the corrugated walls were not just decorative: they strengthened the structure and cast shadows that kept the interior cool. Ovliali koshk, near the town of Murgab, is one of them, and like the others it is part of the World Heritage site of Ancient Merv, one of the great cities of the Silk Road.

   Read the complete Ovliali koshk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   143 km in you reach Ovliali koshk. Next is back through Thulli koshk.

4. 4. back through Thulli koshk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Thulli koshk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Thulli koshk, late in the day. Next is Konegala Caravanserai.

5. 5. Konegala Caravanserai

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Konegala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Konegala Caravanserai. That is the ride.