Why this ride
The stops in between: Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of, Besh Agyz koshk and back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ and Besh Agyz koshk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 91 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 53
- 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. Kurtly ‘caravanserai’
Kurtly sits on the flat plain near Merv, in the south of the Karakum, and the caravanserai that gives the place its label is a reminder that the old Silk Road was a network of small stops as much as great cities. A caravanserai was a fortified inn where merchants and animals could rest, drink and sleep within walls, usually a day's travel from the next one. Some were grand, with arcades and domed rooms. Others were simple compounds of mud brick. Few survive intact, and the ones in Turkmenistan are often reduced to low walls and mounds.
Read the complete Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ is where the day begins. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
2. 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 comes up 19 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
38 km in you reach Besh Agyz koshk. Next is back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Kurtly ‘caravanserai’.
5. Kurtly ‘caravanserai’
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Kurtly ‘caravanserai’. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ to Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ → Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to Besh Agyz koshk
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → Besh Agyz koshk is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Besh Agyz koshk → back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to Kurtly ‘caravanserai’
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → Kurtly ‘caravanserai’ is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
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- Timurid iwans or Askhab and Takhirbaj Tepe · 371 km