Why this ride
The stops in between: Akja Gala Caravanserai, Thulli koshk, Takhirbaj Tepe and Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mansaf Caravanserai and Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of · 1281 km
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 1281 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 22 h 03
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Mansaf Caravanserai
Out in the Karakum, the great black-sand desert that covers most of Turkmenistan, the old caravan route between Merv and Amul on the Amu Darya crossed some two hundred kilometres of sand, and along it, at intervals of a day's march, stood caravanserais where travellers could rest, water their animals and find shelter. The ruins of the Mansaf caravanserai lie on this route, a crumbling square of brick walls and gateways in an empty landscape of dunes and saxaul shrubs. They are part of the Silk Roads heritage of Central Asia, and the corridor is on Turkmenistan's list of sites proposed for UNESCO recognition.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mansaf Caravanserai is where the day begins. Next is Akja Gala Caravanserai.
2. Akja Gala Caravanserai
The Silk Road across the Karakum was never a single road. It was a series of wells, forts and caravanserais, a day's travel apart, where camels could drink and merchants could sleep behind walls. Akja Gala is one of these shelters, a square brick building with a central courtyard and rooms around it, set in sand and saxaul scrub between Merv and the Amu Darya, the river called the Oxus by the Greeks.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Akja Gala Caravanserai comes up about 144 km into the recorded legs. Next is Thulli koshk.
3. 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
about 335 km into the recorded legs you reach Thulli koshk. Next is Takhirbaj Tepe.
4. 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
Takhirbaj Tepe, about halfway. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
5. 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 sits at 641 km, about halfway. Next is back through Takhirbaj Tepe.
6. back through Takhirbaj Tepe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Takhirbaj Tepe comes up about 802 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Thulli koshk.
7. 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
about 946 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Thulli koshk. Next is back through Akja Gala Caravanserai.
8. back through Akja Gala Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Akja Gala Caravanserai, late in the day. Next is Mansaf Caravanserai.
9. Mansaf Caravanserai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 1281 km.
Leg by leg
Mansaf Caravanserai to Akja Gala Caravanserai
Mansaf Caravanserai → Akja Gala Caravanserai is 144 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Akja Gala Caravanserai to Thulli koshk
Akja Gala Caravanserai → Thulli koshk is 191 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thulli koshk to Takhirbaj Tepe
Thulli koshk → Takhirbaj Tepe is 144 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Takhirbaj Tepe to Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Takhirbaj Tepe → Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 161 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to back through Takhirbaj Tepe
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → back through Takhirbaj Tepe is 161 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Takhirbaj Tepe to back through Thulli koshk
back through Takhirbaj Tepe → back through Thulli koshk is 144 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thulli koshk to back through Akja Gala Caravanserai
back through Thulli koshk → back through Akja Gala Caravanserai is 191 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Akja Gala Caravanserai to Mansaf Caravanserai
back through Akja Gala Caravanserai → Mansaf Caravanserai is 144 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.