Why this ride
From Bayramaly it runs 859 km to Bayramaly; allow about 14 h 49 of riding. On the way it passes Togoluk, Akja Gala Caravanserai and back through Togoluk. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Mausoleum of Imam Qasim and Akja Gala Caravanserai
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 859 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 14 h 49
- 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. Mausoleum of Imam Qasim
Some places in Merv are enormous and some are intimate, and this belongs to the second kind. The mausoleum of Imam Qasim is a small pilgrimage site in the oasis, a place for quiet prayer rather than spectacle, the sort of shrine that has drawn local visitors for a very long time. It sits in the broad landscape of Merv, east of the Karakum desert, within a few kilometres of the town of Bayramaly, and the contrast between the quiet shrine and the huge empty ruins nearby is a big part of its character.
Read the complete Mausoleum of Imam Qasim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mausoleum of Imam Qasim is where the day begins. Next is Togoluk.
2. 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 comes up about 208 km into the recorded legs. Next is Akja Gala Caravanserai.
3. 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
about 428 km into the recorded legs you reach Akja Gala Caravanserai. Next is back through Togoluk.
4. back through Togoluk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Togoluk, late in the day. Next is Mausoleum of Imam Qasim.
5. Mausoleum of Imam Qasim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mausoleum of Imam Qasim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Mausoleum of Imam Qasim. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Mausoleum of Imam Qasim to Togoluk
Mausoleum of Imam Qasim → Togoluk is 208 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Togoluk to Akja Gala Caravanserai
Togoluk → Akja Gala Caravanserai is 220 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Akja Gala Caravanserai to back through Togoluk
Akja Gala Caravanserai → back through Togoluk is 220 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Togoluk to Mausoleum of Imam Qasim
back through Togoluk → Mausoleum of Imam Qasim is 208 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.