Why this ride
On the way it passes Thulli koshk, Takhirbaj Tepe, Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of and Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Tahmalaj and Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 876 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 15 h 07
- 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. Tahmalaj
Nobody comes to Tahmalaj by accident. For centuries, merchants travelling the Silk Road crossed this stretch of sand and clay, stopping at caravanserais, fortified enclosures and wells along the way, some of which still stand as ruined walls in the desert. The ride names nearby sites such as the Nagym Kalas and the Mansaf caravanserai, part of a cluster of monuments along this old route, and little is known about many of them beyond their names and outlines.
Read the complete Tahmalaj write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tahmalaj is where the day begins. Next is Thulli koshk.
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 about 142 km into the recorded legs. Next is Takhirbaj Tepe.
3. 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
about 237 km into the recorded legs you reach Takhirbaj Tepe. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.
5. Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
The Karakum desert surrounds the oasis of Merv on three sides, and the Murghab river, which feeds the oasis, ends in the sand a little downstream. Talkhatan Baba, a brick mosque and mausoleum in the area of Mary, belongs to the medieval Islamic centuries when Merv was one of the great cities of the world, a Seljuk capital with libraries, observatories and a population that rivalled any in Europe.
Read the complete Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba sits at 438 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
6. 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 comes up about 533 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Takhirbaj Tepe.
7. 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
about 639 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Takhirbaj Tepe. Next is back through Thulli koshk.
8. 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 Tahmalaj.
9. Tahmalaj
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tahmalaj 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 876 km.
Leg by leg
Tahmalaj to Thulli koshk
Tahmalaj → Thulli koshk is 142 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thulli koshk to Takhirbaj Tepe
Thulli koshk → Takhirbaj Tepe is 95 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 106 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba to back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba → back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to back through Takhirbaj Tepe
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → back through Takhirbaj Tepe is 106 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 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thulli koshk to Tahmalaj
back through Thulli koshk → Tahmalaj is 142 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.