Why this ride
It goes by way of Besh Agyz koshk, Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of, Kushmeihan and Bairam Ali Ding.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Takhirbaj Tepe and Bairam Ali Ding
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 414 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 09
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Besh Agyz koshk.
2. 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
Besh Agyz koshk comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
3. 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
about 98 km into the recorded legs you reach Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of. Next is Kushmeihan.
4. Kushmeihan
The Murghab river comes out of the Afghan hills and dies in the sands of the Karakum, and where it spreads out near the town of Mary it created the oasis of Merv, one of the great cities of the medieval world. Kushmeihan is one of the sites scattered across that oasis, a low ruin in the flat, brown country east of the more famous monuments. The ancient Merv complex is listed by UNESCO, and the label here belongs to the same landscape of ramparts, mounds and mudbrick that stretches for many kilometres.
Read the complete Kushmeihan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kushmeihan, about halfway. Next is Bairam Ali Ding.
5. Bairam Ali Ding
North of Bayramaly, toward the edge of the irrigated land of the Merv oasis, the remains of a ding stand on the flat plain: a fortified building of mud brick, often square or rectangular, with thick walls and corner towers, used as a manor, a refuge or a watch post. The oasis is scattered with structures like this, from medieval times to the more recent past, and many are associated with the defence of farmland and water channels against raiders from the desert. They are part of the wider archaeological landscape of Merv, one of the richest in Central Asia, where every mound and wall has a story, even if not all of them have been told yet.
Read the complete Bairam Ali Ding write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bairam Ali Ding sits at 208 km, about halfway. Next is back through Kushmeihan.
6. back through Kushmeihan
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kushmeihan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kushmeihan comes up about 273 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of.
7. 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
about 319 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of. Next is back through Besh Agyz koshk.
8. back through Besh Agyz koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Besh Agyz koshk, late in the day. Next is Takhirbaj Tepe.
9. 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
The route ends here after 414 km.
Leg by leg
Takhirbaj Tepe to Besh Agyz koshk
Takhirbaj Tepe → Besh Agyz koshk is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
Besh Agyz koshk → Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of to Kushmeihan
Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → Kushmeihan is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kushmeihan to Bairam Ali Ding
Kushmeihan → Bairam Ali Ding is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bairam Ali Ding to back through Kushmeihan
Bairam Ali Ding → back through Kushmeihan is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kushmeihan to back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of
back through Kushmeihan → back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of is 45 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 Besh Agyz koshk
back through Mausoleum of Huday Nazar; the Mausolea of → back through Besh Agyz koshk is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Besh Agyz koshk to Takhirbaj Tepe
back through Besh Agyz koshk → Takhirbaj Tepe is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.