Why this ride
The stops in between: Kushmeihan, Bairam Ali Ding, Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba and back through Bairam Ali Ding.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Takhirbaj Tepe and Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 396 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 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. 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 Kushmeihan.
2. 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 comes up about 66 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bairam Ali Ding.
3. 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
about 133 km into the recorded legs you reach Bairam Ali Ding. Next is Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Bairam Ali Ding.
5. back through Bairam Ali Ding
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Bairam Ali Ding sits at 263 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 327 km into the recorded legs. Next is Takhirbaj Tepe.
7. 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
Takhirbaj Tepe closes the day.
Leg by leg
Takhirbaj Tepe to Kushmeihan
Takhirbaj Tepe → Kushmeihan is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kushmeihan to Bairam Ali Ding
Kushmeihan → Bairam Ali Ding is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bairam Ali Ding to Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Bairam Ali Ding → Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba to back through Bairam Ali Ding
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba → back through Bairam Ali Ding is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bairam Ali Ding to back through Kushmeihan
back through Bairam Ali Ding → back through Kushmeihan is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kushmeihan to Takhirbaj Tepe
back through Kushmeihan → Takhirbaj Tepe is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.