Why this ride
It goes by way of Thulli koshk, Garam koshk, Ovliali koshk and Yaz and Gobekli Tepes. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Takhirbaj Tepe and Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 285 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 55
- 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 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 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Garam koshk.
3. Garam koshk
Out on the edge of the Karakum desert near the oasis city of Merv, odd buildings rise from the plain like giant sandcastles with ribbed sides. These are koshks, fortified mansions built of mud brick, their walls shaped into deep vertical corrugations that gave strength and shade and kept the interiors cool. Garam koshk is one of them, battered by centuries of wind and the occasional rainstorm, but still impressive in its bulk. They belong to the world of medieval Merv, and the most famous, the Kyz Kala, stand within the vast archaeological park that UNESCO inscribed in 1999.
Read the complete Garam koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Garam koshk. Next is Ovliali koshk.
4. Ovliali koshk
In the oasis of Merv, in southern Turkmenistan, the landscape is dotted with strange buildings of mud brick with walls that look like they have been folded or pleated, rising like fortresses from the fields. These are koshks, fortified manor houses built by the landed elite in the early Islamic period, from about the seventh to the tenth centuries, and the corrugated walls were not just decorative: they strengthened the structure and cast shadows that kept the interior cool. Ovliali koshk, near the town of Murgab, is one of them, and like the others it is part of the World Heritage site of Ancient Merv, one of the great cities of the Silk Road.
Read the complete Ovliali koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ovliali koshk, about halfway. Next is Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.
5. Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Out on the edge of the Murghab oasis in south-eastern Turkmenistan, where irrigated cotton fields meet the sand of the Karakum, low mounds rise from the flat land. Tepe means hill, and these hills are the eroded remains of ancient settlements: Yaz Depe, which gave its name to an Iron Age culture of the early first millennium BC, and Gobekli Depe nearby. To an untrained eye they are just humps of clay, but they belong to one of the longest continuous stories of settlement in Central Asia.
Read the complete Yaz and Gobekli Tepes write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ovliali koshk.
6. back through Ovliali koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ovliali koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ovliali koshk comes up about 182 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Garam koshk.
7. back through Garam koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Garam koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 216 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Garam koshk. 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 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 285 km.
Leg by leg
Takhirbaj Tepe to Thulli koshk
Takhirbaj Tepe → Thulli koshk is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thulli koshk to Garam koshk
Thulli koshk → Garam koshk is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Garam koshk to Ovliali koshk
Garam koshk → Ovliali koshk is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ovliali koshk to Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Ovliali koshk → Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to back through Ovliali koshk
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → back through Ovliali koshk is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ovliali koshk to back through Garam koshk
back through Ovliali koshk → back through Garam koshk is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Garam koshk to back through Thulli koshk
back through Garam koshk → back through Thulli koshk is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Thulli koshk to Takhirbaj Tepe
back through Thulli koshk → Takhirbaj Tepe is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.