Why this ride
The stops in between: Durnali koshk, Bairam Ali Ding, Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas and Garam koshk.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Thulli koshk and Garam koshk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 171 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 57
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Durnali koshk.
2. Durnali koshk
Merv was once one of the largest cities in the world, and what is left of it lies scattered across a desert plain in southern Turkmenistan. In the twelfth century, under the Seljuk sultans, it was a major capital, with libraries, mosques and markets, and travellers called it the mother of the world. In 1221 the Mongols took it after a siege and, according to the old chronicles, killed a huge proportion of its inhabitants, and the city never recovered. UNESCO listed the park of ancient Merv in 1999.
Read the complete Durnali koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Durnali koshk comes up about 23 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 42 km into the recorded legs you reach Bairam Ali Ding. Next is Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas.
4. Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas
Two ruined buildings stand a short distance apart on the plain of Merv, and both are called Kyz Kala, the maidens' fort. The larger one is a vast square block of mud brick with walls that are corrugated, with a row of vertical flutes that give the surface a strange rhythmic texture, and the smaller one is a similar building on a smaller scale. They are among the best-preserved structures from the early Islamic period at Merv, probably dating from the sixth or seventh century or thereabouts, though historians still discuss their exact date and purpose.
Read the complete Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas, about halfway. Next is Garam koshk.
5. 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
Garam koshk sits at 86 km, about halfway. Next is back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas.
6. back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas comes up about 109 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Bairam Ali Ding.
7. 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
about 128 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Bairam Ali Ding. Next is back through Durnali koshk.
8. back through Durnali koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Durnali koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Durnali koshk, late in the day. Next is Thulli koshk.
9. 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
The route ends here after 171 km.
Leg by leg
Thulli koshk to Durnali koshk
Thulli koshk → Durnali koshk is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Durnali koshk to Bairam Ali Ding
Durnali koshk → Bairam Ali Ding is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bairam Ali Ding to Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas
Bairam Ali Ding → Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas to Garam koshk
Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas → Garam koshk is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Garam koshk to back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas
Garam koshk → back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas to back through Bairam Ali Ding
back through Greater and Lesser Nagym Kalas → back through Bairam Ali Ding is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bairam Ali Ding to back through Durnali koshk
back through Bairam Ali Ding → back through Durnali koshk is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Durnali koshk to Thulli koshk
back through Durnali koshk → Thulli koshk is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.