Timurid iwans or Askhab and Ovliali koshk

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Timurid iwans or Askhab

   Just outside the town of Bayramaly in Turkmenistan's Mary region lies the biggest archaeological landscape in Central Asia, the oasis of Merv. People have farmed here since the Bronze Age, thanks to the Murghab river, which fans out into the Karakum desert and makes a green island in a sea of sand. Over the centuries, Merv became a great Silk Road city, called Mary or Marw, and at its height in the twelfth century under the Seljuk sultans it was one of the largest cities in the world. Then, in 1221, the Mongols came, and the chroniclers wrote of enormous slaughter. The city never recovered its former glory.

   Read the complete Timurid iwans or Askhab write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Timurid iwans or Askhab is where the day begins. Next is Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi.

2. 2. Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi

   The Merv oasis in southern Turkmenistan was once one of the greatest cities of the medieval world. Watered by the Murghab river, which flows north from Afghanistan and fans out into the Karakum desert, it was a capital of the Seljuk sultans in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and a key stop on the Silk Road. The Mongols destroyed it in 1221, and the ruins of successive cities, spread over a huge area, now form the Ancient Merv archaeological park, inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1999. Among the ruins stand several mausolea of revered figures, small domed buildings that have drawn pilgrims for centuries and still do today.

   Read the complete Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ovliali koshk.

3. 3. 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

   about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Ovliali koshk. Next is back through Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi.

4. 4. back through Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi, late in the day. Next is Timurid iwans or Askhab.

5. 5. Timurid iwans or Askhab

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Timurid iwans or Askhab write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Timurid iwans or Askhab. That is the ride.