Why this ride
The stops in between: Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip, Gonur Tepe, Besh Agyz koshk and State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Togoluk and State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 578 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 15 h 09
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Togoluk
What I can say is that the surrounding land belongs to the Murghab oasis, where a river born in the Afghan mountains fans out into irrigated fields, then dies in the sand. This is one of the oldest farming and trading landscapes in Central Asia, and everything around here is shaped by water and by the lack of it.
Read the complete Togoluk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Togoluk is where the day begins. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
2. Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Four thousand years ago, in the delta of the Murghab river, a civilisation grew up around irrigated fields and fortified settlements that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. Kelleli, Adji Kui and Taip are names of mounds in that delta, low hills of eroded mud brick standing in the flat plain of the Karakum, where the river once split into channels and watered an oasis. People lived here between about 2300 and 1700 BC, building walled compounds with towers, workshops, graves and what may have been temples with fire altars.
Read the complete Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip comes up 38 km in. Next is Gonur Tepe.
3. Gonur Tepe
Gonur Tepe lies deep in the sands north of Mary, at the end of a long track into what was once the delta of the Murghab river. Today the river runs dry long before it gets here and the desert has taken over, but four thousand years ago this was the capital of a Bronze Age civilisation that archaeologists call Margiana, or the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex. Palaces, temples, fortifications and huge cemeteries have been excavated from the mounds, and walking among the mud-brick foundations in the silence of the desert is eerie and moving.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
76 km in you reach Gonur Tepe. Next is Besh Agyz koshk.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien.
5. State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien
South of the Karakum and just outside the modern city of Mary, the ground is littered with the ghosts of cities. Nagym Kala, the Greater and Lesser forts, are two of the walled settlements that make up the old Merv oasis, one of the great cities of the Silk Road. The Murgab river spreads out here into a delta that has fed farmers for thousands of years, and Merv grew up where the water met the desert.
Read the complete State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien sits at 152 km, about halfway. Next is back through Besh Agyz koshk.
6. 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 comes up 190 km in. Next is back through Gonur Tepe.
7. back through Gonur Tepe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gonur Tepe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
228 km in you reach back through Gonur Tepe. Next is back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
8. back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip, late in the day. Next is Togoluk.
9. Togoluk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Togoluk 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 578 km.
Leg by leg
Togoluk to Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Togoluk → Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Gonur Tepe
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Gonur Tepe is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gonur Tepe to Besh Agyz koshk
Gonur Tepe → Besh Agyz koshk is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Besh Agyz koshk to State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien
Besh Agyz koshk → State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien to back through Besh Agyz koshk
State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancien → back through Besh Agyz koshk is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Besh Agyz koshk to back through Gonur Tepe
back through Besh Agyz koshk → back through Gonur Tepe is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gonur Tepe to back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
back through Gonur Tepe → back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to Togoluk
back through Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → Togoluk is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.