Why this ride
On the way it passes Ovliali koshk, Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip and back through Ovliali koshk. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yaki Pir koshk and Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 383 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 24
- 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. Yaki Pir koshk
Yaki Pir koshk is a name that points to a ruined building, probably a fortified house or pavilion of the kind that medieval rulers and landowners built in the Merv oasis, and it stands close to Takhirbaj Tepe, the other ride mentioned here. The word koshk comes from the Persian for a palace or pavilion, and in the Karakum world it often means a strongly built mudbrick residence with towers.
Read the complete Yaki Pir koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Yaki Pir koshk is where the day begins. Next is Ovliali koshk.
2. 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 comes up 90 km in. Next is Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip.
3. 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
180 km in you reach Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip. Next is back through Ovliali koshk.
4. 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, late in the day. Next is Yaki Pir koshk.
5. Yaki Pir koshk
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Yaki Pir koshk write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Yaki Pir koshk. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Yaki Pir koshk to Ovliali koshk
Yaki Pir koshk → Ovliali koshk is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ovliali koshk to Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip
Ovliali koshk → Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip to back through Ovliali koshk
Kelleli; Adji Kui; Taip → back through Ovliali koshk is 119 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ovliali koshk to Yaki Pir koshk
back through Ovliali koshk → Yaki Pir koshk is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.