Why this ride
It goes by way of Garam koshk, Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba, Ovliali koshk and Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes and Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 178 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 46
- 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: 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Garam koshk.
2. 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 comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.
3. Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
The Karakum desert surrounds the oasis of Merv on three sides, and the Murghab river, which feeds the oasis, ends in the sand a little downstream. Talkhatan Baba, a brick mosque and mausoleum in the area of Mary, belongs to the medieval Islamic centuries when Merv was one of the great cities of the world, a Seljuk capital with libraries, observatories and a population that rivalled any in Europe.
Read the complete Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba. 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 Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi.
5. 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 sits at 80 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 110 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba.
7. back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 131 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba. Next is back through Garam koshk.
8. 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
back through Garam koshk, late in the day. Next is Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.
9. Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The route ends here after 178 km.
Leg by leg
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes to Garam koshk
Yaz and Gobekli Tepes → Garam koshk is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Garam koshk to Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
Garam koshk → Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba to Ovliali koshk
Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba → Ovliali koshk is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ovliali koshk to Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi
Ovliali koshk → Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi to back through Ovliali koshk
Mausolea of Imam Bakr and Shafi → back through Ovliali koshk is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ovliali koshk to back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba
back through Ovliali koshk → back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba to back through Garam koshk
back through Mosque/Mausoleum of Talkhattan Baba → back through Garam koshk is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Garam koshk to Yaz and Gobekli Tepes
back through Garam koshk → Yaz and Gobekli Tepes is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.