Yaz and Gobekli Tepes and Thulli koshk starting at Bayramaly

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis.

2. 2. Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis

   Merv is what is left of a city that once argued with Baghdad about which of them was the greatest in the Muslim world. Today it lies as a wide spread of mud-brick walls, domes and mounds in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan, a few kilometres from the town of Bayramaly and not far from the regional capital Mary. The Murgab river fans out here into an oasis, and for more than two thousand years that thin green strip made Merv the natural halt on the Silk Road between Persia and Central Asia.

   Read the complete Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis comes up 41 km in. 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

   81 km in you reach Ovliali koshk. Next is Thulli koshk.

4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Ovliali koshk.

5. 5. 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 sits at 162 km, about halfway. Next is back through Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis.

6. 6. back through Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Historic urban centre of the Merv oasis comes up 203 km in. Next is Yaz and Gobekli Tepes.

7. 7. 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

   Yaz and Gobekli Tepes closes the day.