Yeradzhi and Garam koshk

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Yeradzhi

   Yeradzhi is a name on the map in the middle of the Karakum, the Black Sand desert that covers most of Turkmenistan. There is no town in the nearby list, which tells you most of what you need to know. The Karakum is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, with ridges, hollows, saxaul scrub and takyrs, the flat clay pans that bake hard in summer. It is cold in winter, brutally hot in summer, and when it rains the clay turns to grease.

   Read the complete Yeradzhi write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Yeradzhi is where the day begins. Next is Mansaf Caravanserai.

2. 2. Mansaf Caravanserai

   Out in the Karakum, the great black-sand desert that covers most of Turkmenistan, the old caravan route between Merv and Amul on the Amu Darya crossed some two hundred kilometres of sand, and along it, at intervals of a day's march, stood caravanserais where travellers could rest, water their animals and find shelter. The ruins of the Mansaf caravanserai lie on this route, a crumbling square of brick walls and gateways in an empty landscape of dunes and saxaul shrubs. They are part of the Silk Roads heritage of Central Asia, and the corridor is on Turkmenistan's list of sites proposed for UNESCO recognition.

   Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Mansaf Caravanserai comes up about 334 km into the recorded legs. Next is Akja Gala Caravanserai.

3. 3. Akja Gala Caravanserai

   The Silk Road across the Karakum was never a single road. It was a series of wells, forts and caravanserais, a day's travel apart, where camels could drink and merchants could sleep behind walls. Akja Gala is one of these shelters, a square brick building with a central courtyard and rooms around it, set in sand and saxaul scrub between Merv and the Amu Darya, the river called the Oxus by the Greeks.

   Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 468 km into the recorded legs you reach Akja Gala Caravanserai. 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 Garam koshk.

5. 5. 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 sits at 787 km, about halfway. Next is back through Thulli koshk.

6. 6. back through Thulli koshk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   back through Thulli koshk comes up about 929 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Akja Gala Caravanserai.

7. 7. back through Akja Gala Caravanserai

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Akja Gala Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 1106 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Akja Gala Caravanserai. Next is back through Mansaf Caravanserai.

8. 8. back through Mansaf Caravanserai

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mansaf Caravanserai write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Mansaf Caravanserai, late in the day. Next is Yeradzhi.

9. 9. Yeradzhi

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Yeradzhi 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 1570 km.