Why this ride
On the way it passes Mansaf Caravanserai, Tahmalaj, Thulli koshk and back through Tahmalaj. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yeradzhi and Thulli koshk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 1383 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 23 h 50
- 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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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. 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 359 km into the recorded legs. Next is Tahmalaj.
3. Tahmalaj
Nobody comes to Tahmalaj by accident. For centuries, merchants travelling the Silk Road crossed this stretch of sand and clay, stopping at caravanserais, fortified enclosures and wells along the way, some of which still stand as ruined walls in the desert. The ride names nearby sites such as the Nagym Kalas and the Mansaf caravanserai, part of a cluster of monuments along this old route, and little is known about many of them beyond their names and outlines.
Read the complete Tahmalaj write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 474 km into the recorded legs you reach Tahmalaj. Next is Thulli koshk.
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 Tahmalaj.
5. back through Tahmalaj
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Tahmalaj write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Tahmalaj sits at 922 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mansaf Caravanserai.
6. 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 comes up about 1019 km into the recorded legs. Next is Yeradzhi.
7. 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
Yeradzhi closes the day.
Leg by leg
Yeradzhi to Mansaf Caravanserai
Yeradzhi → Mansaf Caravanserai is 359 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Mansaf Caravanserai to Tahmalaj
Mansaf Caravanserai → Tahmalaj is 114 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Tahmalaj to Thulli koshk
Tahmalaj → Thulli koshk is 216 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Thulli koshk to back through Tahmalaj
Thulli koshk → back through Tahmalaj is 216 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Tahmalaj to back through Mansaf Caravanserai
back through Tahmalaj → back through Mansaf Caravanserai is 114 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mansaf Caravanserai to Yeradzhi
back through Mansaf Caravanserai → Yeradzhi is 359 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Yeradzhi and Mansaf Caravanserai · 279 km
- Yeradzhi and Akja Gala Caravanserai · 330 km
- Yeradzhi and Gyzylja Gala Caravanserai · 389 km
- Yeradzhi and Thulli koshk · 326 km · 326 km