Day 54. Ashgabat - Mary
We got up early, met our guide in the lobby, gobbled down a couple of small croissants and a boiled egg and hit the road. We motored out of Ashgabat just as the sun was appearing over the horizon. They sweep the roads around here so much they are shiny. It feels coolish at 27C.
After a few km we had our first stop to view an ancient mausoleum which had been pretty well destroyed in the 1948 earthquake. Apparently it measured over 9 on the Richter scale, these mud brick building stood no chance. There are still beliefs pertaining to this place, an old lady was sitting in the steps with her beads going and then a group of young women arrived and wandered around the ruins. Apparently if your baby is overdue or you can’t find a mate then a visit to this place will do the trick. None of them looked to be with child so I can only assume it was the latter.
I chugged down my 3rd bottle of water for the day and we were off again. Next was to a caravanserai which dated to the 3rd century BC. There’s not much left of it except a few walls and the water channels and the watchtower bases. It was the site of numerous battles and skirmishes until finally in the 1300’s the Mongols decimated the place.
There are pottery fragments and human bone fragments littering the place. A bit spooky.
Soon after this we spied our first camels wandering about.
Back on the bike and we could feel the temperature starting to rise. By the time we pulled in for our first (and only) water stop at 9:30 it was 39 in the shade. From here to Mary there was simply nowhere to stop, no shade at all. The heat is hard to describe, you just know that to have a breakdown or be stranded here would mean serious trouble. I have been riding with my jacket open and no gloves. My visor was up most of the way until I felt the air behind my sunglasses started to feel like my eyes were burning. I closed my visor and it was much better. We didn’t really sweat that much, maybe the hot air dried it out. It was consistently hot and every now and then it supercharged and it felt like we were riding through somebody’s hair drier.
We counted down the km’s to go and thankfully pulled into the hotel driveway. Cold showers all round.
After a few km we had our first stop to view an ancient mausoleum which had been pretty well destroyed in the 1948 earthquake. Apparently it measured over 9 on the Richter scale, these mud brick building stood no chance. There are still beliefs pertaining to this place, an old lady was sitting in the steps with her beads going and then a group of young women arrived and wandered around the ruins. Apparently if your baby is overdue or you can’t find a mate then a visit to this place will do the trick. None of them looked to be with child so I can only assume it was the latter.
There are pottery fragments and human bone fragments littering the place. A bit spooky.
Bike caused quite a stir - a few selfies taken whilst we were sightseeing the ruins.
Soon after this we spied our first camels wandering about.
Back on the bike and we could feel the temperature starting to rise. By the time we pulled in for our first (and only) water stop at 9:30 it was 39 in the shade. From here to Mary there was simply nowhere to stop, no shade at all. The heat is hard to describe, you just know that to have a breakdown or be stranded here would mean serious trouble. I have been riding with my jacket open and no gloves. My visor was up most of the way until I felt the air behind my sunglasses started to feel like my eyes were burning. I closed my visor and it was much better. We didn’t really sweat that much, maybe the hot air dried it out. It was consistently hot and every now and then it supercharged and it felt like we were riding through somebody’s hair drier.
We counted down the km’s to go and thankfully pulled into the hotel driveway. Cold showers all round.
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