Instead he led his army to Kish, about 70 kilometres (43 mi) due south from Samarkand.[14] There he received news from his scouts that the Türgesh had sent detachments of their own to spoil the wells on his line of march. His counsellors initially suggested a route west around the mountains of the Zarafshan Range, which lay between Kish and Samarkand, through the village of al-Muhtaraqah.