The Silk Road of Uzbekistan

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OVERVIEW

Travel along the fabled Silk Road, past ancient caravanserais and through the remote Central Asian countryside on this journey that takes you to the highlights of Uzbekistan. Marvel at incredible Islamic architecture and learn about a history that spans cultures and millennia.

Khiva – Step back in time as you stroll through the streets of this ‚open-air museum‘
Yurt Stay – Experience nomadic life as you sleep in a traditional felt tent
Samarkand – Explore Timur’s city, centred on Registan Square with its stunning blue mosaics.

ITINERARY

DAY 1 - Join trip Tashkent

Arrival in Tashkent, the fusion city of Uzbekistan. For those arriving on time today, our guide plans to meet you at the hotel reception at 1:00 pm to welcome you and take us on a city tour in the afternoon. We will set out to explore Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, which has been in this location for over 2000 years. Our sightseeing tour includes various sites in the city, such as Independence Square, the Old Town and the Earthquake Monument. We will also ride 2-3 stops on the Tashkent Metro, which boasts some ornate stations.

Meals provided – none

DAY - 2 Fly to Urgench and take a tour of the ancient city of Khiva

We are up early today for our flight to Urgench. Another 40-minute bus ride brings us to the remarkable ancient city of Khiva, where we will spend the next two nights.

The early history of this area is sketchily known. We do know, however, that by the time the Arabs arrived in the 8th century, Khiva was one of three important cities that dominated the region. The city’s strategic location on the Volga River, the branch of the Silk Road, made it a coveted imperial possession whose dominance was vied for by the British and Russians in the 19th century. In 1873, the city fell to the Russians, as had Samarkand and Bokhara before it. A Soviet restoration programme from the 1970s restored much of the city and turned it into an open-air museum.

On our afternoon tour, we might feel like we are in a scene from the movie ‚One Thousand and One Nights‘ as we explore the majestic Old Citadel. This 12th century fortress dominated the city before a palace, harem, barracks and mosques were built.

Meals provided – breakfast

DAY 3 In Khiva, Free day to explore the Old Citadel

Today is free for you to explore the mosques, tombs, palaces, madrassas, mausoleums, crafts, city walls and museums of this well-preserved city that has changed little since ancient times. Tonight you will have the opportunity to explore the city further after dark, when the magical silhouettes are even more spectacular in the moonlight.

There is also the possibility of a half-day excursion to the desert castles of Toprak Qala and Ayaz Qala, which are part of the Golden Ring of ancient Khorezm ( UNESCO) and are located in the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan

Meals provided – breakfast

DAYS 4 - 6 Drive through the vast plains of Central Asian Plateau to Bukhara, discover Bukhara

Day 4 Today’s journey to the fabled city of Bukhara will take all day, but will be interrupted by stops as we cross the Oxus River (Amu-Darya) and drive through the vast plains of the Kizilkum Desert.

Bukhara, home of the famous Islamic poets Firdausa and Rudaki, is called by some the ‚bastion of Islam‘. The city has preserved much of its Uzbek character and has more than 140 unique monuments. We take a short walk to the picturesque Lyabi Khauz, a water-filled stone pool flanked by chaikhanas (teahouses), cafes and restaurants, popular with newlyweds for wedding photos.

Meals provided – breakfast

Day 5

Today’s sightseeing day begins by bus before we continue on foot. Highlights include the Bolo Khauz Mosque, the Samanid Mausoleum (a pilgrimage site where the founder of the Samanid dynasty is buried), the 9th-century Magoki Attar Mosque. Century and the Poi Kalyan Complex (a simple square lined by some spectacular buildings – the Mir-i-Arab Madrassah, the Kalyon Juma Mosque and the majestic 11th century Kalyon ~Minar, one of the few buildings in the city built before the invasion of Genghis Khan) from where we will see the Kalyan Minaret.

This afternoon we plan to visit the Summer Palace of the Emirs of Bukhara, known as the ‚Palace of the Moonlike Stars.“ Here we will see the famous White Hall, which took 30 architects two years to build. Finally, we will see the Char Minar Mosque – the impressive entrance to a now demolished madrassa – and stroll through the alleys of the old town, where we may stop at a ‚chaikhana‘, a local tea house.

Meals provided – breakfast

Day 6 Free day to explore Bukhara’s sights further

Meals provided – breakfast

DAY 7 - Drive to desert yurt camp via Nurata

This morning we will drive a short distance to Gijduvan – a town known for its crafts and trade since the 10th century. Here we will visit the famous ceramics centre. Our next stop is Karmana, where we plan to visit the 10th century Mir-Said Bakhram Mausoleum. We will leave the main road and continue our journey north through the desert to Nurata. The town is famous for its sacred Chashma spring and attracts visitors from all over the Islamic world. Legend has it that this healing spring, which contains gold, silver and bromide, was created by the impact of a meteorite. In Nurata, we plan to have lunch in a local house and visit the remains of the Karazy fortress of Alexander the Great, which offers an excellent view of the desert landscape.

In the afternoon we will make our way to our overnight place in the desert. On the drive we can see camels and flocks of sheep wandering through the desert.

Tonight we spend the night in the desert camp in yurts, which are typical of the nomadic people of Central Asia. Yurts are round dwellings made of felt and insulated with sheepskins, traditionally built for transportation.

Meals provided – breakfast, lunch and dinner

DAYS 8 -9 Drive to Samarkand; afternoon exploration of the city's monuments including Registan Square

We drive to Samarkand this morning, through many small towns and past cotton fields that give a glimpse of rural life in Uzbekistan. Stormed by Alexander the Great and reduced to rubble by Genghis Khan, Samarkand was nevertheless transformed into the most glorious city in Transoxiana by Tamerlane, who made it his capital in the 14th century. Even today, the monumental scale of the buildings overwhelms visitors. This afternoon we visit the Registan, a majestic square framed on three sides by huge blue-tiled madrassas. We also visit the Gur Emir, the gold-covered tomb of Tamerlane himself.

Meals provided – breakfast

Next day visit the Shah-i-Zinda – a beautifully tiled necropolis with tombs, mosques and mausoleums of Tamerlane’s family, friends and the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin. We also visit the Ulug-Beg Observatory, considered one of the best observatories in the Islamic world. It was here that Ulug-Beg, the great mediaeval astronomer, built his gigantic sextant, which allowed him to calculate the length of a year to within 10 seconds. We see the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, once the largest mosque in Central Asia. It was built by Tamerlane with booty from the Indian campaigns and named after his favourite Mongol wife.

The afternoon is free for you to explore the city at your own pace. You can also visit ancient Afrosiab – the original site of the city in northeastern Samarkand, dating back to the late Stone Age.

Meals provided – breakfast

DAY 10 - In Samarkand, free morning; afternoon high-speed train to Tashkent

Today, there is more free time for further exploration. Later this afternoon, we transfer to the train station for our modern high speed train back to Tashkent.

Meals provided – breakfast

DAY 11 - Tour ends in Tashkent

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Tashkent.

Meals provided – breakfast

OVERVIEW

ITINERARY

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