UZBEKISTAN HIGHLIGHTS

Day by day itinerary:

Day 1 Arrival in Tashkent

Today we arrive in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Overnight in Tashkent Hotel (D)

Day 2 Tashkent-Urgench Khiva

Half day sightseeing of Tashkent city later transfer to the airport for flight to Khiva, upon arrival after short driver to Khiva city.

Overnight in Khiva hotel (BD)

Day 3 Khiva: City Tour

Legend has it that Khiva was founded when Shem, son of Noah, discovered a well here. The town certainly existed by the 8th Century, as a minor fort and trading post on a Silk Road branch to the Caspian Sea and the Volga. In the early 16th century, Khiva was made capital of the Timurid Empire, becoming a busy slave market and pivot of the khanate for the next three centuries. Until Russia finally wrested the region from Timurid grasp in the 19th century, even the boldest hearts feared encounters with these fierce tribesmen and their desert territory. Khiva is an ancient walled city and looks much like it did in centuries past. It is one of the few sites in Central Asia where one can easily imagine life during the time of the emirates. We will spend the morning wandering its maze of ruins and great mosques. Later, a tour of this living museum including the Ichon-Qala gates, Muhammad Amin and Rakhim Khan's Medressas, Tosh-Khovli Palace, Islom-Huja Medressa and Minaret. Dinner will be served at Toza Bogh Palace (Summer residence of Muhammad Rahim Khan II).

Overnight in Khiva at hotel (BD)

Day 4 Khiva - Bukhara

Our drive to Bukhara is through the arid setting of the Kyzyl Kum Desert. Along the way we stop for some refreshments and see how humans have survived over the centuries in this unforgiving landscape. With buildings spanning 1,000 years of history and a thoroughly lived-in city centre that hasn't changed much in two centuries, Bukhara is one of the best places in Central Asia to catch a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan. Most of the city centre is an architectural preserve and includes a massive royal fortress, plenty of former Madrassas, a number of ancient public baths and the remnants of a once-vast market complex. There are over 140 protected buildings in the city.

Overnight in Bukhara at hotel (BD)

Day 5 Bukhara: City Tour

Today we explore the old quarter on foot. Bukhara is an ancient city with its bustling "trade domes," active mosques, and the Kalyan Minaret ("tower of death"), one of Central Asia's tallest. We'll stroll around the streets and visit the old town center where old men with long white beards gossip for hours while drinking tea. Bukhara has been designated a World Heritage Site; the resulting restoration of some of the mosques, constructed in the 11th to 15th centuries, to make them appear as if they were built yesterday. There are even some structures still standing that date back to Zorastrian times 2,500 years ago.

We also visit the massive fortress, The Ark, with the Emir's open-air throne room and the Mausoleum of Ismail Samani, an intricate and beautiful 10th century brick structure that is nicely preserved. Our tour of the Uzbek capital includes the Barak Khan Seminary, Kukeldash and Abul Khassim Medressas, and the Uzbek Museum of Applied Arts. We'll also venture to the outskirts of Bukhara and visit the summer palace of the last emir, built by a Russian Czar with grand halls and a harem. We will also see Char Minar, a gate of a ancient madrassa long time gone. It was built in 1809 and has more in common with Indian art styles than local. Its name comes from Tajik although the towers you can see are not actually minarets but simply decorative towers. Evening watch the traditional Bukhara folk show

Overnight in Bukhara at hotel (B-D)

Day 6 Bukhara Free day

Full free day to explore Bukhara city.

Overnight in hotel (B-D)

Day 7 Bukhara-Nurata-Dungalak

Mornig drive to Nurata en-route visit Sheikh Nuri’s tomb, and Namoz Gah Mosque after lunch drive to Kazakh village of Dungalak.In the afternoon enjoy the camel ride in the Kyzyl Kum desert.

Overnight in Yurt camp (B-D)

Day 8 Dungalak-Aydar Kul Lake-Samarkand

Morning driver to Aydar Kul Lake where you have a chance to walk around, watch the birds, swimming.

After picnic lunch return to Samarkand

Overnight in hotel (B-D)

Day 9 Samarkand: City Tour

Samarkand, sometimes called the ‘Rome of the Orient' was already flourishing when Rome and Babylon were founded. During the course of our full day tour we visit the famous Registan Square, Bibi Khanum Mosque, Mausoleum of Tamerlane, Observatory of Ulughbek, the site where Uleg Bek, grandson of Tamerlane, made some of the greatest achievements of the pre-telescope era of astronomy in the 15th century. We also visit the regal mausoleums of Shah-I Zinda, site of Central Asia's most sacred Islamic shrine, the massive mosque of Bibi Khanym, and the adjacent colourful market. You can purchase Samarkand's famous bread which Alexander the Great unsuccessfully tried to have duplicated back home in Greece, or try some of the region's local produce, from grapes to the world's tastiest melons of multiple varieties. Our afternoon tour covers the Afrosiab Museum, located on the site of ancient Afrosiab.

Overnight in Samarkand at hotel (BD)

Day 10 Shakhrisabz - Samarkand

Day trip to Shakhrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane, where we tour Ak-Saray Palace, Kok-Gumbaz Mosque, House of Meditation and the Crypt of Timur, a man who changed the course of history and made a significant difference to Central Asia. There's little left of Timur's Ak-Saray Palace except bits of the gigantic, 40 m (98 foot) high entrance covered with gorgeous filigree like blue, white and gold mosaics, but it's staggering to try and imagine what the rest of this glorious summer palace must have looked like.later return to Samarkand. For most people, Samarkand is as mythical as Atlantis or as remote and legendary as Tombouctou. The sublime larger-than-life monuments of Timur, the technicolour bazaar and the city's long, rich history work a special kind of magic. On arrival we'll visit the old bazaars for which this exotic city is famous.

Overnight in Samarkand at hotel (BD)

Day 11 Samarkand-Tashkent

In the morning we drive along the scenic road as it winds along the eastern spurs of the Pamir Ranges to Tashkent.

We continue on a city tour of Tashkent visiting mosques and madrassas (Islamic schools) housing craft work shops and dating from the 14th century. We visit the Kukeldash Medressa, a grand 16th century academy undergoing restoration and the History Museum of Uzbekistan and the Museum of Fine Arts.

Day 12Tashkent – Kokand – Rishtan - Fergana

Morning depart by road to Fergana en route visit Kokand, capital of the Kokand Khanate in the 18th and 19th centuries. Visit the Khan's Palace Museum and Rishtan, one of the most important ceramic centers in Central Asia. Visit potter's home Rustam Usmanov his family make the traditional Uzbekistan ceramics of the region. Visit the studio and watch as skilled craftsmen make and decorate the plates, bowls, pitchers, etc. Afterward continue drive to Fergana. Along the road you will start to notice the mulberry trees that are essential to the silk production in this area of Uzbekistan. Dinner and overnight in Fergana (BD)

Day 13 Fergana valley

Drive to Margilan to visit silk IKAT weaving center and Margilan craft center, supported by UNESCO and housed in a historic madrassa. Of special interest here is the velvet ikat weaving workshop of Rasuljon Mirzaahmedov (some years ago Oscar de La Renta made a collection of Rasuljon’s fabrics). Visit Yodgorlik silk weaving factory in Margilan. This factory produces silk and cotton/silk ikat using hand done traditional techniques and processes. We will get to see every aspect of the process from reeling the silk from the cocoons, winding skeins and warps, natural dyeing, loom preparation and weaving. There is a lovely small shop here where you can purchase many exquisite examples of traditional CentralAsian ikat. After the silk factory, we will proceed to a hand block printer’s workshop in Margilan. Salijon Ahmadaliev works with natural (and some chemical) dyes to produce the traditional woodblock printed cloths that you will see all over this region. Return to Fergana for overnight (BD)

Day 14 Fergana - Tashkent

Morning drive to Tashkent, en route visit Chust – the most famous area of knife makers in Uzbekistan Arrive in Tashkent and check-in to hotel The rest of the day is free. Farewell dinner in local restaurant (BD)

Day 15 Onward flight

At the end of this long, exciting and educational journey you are transferred to the airport for your flight home (B)