Description
Tashkent-Samarkand-Shakhrisabz-Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva-Urgench-Tashkent
2 nights in Tashkent – Tashkent Palace 4****
3 nights in Samarkand – Hotel Diyora 4****
2 nights in Bukhara – Asia Bukhara 4****
2 nights in Khiva – Asia Khiva 3***
1 DAY: HOME – TASHKENT (flight + 10 km)
Departure from home with TURKISH AIRLINES via Istanbul or AEROFLOT via Moscow and overnight on board. Early morning arrival in Tashkent. Meet guide of your group, transfer to hotel (10 km) and overnight.
2 DAY: TASHKENT – SAMARKAND (280 km + excursion)
Breakfast. “Check out” hotel. Transfer to Samarkand (280 km). Excursion in Museum Afrosiyob. It was an ancient site of northern Samarkand, that was occupied from c 500 BC to 1220 AD. Today, it is a hilly grass mound located near the Bibi Khanaum Mosque. Afrasiyab is the oldest part and the ruined site of the ancient and medieval city of Samarkand. It was located on high ground for defensive reasons, south of a river valley and north of a large fertile area which has now became part of the city of Samarkand. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in hotel.
3 DAY: SAMARKAND (excursion)
Breakfast. Excursion to the heart of Uzbekistan – Samarkand (“Stone Fort” or “Rock Town”) is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia, prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean. At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia. There is evidence of human activity in the area of the city from the late Paleolithic era, though there is no direct evidence of when exactly Samarkand was founded, some theories say that it was founded between the VIII and VII centuries BC. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in the hotel.
4 DAY: SAMARKAND – SHAKHRISABZ – SAMARKAND (140 km + excursion + 140 km)
Breakfast, transfer to Shakhrisabz (140 km). It means city of green or verdant city. It is a city in southern Uzbekistan located in the southern part of Samarkand. It was a major city of Central Asia, it is primarily known today as the birthplace of 14th-century Turk-Mongol conqueror Timur. Shahrisabz was the birthplace of Timur on April 9, 1336, who was born in the family of a minor local chief, and during the early years of the Timurids’ Dinasty, enjoyed its considerable patronage. Timur regarded Shahrisabz as his “home town” and planned it eventually to be the location of his tomb. Several remaining impressive monuments from the Timurids’ Dinasty have enabled the old part of the city to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in the hotel.
5 DAY: SAMARKAND – BUKHARA (280 km + excursion)
Breakfast, transfer to Bukhara (280 km). Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa (XIX century mid) – summer residence of Bukhara’s last emir. The Bukhara architects having trained in Russia managed to combine oriental and western styles in their creation. Mausoleum of Bakhoutdin Naqshbandi (XIV century) – is one of the most important Muslim shrines. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in hotel.
6 DAY: BUKHARA (excursion)
Breakfast. Excursion in the historic center of Bukhara – functioned as one of the main centers of Persian civilization since its early days in the VI century BC – Turkish speakers gradually moved in from the VI century AD. The city’s architectural and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara long formed a part of the Persian Empire. The mausoleum of Samanids is located in the historical urban nucleus of the city of Bukhara, in a park laid out on the site of an ancient cemetery. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in the hotel.
7 DAY: BUKHARA – KHIVA (480 km)
Breakfast. Transfer to Khiva (480 km). Our route goes crossing the Amu-Darya River and the Red Desert (Kyzilkum). In Uzbekistan there are two great rivers: the Amu-Darya (in classical Greek known as the Oxus) and the Syr-Darya (known asJaxartes or Yaxartes by the Greeks). Amu Darya flows through Turkmenistan from south to north, passing Turkmenabad and marking the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan from Khalkabad. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in the hotel.
8 DAY: KHIVA (excursion)
After breakfast in the hotel we start full day city tour of Khiva – one of the most fascinating cities in the region. Its facilities are in Arabic style with color ranging from light blue to turquoise; there remained virtually intact since the sixteenth century. A traditional story attributes the name to one of the sons of Noah: “It is said that Shem, after the flood, he found himself wandering in the desert alone. Having fallen asleep, he dreamt of 300 burning torches. Once woke up, he was pleased with this omen, he founded the city with outlines in the form of a ship mapped out according to the placement of the torches, about which he had dreamt. It is possible to see this well in Ichan-Kala (an internal town of Khiva City) even today. Dinner at local restaurant & overnight in the hotel.
9 DAY: KHIVA – URGENCH – TASHKENT (35 km + flight + exursion)
Breakfast. Transfer to airport (35 km) & departure for Tashkent with local flight HY-1052 (10:30 – 11:50). Arrival in Tashkent. Transfer to the north-east part of city, that’s ancient part called as ‘old city’. It looks like a maze of narrow dusty streets overlooked by low houses from brick and mud. Excursion in the city visiting: ‘Khasti-Imom’ complex: madrassa, mosque, mausoleum & museum of the Holy Koran. Dinner at local restaurant and overnight in the hotel.
Ferrero –
it was amazing