Along The Caravansaray Trail

You fly with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul to Tashkent, arriving early the next day.

On arrival at midnight, you will be greeted by your tour guide and driven to the hotel where you can rest. Late breakfast. In the afternoon you make a tour of the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. Experience a modern, cheerful town with Oriental signs: the Kafali-Shash-Mausoleum, the Kukeldash-Madrasa and the famous Koran Library. You can wander through the pedestrian area with its many street traders and cafés and travel with the only underground railway of Central Asia, impressive with its decorated stations. Dinner in a local restaurant. Two overnight stays in Tashkent.

Transfer to the airport, flight to Nukus – the capital of the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. Transfer to the hotel. Visit the world-famous Museum of Igor Savitski with its prolific collection of oil paintings from Russian Vanguard. Then on to the historical Mizdakhan Complex (20 km) – a gigantic cemetery with several mausoleums and mosques and countless graves from different eras, a mystical place with world clocks. Dinner in a typical restaurant. One overnight stay in Nukus.

Journey to Khiva, on the way, visiting Ayaz Kala – an impressive ancient mud fortress. In the Kyzylkum Desert, on the slope of one of the eastern foothills of the Sultanuvaystag, enormous ruins of one of the great fortresses of the old Khorezm dominate – Ayaz Kala. According to archaeological excavations, the Ayaz Kala fortress stems from the 2nd century BC. It was part of a system of border fortresses which formed a chain from East to West and which protected the oasis Khiva from the desert side. Then we will visit the other mud fortress Toprak Kala (ancient capital of Khorezm, 2nd century AD). In the afternoon, we arrive in the oasis town of Khiva. For dinner we will eat the meal which is typical for this area - „Shivit oshi“, which translates as „green noodles“. As the noodle dough is made from dill juice, the noodles are green. Two overnight stays in Khiva.

Sightseeing in the centre of Ichan-Kala. The town originated as a fortress in the 8th century and was an important trading centre along the Silk Road on the route to the Caspian Sea and the Volga. The famous building constructions of Central Asia, which have long become its emblem, are to be found in Ichan-Kala: Mohammed-Amin-Khan (19th century) Madrasa and Kalta Minar (the short minaret), Islam Khodja Minaret, the Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmud, Harems of Tash Havli and the Juma Mosque (Thousand Column Mosque), which was originally built as a Zoroastrian temple, and many others. In the afternoon we will visit a palace called Nurullabay, which was built by local and German craftsmen. The German Mennonites lived peacefully for a while in Khiva and the products of their workmanship were very popular with the people of Khiva. Sumptuous dinner in the summer palace of the „Toza-Bog“ Khans. Let the fantastic impressions of the day work their magic on you.

Trip through the semi-desert Kizil-Kum («Red Sand») and steppe to Bukhara. Picnic on route in an Uzbek «Roadhouse» tea-room. Arrival at hotel in Bukhara. You can explore Bukhara in the evening on your own. Dinner in a local restaurant. Three overnight stays in Bukhara.

We start our sightseeing with the mausoleum of Ismail Samani and then also visit the mausoleum Chashmai Ayub. We continue our town tour on foot. Bukhoroi sharif (noble Bukhara) is a town with imressive market dome buildings, active mosques and medrasas. Bukhara has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One feels transported to the world of the Tales of One Thousand and One Nights, and it is amazing that teaching and learning still continue today in the mosques and madrasas, for example in the madrasa Miri Arab and Minaret and the Kalon Mosque. You can admire the «classic» architectural complexes Lyabi Hauz with their trading domes, and several mosques, madrasas and the dervish monastery Khanaka in the town centre and will understand the honorary title «noble». On the way we will also visit market dome buildings such as Toqi Zargaron, Toqi Telpak furushon and Toqi Saraffon. Dinner today in an old Jewish house with a Bukhara family. The Susani embroiderer Abdurakhman will tell us about Bukhara embroidery. Tonight you will try Emirs Plov.

Today we will visit the Chor Minor Madrasa, whose four minarets (chor – four) and the entire way of building show similarities with the Indian building style. Then we will visit the summer residence of the last Bukhara Emir – Sitorai Mokhi Hossa. «The place where the moon and the stars meet» is the name of the Palace translated from Persian. As is known, Bukhara is one of the seven holy towns of the Islamic world. In Sufism, there are many orientations and representatives of all orders have worked in what is today Uzbekistan in differing periods of history. The Sufi order Sufi orden Naqshbandiyya left behind the greatest effect. Bahauddin Naqshbandi was one of the spiritual mentors of Tamerlan. His philosophy was based on the principle of «God in the heart – work in the hands». Bahauddin Naqshbandi Necropolis and memorial are considered to be the Central Asian Mecca. In the afternoon we will visit the Jewish quarter of Bukhara and go to a Synagogue which is over 400 years old. Then we will visit a Doll’s repair shop. Dinner in a local restaurant.

Trip to Samarkand – one of the pearls of the Orient, which is over 2750 years old. On the way, we will make a brief stop at the ruins of an old Caravansaray and «Sardoba» (water reservoir). Both of these date from the 11th to the 14th century and bear witness to the many caravansaries which passed through this stretch of the Silk Road. Samarkand – the town of the Tales of One Thousand and One Nights was considered in the Middle Ages to be one of the most beautiful towns in the world, and has still today lost none of its fascination. On arrival in Samarkand we will have a lunch break and then visit one of the visiting cards of Uzbekistan – the famous Registan Square with its three unique madrasas: Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tillya Kori. On the programme is also a visit to the palace-like mausoleum Guri-Emir of the ruler Timur (Tamerlan). Dinner in a local restaurant. Two overnight stays in Samarkand.

Today we will visit one of the greatest pilgrimage sites of the Islamic world – the Grave Complex of Saint Daniel, also the Bibi-Khanim-Mosque, which was once considered to be one of the greatest sacred buildings of the Orient. Next to the mosque is one of the oldest bazaars in Samarkand, the Siyob. We will spend 30 minutes there and then go to Ulugbek`s Observatory, once the greatest research centre in Central Asia. Shakhi Zinda or «living king» – a grave site where today the members of Timur’s family are buried. Samarkand – «Rome of the East» – has been a flourishing trading and cultural centre since immemorial time. After a break, we will go to a Silk paper manufacturer, founded by the master brothers Mukhtarov. Thanks to their efforts, the ancient tradition of paper production according to Samarkand technology has been revived. It is interesting that the entire process is carried out manually and the guests can watch it. Dinner in the restaurant „Samarkand“, where you can experience the culture of the country and the people at first hand.

Drive to Samarkand via Shakhrisabz. Ruins of Tamerlan Ak Saray`s summer palace, the Mosque Khazrati-Imam and Kok-Gumbas and the Dar-us-Saodat Complex. Although Samarkand was the capital of Timur’s Empire, Shakhrisabz was his place of birth and it should therefore illustrate the power of the ruler. The ruins of the summer palace are still simply monumental and bear witness to the former size of Timur’s Empire. Dinner with a local family. One overnight stay in Shakhrisabz.

Trip to Termes (360 km), check-in to hotel. Termes is one of the oldest towns of Central Asia and is 2700 years old. The town played a major role in the spread of Buddhism in the East, coming from India to Surkhandarya. Today we will visit the archaeological museum, the Al-Khakim al-Termesi Mausoleum, and the Kirk Kiz Fortress. Dinner at the hotel. One overnight stay in Termez

After breakfast we continue our sightseeing: first we visit the Ruins of the Buddhist monastery Fayas Tepe, then the Sultan Saodat Architectural Complex, which is connected with the Saiden from the town of Termes. Then we go to the Buddhist Tower Surmala, which is 16 m high. In the afternoon, transfer to the airport. Flight to Tashkent. Dinner on arrival. One overnight stay in Tashkent.