Turquoise domes, gold, spices, silk–these words tell us about the luxury of Central Asia, Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva. From palaces to caravanserais, mosques to mausoleums, again we discover the unrepeatable charm of the cities-oases for travelers.
However, this Tour will satisfy not only our eyes, but all our senses. We will get to touch the traditional Uzbek culture, have lunch and meet the Sentab villagers, see with our own eyes the whole process of making the famous Samarkand paper according to ancient technology, swim, picnic and enjoy the unique view of the lake in the desert, and finally experience the mystical experience of sleeping in the Yurt camp.
Starting from € 2250
From Samarkand to rural life in the Kyzyl Kum desert.
Meeting at the check-in counter. Departure by scheduled Turkish Airlines flight from Naples Capodichino.
Arrival in Tashkent. Upon arrival transfer to hotel. Accommodation-early check-in. After breakfast at the hotel and some rest start sightseeing in Tashkent. We will visit Hast-Imam – the largest religious center of Tashkent, which includes Barak-Khan mausoleums, Telasheyh Mosque and Abu Bakr Muhammad Kaffal Shashi. The main value of this complex is the library, where we can see the oldest manuscripts and the famous 7th-century Osman Quran. Afterwards we will take a walk to Chorsu – the oldest and largest bazaar in Tashkent. From there we will be able to admire Kukeldash madrassah, a medieval madrasa, built of yellow brick and has a traditional square shape with a large gateway and inner courtyard. The walls around the inner courtyard contain cells inhabited by students. After lunch (free) we will head to Independence Square is one of the largest squares in Central Asia and Amir Temur Square is the central square of the new city founded in the latter part of the 19th century and was intended for military parades. Dinner at a local restaurant. Return to hotel and overnight stay.
After breakfast transfer by car to to the Chimgan Mountains (80 km, 2 hours). The route to the mountains passes through the picturesque settlements of the Tashkent region. Upon arrival at Chimgan, we will take a walk through the mountainous area. You will have the opportunity to climb to the top of Mount Kumbel by a cable car operating in the Beldersay Gorge, the length of which is more than 3 km. The journey continues on the shore of the Charvak Reservoir, surrounded by green mountain slopes.
After lunch return to Tashkent. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
After breakfast start the excursion to Samarkand, The city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List for the abundance of material and spiritual values preserved here. Unique monuments of ancient architecture, heritage of scientific and artistic schools, centers of national handicrafts, existing in the ancient city, are now world famous. Transfer to the train station and depart for Samarkand by Afrosiab fast train. We will visit Registan Square, which is one of the most beautiful squares in the world, and includes madrasas: “Sher Dor,” “Tilla Kori” and “Ulugbek,” the Mausoleum of Tamerlane and his descendants – Gur-Emir, the Bibi-Honim Mosque – with gigantic architecture also built by order of Tamerlane after his campaign in India to show his power to the world. Lunch on the excursion. How not to take a walk to the Siab Bazar, to visit Samarkand and not visit the bazaar is to miss one of the most interesting adventures. We will conclude the visit with the Mausoleum of Shahi Zinda-(“the living king”), located on the hillside of ancient Samarkand majestically overlooks the medieval city founded by Tamerlane, a unique jewel of 14th-15th Samarkand architecture, where all the artistic processes of Islamic decoration can be found.
Return to hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
After breakfast we will continue our tour of Samarkand starting with theUlugbek Observatory (15th century), the first observatory on the east with a 30-meter sextant built by Ulugbek for accurate measurement of trajectories and luminary position of stelae. All that remains of the ancient observatory is the curved trench of the sextant part. Free lunch on the excursion. We will continue our journey by getting in touch with local handicrafts, after a visit to the Afrosiab Museum, we will stand at the Carpet factory ” Hudjum” and we will pay a visit to the “Konighil” paper mill, “Konighil” paper mill. Today, the famous Samarkand paper is produced according to ancient recipes in a paper workshop in the village on the outskirts of Samarkand “Konigil” (10 km from the center of Samarkand).The production mechanisms here, as in the past, are driven by a water wheel, using the waters of the Siab River. Here, as long ago, you can see with your own eyes the whole process of producing the famous Samarkand paper according to ancient technology.
After dinner we recommend taking a walk on the illuminated Registan Square!
Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
After breakfast transfer to Sentab village, here you will have a chance to walk around the village and surrounding area, have lunch in the national family, learn about rural life. After spending time with the Uzbek family transfer to Lake Aydarkul,a lake located near the town of Nurata. The lake is located right in the middle of the Kyzyl Kum desert and among the locals it is called nothing more than the turquoise sea of the desert and this is not surprising, because where else can you find a lake of this size in the desert. Here you will have the opportunity to swim, picnic and enjoy the unique view of the lake in the desert. Then transfer to the yurt camp located in the Kyzylkum (red sands) desert. Accommodation. Here you will live in yurts – dwellings that served as homes for the nomads who lived on these steppes a hundred thousand years ago, learn about the desert flora and fauna, spend the evening in front of the fire to the sound of akyn songs in the calm and peaceful atmosphere of the desert, enjoying the view of bright stars and the Milky Way in the night sky.
Dinner and overnight stay in yurt camp.
Depart for Nurata city, in the most mountainous region of Uzbekistan’s Navoi region, there is a picturesque ancient city, the administrative and cultural center of the region–Nurata. It is surrounded by a mountain range, stretching 170 kilometers from Jizzak and the hungry steppe to Navoi and Kyzylkum. We will visit the Chashma Complex, among the many legends about the city is the story of a meteorite that fell here, forming a healing water spring. Later, around it was built the Juma Mosque, which attracted eyeballs with a large number of columns and one of the largest domes in all of Central Asia, and a mazar preserving the relics of the prophet Nur-oty. Today the complex is called “Chashma.” Next step the Nur Fortress, historians associate the formation of the city with the Nur Fortress (translated as “ray,” “beam of light”), built here by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. The fortress played the role of a border building between wild steppes and agricultural areas. The ruins of the fortification have survived to this day and are one of Nurata’s attractions. Free lunch on the excursion and visit to the town of Gijduvan, which is located 46 kilometers from Bukhara. From ancient times to the present day, Gijduvan has been famous as a trading town and center of handicrafts. Pottery has a special place among the various crafts that flourish in the town. Gijduvan’s ceramics school is distinguished by its use of geometric shapes and colors in ornaments.
Transfer to Bukhara. On arrival, transfer to hotel, dinner and overnight stay in hotel.
After breakfast we will visit Bukhara, a shrine in Central Asia with its centuries-old history that is closely intertwined with the history of the Silk Road. The Lyabi Hauz Complex is the heart of Bukhara, is one of these central squares, formed in the 16th-17th centuries. The central pond “hauz “is framed by three buildings: the Kukeldash madrasa, the Divan-Beghi madrasa, and the Divan-Beghi khanaka. The house is surrounded by old tall trees that provide coolness in the summer heat and make the square a favorite vacation spot for local residents. I Trading Domes are three trading centers, preserved from the 16th century: Toki Zargaron is a jeweler’s bazaar, Toki Telpak Furushon is the skullcap bazaar, Toki Sarrafon is the money changer bazaar. The Magoki Attari Mosque – in 937 the mosque was almost razed by fire, and in the 12th century it was restored. The Poi Kalyan Complex (12th – 16th s) is the calling card of Bukhara is the architectural ensemble consisting of the Kalyan Cathedral mosque, Miri arab madrasa and Kalyan minaret, the tallest (46 m) in the Central Asian region. Ark Fortress (4th BC – 19th s) – in the Middle Ages was an entire small city surrounded by a wall, inside the fortress was an emir’s palace, mint, mosques, government institutions, warehouses, stores, a prison and a square. Free lunch on the excursion. We will visit in the afternoon the Bolo Hauz Mosque (1712), the famous mosque located next to an artificial reservoir with amazing wooden columns, the Mausoleum of the Samanids (9th – 10th c) is the first building in Central Asia, built of fired bricks in the shape of a cube, with a covered dome and the unique geometric design of the masonry-a masterpiece of world architecture, and Chashma-Ayub.
Return to hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
After breakfast start the tour outside of town. We will start from the Chor Minor, one of the most striking and unique buildings around Bukhara, has four minarets and was built in 1807 by the Turkmen merchant Caliph Niyazkul. The Chor Bakr is a 16th-century mausoleum cemetery 5 km from Bukhara. Finally, we will visit the Sitorai Mokhi Khosa Palace (19th cent.), a summer residence where several generations of Bukhara’s emirs stayed, built in the combined style of local and European traditions of the time. The halls of the palace are richly decorated with carpets and paintings. Free lunch on the excursion.
Transfer to the train station and departure for Tashkent by Afrosiab fast train (15:50-19:44)
Upon arrival transfer to hotel, dinner and accommodation.
Breakfast at the hotel and check out. At the agreed time, a driver will take you to the airport in time for your return flight to Naples Capodichino.
End of our services.
