Tour to Central Asian Pompeii: 6 days

Flight to Dushanbe.

Arrival at Dushanbe International Airport.

Migration formalities usually take 20 min to 60 min: visa/passport control and baggage claim. 

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver and guide holding a sign “ANUR TOUR” or with your name on it.

Transfer to the hotel to drop off the bags. Standard check-in (14:00).

Start Dushanbe sightseeing tour visiting:

- Tajik National Museum of Antiquities with the biggest Buddha in Nirvana.

The Museum consists of 22 exhibition halls with departments of nature, antiquity and the Middle Ages, modern history, fine and applied arts.

- Tajik flagpole-one of  the world's tallest flagpoles (165-meter flagpole);

- Main square of Dushanbe. The Monument of Ismaili Somoni - the forefather of the Tajik Nation located on the main square. A 40-meter-high monument built to the memory of Ismaili Saman-Khuda, founder of the Samanid dynasty;

- Mehrgon Bazaar - one of the biggest markets in Dushanbe;

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the guesthouse.

09: 00 Transfer to Penjikent.

Start a sightseeing tour in Penjikent, visiting: 

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Khujand via Istaravshan town.

Located in the northern foothills of the Turkistan mountain range, 78 km southwest of Khujand, Istaravshan is one of the most ancient cities of Tajikistan (more than 2500 years old). Its ancient name was Cyropolis, founded by Cyrus the Great in 544 BC as a boarding fort of the Achaemenid Empire.

During the Soviet era, the city was known as Ura - Tyube.

Overview of sightseeing in Istaravshan:

- Mazori Sharif mausoleum,

- Kog Gumbaz madrasa (16th century)

- Kuhi Mug, the ruins of the ancient fortress.

Khujand was the furthest point Alexander the Great reached in Central Asia; the city was named Alexandria Eschate (Alexandria the Farthest), and the city became one of the important entrepôts on the great Silk Road.

Start of the excursion program: 

- Pushkin Square with Kamoli Khudjandi Square;

- Timur Malik’s fortress and Sugd museum;

- Muslihiddin memorial complex;

- Panjshanbe bazaar (Khujand’s central market that has many stores offering different kinds of goods and services. The name Panjshanbe comes from the Persian language, meaning “Thursday”. Panjshanbe is considered one of the oldest markets in Tajikistan. The Silk Road, which passes through Khujand city, has always made Panjshanbe crowded with traders and tourists.

- Arbob Palace (Arbob Palace had its particular significance in 1992, when it was the place for the meeting of the Tajik Soviet ministers, which officially declared independence from the Soviet Union. Also, it was the site where the Tajik flag was chosen.

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

10:00 Transfer to Dushanbe (300 km, 5 hrs) with sightseeing en route, visiting:

- Gissar Fortress- the remains of the Bukhara Emirate Beck’s palace. Its thick walls once guarded a pool, garden, and palace, while the fortress itself overlooked a noisy market and caravanserai. The place was famous as a center of commerce during the Silk Road. You will also be able to visit the Old Madrassa (Madrasai Kuhna) of the 16-17th century with a museum inside, the new Madrassa of the 17-18th  century, as well as the Caravan Saray.

Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel,

Transfer to Dushanbe International Airport.

Morning departure flight from Dushanbe.

End of the tour.