9 day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Flight to Ashgabat. 

Evening arrival in Ashgabat 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 holding a sign with your name on it.

Transfer to the hotel. Arrival in hotel. 

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to the Ashgabat airport.

06:40 Morning flight to Mary.

07:10 Arrival in Ashgabat.

Transfer to Mary en route to the Ancient Merv (UNESCO).

 Sightseeing in  the historical park, visiting

- Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum,

- Mohammed bin Said Mausoleum,

- Medieval castles – “Kesk” fortresses (6-7 centuries);

- History museum of the Merv region.

17:20 Transfer to the Mary airport.

19:20 Evening flight to Ashgabat.

20:00 Arrival in Ashgabat.

Transfer to the hotel. Check in at the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight.

Breakfast in the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide in the lobby.

Start WALKING sightseeing program in Bukhara (5-6 hours):

- Ensemble Lyabi Hauz (Nadir Divanbegi Madrassa, Khanaka, Kukeldash Madrassa and the monument of Khodja Nasreddin);

- Magoki Attari Mosque is one of the oldest mosques survived in Bukhara from the time before the Mongolian invasion;

- Abdullakhan’s Tim with numerous handicraft shops of souvenirs, ceramics, national clothes, and carpets;

- Caravanserai Sayfuddin (the Center of Handicraft Development of Bukhara);

- There are three trading domes or so called covered bazaars Toki Sarrofon, Toki Telpak Furushon, and Toki Zargaron preserved from the XVI century and these bazaars were the centers for trade of silk, jewelry and even for money exchange. Today as well, one can enjoy and purchase different souvenirs of a wide range, from small souvenir magnets to the famous Bukhara carpets;

- Visit Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan Madrassas or so-called Kosh (pare) madrassas opposite each other with the distinctive style of facade ornamental decoration;

- Poi Kalon Square with Kalon Minaret and Mosque, Mir Arab Madrassa – the heart of Bukhara, a monumental complex impresses the imagination;

- Ark Fortress – the oldest citadel dating back to I century BC where one can feel the history of the great fortress covered in beautiful legends and myths.

Optionally can be added by request:

Visit Samanids mausoleum (IX century), a monument of early medieval architecture.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning at leisure. 

12:00 Standard hotel check-out. Transfer to Samarkand, en-route visiting the famous Gijduvan pottery workshop where visitors are welcome for a tour around the workshop and observe the process of ceramic making and painting.

The owners demonstrate the stages of making ceramics from turning the potter’s wheel to making paints from natural ingredients, decorating the ceramics in a distinctive style, drying, and firing.  Take a tour around the museum hall of ceramic masterpieces with a unique collection of the ceramic items of Gijduvan and other regions of Uzbekistan. 

By request, a master class in painting ceramics, suzani embroidery, and traditional bread baking.

Continue to Samarkand.

Arrive in Samarkand in the afternoon, check in the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Transfer to  Shahrisabz and the beautiful Takhta Karacha pass.

Meet the guide in Shahrisabz.

Excursion tour in Shakhrisabz includes visiting ( 2,5 hrs)

- Ak Saray Palace (“White Palace”), the ruins of the summer palace of Tamerlane. The palace was constructed and decorated by skillful builders, masters, and artisans who were deported from conquered Khorezm. Some parts of the gate tower survived to the present day.

- Mausoleum of Dorus-Saodat ("The Place of Power", 14th century) contains the tomb of Eldest and favourite Tamerlane’s son, Jahongir.

- Visit Kok Gumbaz, so-called “House of Meditation.

- Mausoleum Gumbazi-Seyidon of the 16th century, where the descendants of Ulugbek are buried. 

Return to Samarkand. Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Start sightseeing in Samarkand ( 5-6 hr)

- Gur Emir Mausoleum – a burial vault of Timur the Great and his descendants, decorated with gold ornaments and considered one of the most significant sights in the world;

- Continue to the famous Registan Square – the heart of Samarkand and a real masterpiece of Central Asian medieval architecture, the ensemble of grandiose buildings: Ulughbek Madrassa, Madrassa Sherdor, and Madrassa Tilla Kori; 

- Bibi Khanim Mosque – the biggest medieval building in the city; it was one of the most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world in the 15th century. 

- Shahi Zinda Necropolis – a unique complex of mausoleums formed by standing on both sides of the cenotaph (an imaginary grave) of the Muslim saint Abbas ibn Kussam; 

- Ulugbek’s Observatory – one of the finest astronomical centers in the medieval world—was built by order of Ulugbek, an outstanding scholar and astronomer;

- Samarkand bazaar Siyab. 

16:40 Transfer to the train station in Samarkand.

18:15 Departure for Tashkent by train "Afrosiyob"/" Sharq".

20:30 Arrival in Tashkent.

Come out of the terminal and meet the driver. Transfer to the hotel.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide at the hotel lobby.

Start sightseeing tour of Tashkent (5-6 hrs), visiting old and new parts of the city:

- Amir Timur Square, founded in 1882 and originally called Konstantinovsky Square, was renamed on August 31, 1994, after Amir Timur to honor the cultural and historical contribution of the great conqueror.
Around the Square, there are the Museums of History of Timurids, the Uzbekistan hotel, Forum Palace, and the famous chimes.

- Tashkent striking clock, one of the major symbols of Tashkent.

- Theater Square with the Opera House: The State Academic Theater of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi, built in 1947, is one of the best opera theaters in the world, which performs both classical and national repertoires. 

- Independence Square, the main square of Uzbekistan, reflects the past, present, and future of the country. There are fountains standing for the life energy of Uzbek people, the Cabinet and the Senate, the “Eternal flame" in honor of soldiers who died during the Second World War.
- Earthquake Memorial, the composition is devoted to the tragic date of the earthquake in Tashkent on April 26, 1966, and is erected in the approximate place of the earthquake epicenter. Residents still come to the monument to honor those people who took part in the reconstruction of Tashkent;

- Khast Imam Square – religious center of the Tashkent city consisting of the Barakkhan madrasah; Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum , and the library of Islamic Literature with the Holy Koran Book of the 7th century (original Quran Othman). Khast Imam is one of the most significant spiritual centers in Central Asia and attracts pilgrims and visitors from all over the world.

- Chorsu bazaar – the ancient bazaar of Tashkent. “Chorsu” means “four waters”, symbolically meaning the conjunction of four major parts of the old city in the bazaar where people come for trade. The bazaar's beautiful blue dome, built in traditional style after the Tashkent earthquake, is often depicted in postcards and international magazines and became one of the major sights of interest both for locals and guests – one can see the oriental tiled bazaar from different souvenir shops with ceramics, handicraft works, carpets and jewelry, the whole pavilion full of delirious fruits to the finest textiles and colorful fabrics.

- Tashkent Metro (the first line was launched in 1977) with beautiful train stations, each decorated in a thematic style with traditional ornaments and special lighting.

Transfer back to the hotel. 

End of the tour.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Tashkent International Airport.

Morning departure flight.

End of the tour.