14-day Uzbekistan Tour

Late evening arrive in Tashkent. Transfer to hotel. Check in.

City sightseeing in Tashkent will include a visit to the Museum of Applied Arts and the State Art Museum to see embroideries and other fine crafts, visit Abdul Khasim Medrassah with its hujra cells used as metalwork craft workshops to produce jewellery and other goods.

After lunch see a demonstration making of puppets followed by a small puppet performance by the Tashkent Puppet Theatre in the Puppet Museum.

Overnight in Tashkent.

After breakfast flight to Fergana. Right after checking in we'll take a short walking tour of this greenest city of Uzbekistan and have lunch at a local restaurant.

We'll devote the rest of the day to visiting Marghilan, welknown for its Fergana style architecture and silk factories as it rightfully considered the center of silk production of the whole Central Asia. So we'll have a chance to see the age-old process of silk production and learn more from the masters about the distinctive colors and patterns historically coveted by Chinese and Persian merchants.

Drive back to Fergana. Traditional dinner.

Morning depart by road to Kokand, capital of the Kokand Khanate in the 18th and 19th centuries. Visit the Khan's palace museum, mosques and medrassahs.

Continue to Rishtan, one of the most important ceramic centers in Central Asia. We'll visit the private studio of a master ceramic artist and learn about the traditional floral designs native to the region.

Drive back to Fergana.

Dinner at a nice local restaurant.

After breakfast flight back to Tashkent and continue by road on to legendary Samarkand, the grand capital of the emperor Tamerlane. The road goes through Tashkent, Sirdarya regions and mountainous countryside of Jizzah region of Uzbekistan where you may want to make spontaneous stop for photographing.

After arriving and checking in the hotel lunch at a nice local restaurant.

After lunch we'll visit exhibition of folk arts at the Samarkand State Art Museum, then continue sightseeing Registan Square with its majestic medrassah and numerous shops.

Overnight in Samarkand.

Full day excursion to Shakrisabz, the actual birth place of Tamerlane. Visit to Ak Saray (White Palace), Tamerlane's vast residence complex built in the 14th and 15th centuries. Visit the Jehangir mausoleum, continue to the Kok -Gumbaz mosque, Dorus Tilavet and Shamseddin Kulyal Mausoleums.

After lunch visit the craft centers of the region. You will get acquainted with the ancient techniques of silk embroidering.

After breakfast we'll continue sightseeing program to Gur-Emir, where Tamerlane is buried, to Bibi-Khanum Mosque and also visit the nearby market, after that visit Shaki -Zinda ensemble of the Mausoleums. This unusual necropolis has monuments of the 14th and 15th centuries, reflecting the development of the monumental art and architecture of the Timurid dynasty.

Then we'll visit silk carpetweaving workshop to see how local craftsmen create the wonderful patterns.

Dinner and overnight in Samarkand.

After breakfast depart Samarkand as we continue tracing the Silk Route to holy Bukhara by the Royal Road (one of the most important of the Silk Route connecting Samarkand and Bukhara) making a stop in Gizhduvan to visit the most important ceramic center of Bukhara region. If we're lucky we'll have the opportunity to see centuries old tradition of using a donkey for spinning the millstones during the process of natural dyes' grinding.

Continue afternoon drive on to Bukhara and visit Suzani artist in her home on our way to see how suzanis are made by hand. Arriving in Bukhara early evening.

After breakfast we'll start full day walking tour of Bukhara to include a visit to the 2000 year-old Fortress Ark where Emirs once lived. Visit Poi-Kalon, or "Pedestal of the Great", the heart and focal point of all Bukhara then continue to the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, dating from the early 10th century and to Chashma Ayub - the Spring of Job, where according to the old Testament, Job caused water to gush from the desert.

After lunch in a local teahouse or restaurant, continue sightseeing to Magoki - Attori mosque, dating from 12th century, Medressahs of Ulug-Bek and Abdul-Aziz Khan. You will also see Lyabi-Khaus otherwise known as The Shore of the Pool, an architectural complex consisting of the 16th century medrassah and a mosque and the nearby dome covered markets.

After breakfast you're invited to visit the most important craft places of Bukhara. We'll start at the Carpet Weaving workshop, then continue to a Gold Embroiderer's family workshop, after that go to the Museum of Blacksmith's Art and to complete the morning session stop at the Craft Center situated in an old caravan-saray, where we'll have an opportunity to see demonstration of many Uzbek crafts.

The former summer residence of the last ruler, it has beautiful stucco plaster interior decorations, huge banquet halls, and a large collection of costumes, silver and Ming china. You will see Bukharan textiles' exhibition situated in the building of the former Harem of the last emir.

After breakfast we'll continue our drive to Khiva, the last great oasis on the old caravan route that will lead us through the Kizil Kum (Red Sands) desert to this remote desert city.

Continue drive to Khiva and arrive late afternoon. The rest of the day we'll do some walking sightseeing of old Khiva.

Traditional dinner and overnight in Khiva.

After breakfast you're welcome to continue sightseeing of Khiva, the most intact and remote city of Central Asia. Experience the richness of this museum city that houses the most homogenous collection of architecture in the Islamic world.

After breakfast drive to Urgench (capital of Khoresm region) to depart for Tashkent by air.

Upon arrival in Tashkent we'll visit the exciting Chor-Su market to see cradles, hand-made musical instruments, and fruit and vegetable market.

Departure home.