Unmissable in Uzbekistan: the entire Silk Road

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  DAY 1. WEDNESDAY. TASHKENT

  Arrival at Tashkent International Airport and welcome by our French-speaking guide. Transfer to the hotel and check-in. Breakfast at the hotel. Discovery of the old city and the Khasti Imam complex. This complex consists of various historic religious buildings. The visit begins with the mausoleum of Abou Bakr Qaffal Chachi, then the Barak-Khan madrasa, the Tilla Chaykh mosque, and the Quran Museum, where you can admire the Quran of Othman, copied in the 7th century. It is the only original book in the world preserved as such. Visit to the Chorsu market ("the four roads"). Lunch, then discovery of the modern part of Tashkent with a visit to Independence Square, Alisher Navoi Theater Square, and Amir Temur Square. Then, visit to the Museum of Applied Arts and the Tashkent metro. Dinner and overnight in Tashkent.

• day 2

  DAY 2. THURSDAY. TASHKENT - URGENCH - KHIVA

  Breakfast is served early. Early departure for Urgench at 07:50 and arrival in Urgench. Welcome at the airport by the guide and the driver. Departure to Khiva (30 km). Visit of the city of Khiva, the last capital of Khorezm, with 2,200 m of intact walls forming Kounia Ark, "the old citadel," which mark the inner city. In the old town, through the west gate, Ata Darvaza, one of the four gates built in the 19th century at each of the cardinal points. Through the small alleys, discover the architectural treasures of this true open-air museum (mosques, minarets, small palaces, and madrasas). Kounya-Ark, "old fortress" (1686-1806), is a fortified palace that served as the governor's residence. Within Kournych-khana, official receptions were held: the small courtyard with an aïvan, a veranda with two columns whose walls are covered with painted majolica tiles, made during the reign of Khan Alla-Kouli (1825-1842). The terrace of the Ak-Cheikh-Bobo tower offers a magnificent panoramic view of the whole city. Visit of the Mouhammed Rakhim Khan madrasa. Lunch during the visit. Continuation of the visits with the Alla-Khouli Palace, better known as the Tash Khaouli Palace, "the stone palace," the second residence of the Khans of Khiva (1838). The domes of the Tim of Allakouli-Khan, also called the "Palace Market," connect the inner city to the grand bazaar, as well as to the immense Allakouli Khan caravanserai. The Islam-Khodja madrasa (1908-1912), with its minaret 44.5 m high and 9.5 m in diameter, is the tallest minaret in Khiva. In front of the madrasa of Khan Moukhammed-Amin, the largest in Khiva (78 m x 60 m), stands the astonishing Kalta-minor and the intricate pattern of its predominantly blue ceramics (short minaret, 1855). Visit of the mausoleum of Sayid Alaoudin, erected shortly after the death of the sheikh in 1303, as well as the Islam Khodja complex. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

• day 3

  DAY 3. FRIDAY. KHIVA – BUKHARA

  Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Bukhara across the Kyzylkum desert. By air-conditioned car, about 547 km. There is a stop along the way where you can admire the beauty of the Amu Darya river and the panorama of the Kyzylkum desert. Lunch in a tchayxana on the way. Arrival in Bukhara in the late afternoon. Check-in at the hotel. Free time at leisure. You can have dinner at Lyab-i-Hauz, a cozy pond in the center of the old part of the city, where people gather to have a drink and dine. Relax as you watch Uzbek life unfold before your eyes.

• day 4

  DAY 4. SATURDAY. BUKHARA

  A day is devoted to Bukhara, which was first an important Muslim religious and intellectual center under the rule of the Samanids, in the 10th century. Destroyed, like all its sisters, by the Mongols who loathed cities, it was restored by Tamerlane. Bukhara was one of the most important cities on the Silk Road, where all merchants rushed to sell carpets and jewelry. It has the reputation of being an open-air "museum city": ten centuries of history are inscribed in its monuments. Since 1974, UNESCO has listed the historic center as a World Heritage Site. Visit to the Samanid mausoleum, unearthed in 1930, a witness to Bukhara's golden age, an unmissable moment of eternity. The Chashma Ayub mausoleum is said to be the burial place of the Old Testament prophet Job, hence its name which means "source of Job." The Bolo Khauz complex, with its pool surrounded by trees, was built in the 16th century. The Ark fortress, whose oldest foundations date back more than two thousand five hundred years, is also on the program. Discovery of Bukhara with the Poy-Kalon complex and its forty-eight-meter-high minaret, the Liab i Khauz ensemble, bordered by centuries-old mulberry trees. The Maghoki Attori mosque, one of the country's most beautiful architectural achievements, whose blue dome and portal were restored with the help of UNESCO. Not having been returned to worship, non-believers can admire it today. The Chor Minor madrasa, which means it has four minarets. The "kosh" or double madrasas facing each other: the Ulugh Beg madrasa, from 1417, the oldest in Central Asia, built by Ulugh Beg, the astronomer prince of Samarkand, successor of Tamerlane. The Abdullaziz Khan madrasa, which features birds and even a dragon, contrary to the Islamic rule that forbids depiction. Stroll under the merchant domes of the 16th century: the dome of the money changers and the dome of the hatters, which today houses carpet sellers, the dome of the jewelers, located in the middle of the madrasas. Visit to the summer palace of the Emir of Bukhara, Sitorai Mokhi Khossa. You will attend a show in the courtyard of the Nodirdevonbegui madrasa, with dance and folk music. Overnight at the hotel in Bukhara.

• day 5

  DAY 5. SUNDAY. BUKHARA – GUIJDOUVAN – SAMARKAND

  Breakfast at the hotel, then departure for Samarkand via Guijdouvan. Visit to a ceramics workshop in Guijdouvan and the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, which is located on the beautiful Khodjai Jahon square. Arrival at noon in Samarkand and lunch. Then transfer to the hotel and check-in. Discovery of the capital of the Timurid Empire. Visit to the Gur Emir Mausoleum – one of the masterpieces of Timurid architecture – and Registan Square, the most grandiose complex in Central Asia and one of the most beautiful in Islam. It was the nerve center of Tamerlane's capital, where six arteries converged under the dome of a bazaar. It is composed of three magnificent madrasas: Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor, Tilla-Kari. In the Sher-Dor Madrasa, a gentleman will talk to you about musical instruments in French. Dinner and overnight in Samarkand.

• day 6

  DAY 6. MONDAY. SAMARKAND – TASHKENT

  Breakfast at the hotel. Visit to the Ulugbek Observatory, one of the largest observatories of the Middle Ages. Visit to the mausoleum of Saint Daniel. It is a sacred place for believers of three religions: Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Visit to the Afrosiab site, which today consists of enormous lifeless hills located north of the city of Samarkand, where once there was a flourishing life. Visit to the Afrasiyob Museum. Visit to the Shakhi Zinda necropolis. "Shakhi Zinda" means "living king" in Persian. It is the mausoleum district; here, you visit the mausoleum of Kusam Ibn Abbas, the cousin of our prophet Muhammad (s.a.v.). Lunch in the city. Continuation of the visit with the Siyab market and the Bibi Khanoum mosque. Transfer to the station to take the Afrosyob train. Arrival in Tashkent. Dinner and overnight in Tashkent.

• day 7

  DAY 7. TUESDAY. TASHKENT – PARIS

  Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Tashkent airport and departure. The program and accommodation can be modified according to your wishes.