The major cities of Uzbekistan

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Tuesday. Paris – Urgench

  Flight to Urgench, flight HY252 "Uzbekistan Airways" at 8:30 pm (Paris time). Overnight on board the plane.

• day 2

  Wednesday. Visit of Khiva.

  Arrival in Urgench at 6:30 am from Paris, flight HY252. You are welcomed by your French-speaking guide at Urgench airport. Transfer to the hotel. Breakfast. Khiva "the pearl of the Orient" Capital of Khorezm, an important oasis on the Silk Roads, in the heart of the Kyzyl Kum desert, at the crossroads of caravan routes from Persia, Russia, and India. Legend has it that it was founded by Shem, a son of Noah, after a blazing dream. The Itchan Kala Citadel (UNESCO) Imposing mud-brick walls, bristling with crenellations and punctuated by powerful towers, surrounded it for more than 2 km. Inside are palaces, madrasas, mosques, caravanserais, built by the Khans, ruthless rivals of Bukhara. It is a museum city, emptied of its inhabitants by the Soviets in 1960. Even though it celebrated its 2500th anniversary, most of the buildings date from the 17th to the 19th century. The Kunia Ark is the ancient citadel, The fortified refuge of all the Khans. The famous iwan of the reception hall is covered with blue and white majolica. The summer mosque features sumptuous floral decorations. The mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmoud is the most beautiful monument in the city, the most sacred place in Khiva. Its turquoise dome houses the city's patron saint: a wrestler, furrier, and poet of the 14th century. The minaret and the Islam Khodja madrasa dominate the whole city with their colored rings: from the top of its 120 steps, the view of the surrounding desert and Khiva is unforgettable. The madrasa houses a Museum of Applied Arts: woodwork, carpets, hangings... Lunch. Continuation of the visit of Khiva, the "open-air museum city". The Tash Khauli Palace or "Stone Palace" The new palace of the 19th-century khan. The iwans feature dazzling blue and white majolica decorations. You visit the audience hall and the court with admirable decorations by Abdullah Djinn, the throne room, the treasury, the harem, the stables, the arsenal, the barracks, the mosque, the prison... The Mohamed Amin Khan madrasa, with its facades decorated with blue mosaics, one of the largest in Central Asia, accommodated 260 students. It was a sinister Soviet prison, today a luxury hotel. The Muhamad Rakhim Khan madrasa houses the craft center under its portal. The Kalta Minor, or short minaret, superbly decorated with jade green majolica, was meant to be the tallest in the Muslim world, but the death of Amin Khan, beheaded during a battle, left it unfinished. The Djouma Mosque Also called the Friday Mosque, it has a sumptuous interior: a forest of columns from the 10th to the 12th century, from all origins, the most beautiful coming from India. You can make out human representations, Zoroastrian symbols, Buddhas, all erased... Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 3

  Thursday KHIVA - TOPRAK KALA - AYAZ-KALA URGENCH - BUKHARA by plane

  Breakfast at the hotel. Discovery of the picturesque Khiva market. The golden ring of ancient Kharezm or Elliq Kala: the "50 fortresses". Ancient citadels lost in the sands, south of Karakalpakstan: Berouni Bridge, crossing the Amu Darya to reach the desert citadels. Rusty barges are thrown onto the water and connected by chains and sheets of metal. The meager flow of water between the sand dunes testifies to the silting up of the entire region as a result of the intensive cotton exploitation during the Soviet era. The drying up of the Aral Sea, with its shipwrecks lost in the sands, is the terrible consequence. Toprak Kala An impressive ruined fortress from the 1st century BC, it was the capital of the Kushan lords. But the repeated attacks of the Hephthalite Huns, by destroying the irrigation canals, plunged this brilliant civilization into oblivion. The royal citadel still contains traces of gardens, the Hall of Kings, the Hall of Victories, the Hall of Black Guards, the temple of fire worshippers, and vast clan houses that sheltered more than a hundred members… Kyzyl Kala: a small town sheltered, behind high walls, the garrisons of the ancient fortress. Ayaz Kala: the most impressive site Two citadels perched on the hills from where there is an admirable view of the desert. A camp of Kazakh yurts will welcome us for lunch. Nearby, a small lake is rimmed with salt. Transfer to Urgench airport and flight to Bukhara. Flight HY 058: departure from Urgench at 21:50, arrival in Bukhara at 22:50. Overnight at the hotel in Bukhara.

• day 4

  Friday. Visit of Bukhara.

  Breakfast. Days dedicated to visits of Bukhara "the noble" (UNESCO). Bukhara "the Holy": "The Dome of Islam", "the Pillar of Religion", "the Beauty of the Spirit", is the most secret of caravan cities, the best preserved of the oriental towns. An oasis in the heart of the red desert, the Kysyl Kum. Achaemenid city of the 6th century BC, conquered by Alexander, destroyed by the hordes of Genghis Khan then by Tamerlane, by the tsar's troops then by the Bolsheviks and constantly reborn. It was one of the most important spiritual and intellectual centers of the country, attracting students from Arabia, Iraq, and Spain to its madrasas. The Ismael Samani Mausoleum The oldest building in Bukhara, buried under several meters of earth, was spared by the Mongol tornado. It is over 1000 years old, the richness of the carved brick patterns is remarkable. The Chashma Ayoub Mausoleum: the prophet Job made a miraculous spring gush forth there. The Walls of Bukhara protected the city from nomadic attacks until the Russian conquest of 1920, which left very little of the 25 km of ramparts. The Bolo Khaouz Mosque It is one of the most beautiful in the city with its wooden pillars and ceilings. The emir performed his prayers there under a splendid dome. The Iwan is one of the most elegant in all Central Asia. The Emir's Fortress or Ark With its powerful crenellated walls, it was the residence of the lords of Bukhara. It stands on Reghistan Square in all its majesty. Largely destroyed in 1920, the Throne Room witnessed many coronations. Reception hall, music pavilion, harem chambers follow one another. From its terrace, splendid view of the monuments of Bukhara. Lunch. The Kalyan mosque has the most beautiful decorations of the 16th century, the mihrab is adorned with dazzling mosaics. Poy Kalon Square: religious center of holy Bukhara, the most monumental. The Mir-i-Arab madrasa with its majestic Iwan faces the immense Kalon mosque and its terrible minaret, "tower of death" from the 12th century, a beacon that guided caravans lost in the vast deserts of the Karakum to the caravanserai. The Kalon mosque with its 288 domes could accommodate 10,000 worshippers. Its blue dome is the most beautiful. Merchant domes and covered passages are an original feature of Bukhara's architecture: Tak-i-Zargaron, the dome of the jewelers, or the dome of the hatters, or Tak-i-Sarafan, the dome of the money changers. The covered galleries house many shops. The Ulugh Beg madrasa, sober and majestic: stars recall the prince's passion for astronomy. The Abdul Aziz Khan madrasa: the mosaic of the entrance portal is a luminous yellow vegetal lattice with simurgh birds and a dragon. The covered market of Abdullah Khan is reserved for beautiful ikat silk fabrics and sumptuous carpets. The Magoki Attari mosque, the 12th-century portal, is one of the most perfect architectural works of Bukhara. The Nadir Divan Beghi madrasa: a sun shines between two facing simurgh birds. Dinner in the Nodir Devanbegi madrasa with a show of dances, traditional Uzbek songs, and fashion shows. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 5

  Saturday. Monuments of Bukhara.

  Breakfast. LE CHOR MINOR is a madrasa with astonishing architecture, flanked by four slender minarets with blue domes. SITORI I MOKHI KHOSA, Palace of the Moon and Stars, the summer residence of the Emirs of Bukhara, is located in a vast park, with Russian architecture and oriental decor! The White Hall features finely carved plasterwork on a mirrored background. Niches with stalactites hold superb multicolored bouquets. The harem houses an embroidery museum with the most beautiful suzani. Departure at 15:51 by train from Bukhara to Samarkand on the Afrosiab train 761Ф. Arrival at 17:25 in Samarkand. Dinner. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 6

  Sunday. Samarkand – Shakhrisabz - Samarkand

  Breakfast. Transfer from Samarkand to Shakhrisabz by car (3 people per car, 100 km). The road from Samarkand to Shakhrisabz, crossing the Fan mountains, is magnificent. In the KASHKA DARIA region is the birthplace of Tamerlane. He had a mausoleum built there for his son and planned to be buried there himself. Tamerlane had the best craftsmen from the conquered countries deported there and had rich houses, mosques, madrasas, caravanserais, and tombs built, decorated with blue and gold enamel for his father and son. Above all, he built the AK SARAI, the "white palace"; almost nothing remains of the palace described by the Castilian ambassador Clavijo, destroyed by the Emir of Bukhara in the 16th century, except for a huge portal sumptuously decorated with majolica. Lunch. The afternoon is dedicated to the visit: DOR US TILIAVAT was built by Tamerlane in 1373 for his father and a famous Sufi. The KOK GOUMBAZ MOSQUE was built by Ulugh Beg; its walls and domes are covered with polychrome geometric patterns. MAKBARAT GOUMBAZ SAYYIDAN, built by Ulugh Beg, has an interior superbly decorated with geometric and floral frescoes. DOR US SIADAD is the mausoleum of Jahangir, Tamerlane's favorite son, who died at 22 from a fall from a horse; Tamerlane's grief was immense. Chakhrissabz is also an old center of art embroidery and ceramics. Departure for Samarkand. Visit to the GUR EMIR MAUSOLEUM, Tamerlane's jade tomb, symbol of the greatness of the Uzbek nation. Its ribbed dome rises more than 30 m into the sky. The interior, in gold and sky blue mosaics, is "like the firmament."

• day 7

  Monday. Samarkand – Tashkent.

  Breakfast. Samarkand – "mirror of the world," "garden of the soul," "jewel of Islam," "pearl of the Orient," "center of the universe," this fabulous oasis of the Kysyl Koum, one of the largest caravan cities of the Silk Roads (the great route from the Mediterranean to China), is over 20,000 years old! The fortified city was founded by the Persians in the 7th century BC; in the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great seized "Maracanda." Some traces of its ramparts remain. It was devastated by the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, but his descendant Tamerlane made it, in the 14th century, the capital of a vast empire, from the Black Sea to the Indian Punjab, and covered it with grandiose monuments, as did his successors. The conqueror gathered there, by force, some of the best scholars and artists of his time: poets, architects, painters, astronomers. The majestic REGHISTAN square, with its three monumental madrasas: that of Ulugh Beg with blue stars (the largest university in Central Asia), that of Shir Dor where fiery tigers carry the sun, that of Tilla Kari covered in gold. This "sandy square" was the main site for bazaars, military parades, and public executions. THE BIBI KHANUM MOSQUE: according to legend, built by a princess from Khorasan, Tamerlane's favorite wife (which cost her her life!). The largest in Central Asia. 95 elephants from India brought the enormous blocks. Despite the ravages of men and earthquakes, it has regained the splendor of its blue dome. Lunch. THE BAZAAR, in the shade of Bibi Khanum, where a colorful crowd gathers, is full of melons, spices, and decorated breads. SHAHL ZINDA: a narrow street climbs the hill of ancient Afrosyab, lined with mausoleums from the 11th to the 15th century, surrounding the tomb of a saint, Ibn Abbas, cousin of the Prophet. Apotheosis of the art of ceramics: the luxuriance of enameled and chiseled floral motifs evokes the gardens of paradise. The observatory of ULOUGH BEGH, one of the greatest astronomers of the 15th century (whose giant instruments we have seen in India). THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF AFRASYAB: 5th-century frescoes show a wedding procession: a princess from Sukhandaria, perched on a white elephant, comes to marry a king of Sogdiana! They come from the palace of ancient Samarkand conquered by Alexander. Departure from Samarkand by train to Tashkent on the Afrosiab train. Arrival at 17:25 in Tashkent. Dinner. Night at the hotel.

• day 8

  Tuesday. Tashkent

  Breakfast. The eclectic and cosmopolitan capital of Uzbekistan, the largest metropolis in Central Asia, is the "city of stones" that the Greek geographer Ptolemy already described as the astonishing crossroads of caravans coming from the East and the West. Today, it has become a modern and dynamic city, with glass towers, a true pulsating economic heart of the country. On AMIR TIMOUR Square, the equestrian statue has replaced the sickle, the hammer, and the head of Karl Marx. It has become the symbol of Uzbek independence! BROADWAY Avenue, with its trendy cafés where people play chess, leads to the astonishing brick palace of a Grand Duke Romanov exiled in the time of the tsars... The immense MUSTAKILLIK Square is lined with palaces and enlivened by fountains. Transfer to the airport to take the return flight to Paris, flight HY251 at 12:30.