UZBEK HOSPITALITY

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Paris-Tashkent

  Direct flight to Tashkent on an airline. Dinner and overnight on board.

• day 2

  Tashkent

  Arrival in Tashkent, welcome by our French-speaking guide and transfer to the hotel. Breakfast. Morning at leisure. Discovery of the capital: the Hazret-Imam complex in the heart of old Tashkent including the Barak Khan madrasa (16th c), the Tellia Cheikh mosque (Friday mosque) open for worship, and the mausoleum of Kaffal Chachi (16th c). Koukeldach Madrasa; market. Panoramic tour of the city: Alisher Navoi Opera Theater Square, Amir Timur Square, Independence Square. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 3

  Tashkent-Samarkand

  Breakfast. Transfer to the station to take the "Afrasiab" train at 08:00 (2 hours by road). Arrival and check-in at the hotel. First discovery of Samarkand the Great: visit of Registan Square, the heart of Samarkand, with the madrasas of Ulugh Beg (15th c.), Sher-Dor (madrasa with lions) (17th c.), and Tilla-Kari (decorated with gold) (17th c.). In the afternoon: Afrosiab, one of the largest sites in the world; the Ulugh Beg observatory, built in the 15th century by Ulugh Beg, one of the greatest astronomers of his time; the Gur-Emir mausoleum (15th c.), housing the tombs of Tamerlane and his descendants. At the end of the afternoon, visit to the Khavrenko cellar, renowned throughout Central Asia for its wines. The visit will be followed by a wine tasting at the cellar's museum. "Moment of Eternity" show at the El-Merosi theater in Samarkand, during which historical costumes from the Achaemenids onwards are presented. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 4

  Samarkand

  Breakfast. In the morning, visit to the Bibi-Khanim Mosque (14th century – early 15th century), the largest mosque in Central Asia, built by order of Tamerlane after the conquest of India; the Shakhi-Zinda necropolis (the living king), the pearl of Samarkand, a group of mausoleums dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries, a true museum of medieval architecture, market. In the afternoon: visit to the Silk Paper Center with a demonstration of the ancient process of making silk paper. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 5

  Samarkand - Sentyab village

  Breakfast. Transfer from Samarkand to the village located in the Nurata mountains (180 km). Arrival at the mountain village of Sentyab. Check-in at the guesthouse. Excursion in the village and discovery of the lifestyle of the local inhabitants. Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse.

• day 6

  Sentyab Village - Yangigazgan

  Breakfast. Transfer to the yurt camp. Installation. Camel ride through the steppes and dunes. Outdoor dinner (around the fire) accompanied by songs of an akyn, a Kazakh singer. Night under the yurts.

• day 7

  Yangigazgan-Nourata-Bukhara

  Breakfast. Transfer to Nourata (65 km). Visits in Nourata: the walls of the ancient fortress of Alexander the Great, then visit Tchachma, the miraculous spring, already venerated in the Sogdian era, the basin with its sacred fish, and the mosque. Departure for Bukhara (278 km). On the way, visit a ceramics workshop with the ceramics museum in Gijdouvan, one of the most renowned in Uzbekistan. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Start of visits in Bukhara: Liabi-Khaouz Ensemble, which consists of the Nadir-Divan-Beghi madrasa (1622), the Koukeldach madrasa, and the Nadir-Divan-Beghi khanaka (1620), one of the most popular places in Bukhara, the Magok-Attori mosque (12th – 16th centuries); 16th-century trading domes Toki-Sarafon (money changers' dome). Overnight at the hotel.

• day 8

  Bukhara

  Breakfast. Citadel Ark (17th – 20th centuries); Bolo-Khaouz mosque (1712); the pearl of the Orient - the mausoleum of Ismail Samani (9th – 10th centuries), one of the oldest monuments in the world dedicated to Muslim personalities; the Chashma-Ayub mausoleum (14th – 17th centuries) - the source of the prophet Job; market. Afternoon: Visit to Sitora-i Mokhi-Khossa, one of the country residences of the last Emirs of Bukhara; visit to the Naqshbandi memorial complex (15th century), the tomb of the city's patron saint, one of the major pilgrimage sites. Then, visit to the Chor Minor madrasah (“four minarets”), four towers that decorated the entrance to the Niyaz Koul madrasah (19th century). Folk concert of traditional dances and songs with dinner in the Nodir Divan Beghi madrasah. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 9

  Bukhara-Khiva

  Breakfast. Departure for Khiva (480 km): long journey through the Kyzyl Kum desert (the Red Sands). Picnic lunch en route. Arrival and check-in at the hotel. Relaxation after a long journey. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 10

  Khiva-Urgench-Tashkent

  Breakfast. Visit of Khiva: the Moukhammad Amin Khan madrasa and Kalta Minor (the unfinished minaret) (18th c.); Kounia-Ark (the old fortress) (17th – 19th cc.); the Moukhammad Rakhim Khan madrasa (19th c.); the mausoleum of Said Allaoutdin (14th c.); the Djami mosque (Friday mosque) with its 212 carved wooden columns (18th c.); market. Lunch at a local's home. Continuation of the visit of Khiva. Dinner in a local restaurant. Transfer to Urgench airport (30 km) for the Urgench-Tashkent flight. Arrival and check-in. Overnight at the hotel.

• day 11

  Tashkent-Paris

  Breakfast. Visit of the former residence of the Tsarist diplomat, which today houses the Museum of Applied Arts. Transfer to the airport for the Tashkent – Paris flight.