Uzbekistan on a budget

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Paris - Tashkent - Urgench

  Arrival, after customs formalities, welcome at the airport. Guided tours of Tashkent. In the evening or at noon, flight to Urgench, transfer to Khiva (30 km), check-in at Orzu guesthouse or similar.

• day 2

  KHIVA

  Guided tours in Khiva. Khiva, fully restored, offers visitors the appearance it had between the 18th and the early 20th century. It is a perfect architectural ensemble, unmatched in Central Asia. Visit of Itchan Kala (the inner city): "the old fortress"; the Tash Hauli Palace, residence of the Khiva khans, with a small courtyard at its center and an aïvan (veranda) with two columns entirely covered with painted majolica tiles; the Ak-Sheikh-Bobo tower with a terrace offering a magnificent panoramic view over the whole city; the Islam-Khodja Medressa (1908-1912) with its minaret, the tallest in the city. In the center of Itchan-Kala, a long blind wall flanked by a minaret serves as the facade of the Djouma Mosque (Friday mosque), the main mosque of Khiva, whose 200 carved wooden columns evoke the ancient mosques of Arabia. Behind the Djouma Mosque rises Khiva's most famous monument: the mausoleum of Pakhlavan-Makhmoud (1810-1825). In front of the medressa of Khan Moukhammed-Amin stands the curious Kalta-Minor ("short minaret", 1855), an unfinished minaret of bright blue. Free time to stroll at the end of the afternoon. Night in a guesthouse.

• day 3

  Khiva - road to Bukhara

  Route to BUKHARA through the desert landscapes with red dunes of the Kyzil Kum and along the Amu Darya, the ancient Oxus. Bukhara was, in the 10th century, under the Persian Samanid dynasty, a major Muslim religious and intellectual center before being ruined by the Mongols, then restored by Tamerlane. It has retained much charm from its Arab, Persian, and Turkish past. Overnight in a guesthouse.

• day 4

  Bukhara

  Guided tours. The morning will be devoted to discovering the old town with the Poï-Kalian complex: minaret, mosque, and madrasa. Very close by, a walk through the bazaar-caravanserai, with its forty domes. Behind the bazaar, visit the Ulugh Beg madrasa, then the Liabi Khaouz complex, one of the most original architectural complexes in Bukhara, the Magoki-Attari mosque, the oldest in Bukhara, and finally the Tchor Minor mosque, "four minarets", a strange and captivating monument. At the gates of the old town stands the citadel (Ark), with its reception halls, harem, and prison... It was the residence of the rulers of Bukhara until 1920. It also houses a small museum dedicated to the history of Arabic writing and calligraphy. At the foot of the citadel, bordering Registan Square, visit the Bala Khaouz mosque, "the mosque by the pond". Finally, in a park, stands the mausoleum of the Samanids, dedicated to Ismaël Samani, founder of the dynasty, and built at the end of the 10th century. Overnight in a guesthouse.

• day 5

  Bukhara - Samarkand

  Road to SAMARKAND and installation in a guest house. Samarkand was an essential commercial center on the Silk Road, at the crossroads of the great caravan routes coming from China, India, Siberia, Persia, and Byzantium... Capital of Sogdiana in the 4th century BC, it was taken by Alexander the Great, destroyed by the Arabs in the 8th century, then by Genghis Khan in the 13th century, before regaining glory and prosperity under the reign of Tamerlane in the 14th century.

• day 6

  Samarkand

  Guided tour of Registan Square, the center of religious life in the region, with the madrasas of Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor, and Tilla-Kari, covered with polychrome ceramic mosaics dominated by blue. Restored to its original splendor, the complex is one of the most beautiful in Islam and deserves all the superlatives. Visit to the Museum of the Cultural History of Uzbekistan, which contains a very beautiful archaeological section. Then, visit to the Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the bazaar in the heart of the old city. Finally, visit to the Gur-e-Amir (tomb of Tamerlane and his descendants). Overnight in a guesthouse.

• day 7

  Samarkand - Tashkent

  Guided tour of the famous necropolis of Chah-i-Zinda ("the living king"), the pearl of Samarkand: a vast complex of mausoleums where all the experiments of medieval architecture from the 11th to the 15th century seem to have been concentrated. Then, visit to the extraordinary astronomical observatory of Ulugh Beg, a giant sextant built by the brilliant grandson of Tamerlane, the king-astronomer. End of the afternoon, transfer to the station, high-speed train to Tashkent. Overnight in a guesthouse.

• day 8

  Tashkent - Paris

  Very early transfer to the airport and flight according to the schedule of your return flight.