Silk and Spices Festival Spring Journey 11 days

After breakfast transfer to airport for flight to Urgench at 7:25 Arrival in Urgench at 08:55 and transfer to Khiva (35km). Accomodation at hotel after 12:00. Full day excursion.

Ichan-Qala  is the historical center of Khiva which has been inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List. City tour around the architectural complex « Ichan-Qala »: Kunya-Ark Khan’s castle – the inner citadel of Ichan-Qala (16-17th cc.), Kalta Minor Tower (Short minaret) that would have become the biggest and tallest minaret in Central Asia (19th c.), Muhammad Amin-Khan – the biggest  medieval madrasah in Khiva (1845-1855 yy.), Djuma mosque with 220 wooden columns and a minaret 32 meters high. Lunch at a local restaurant. Tash Hauli (Stone courtyard) palace looking like a fortress with a high battlements, towers and fortified gates (19th c.), Ak mosque (White Mosque) – a small quarter mosque by the  gates of Palvan-Darvaza (1838-1842), necropolis of Pahlavan Mahmud – the cultic center of Ichan-Qala (1810-1913 yy.), residence of Islam Khodja (1910 y.) – the vizier of the last khan. Ensemble consists of the smallest madrasah in Khiva and a minaret which top platform has a height of 45 m and is the highest observation point in town. Dinner.

After a little rest in the hotel, be sure to take a walk in Khiva in the evening! Khiva at night is the eighth miracle of the world! Walking along the streets of this town, where minarets rise and the sky is filled with large, bright stars you will find yourself in a fairy tale! And words cannot discribe extraordinary calmness and peace in the air! Overnight at hotel of Khiva.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer from Khiva to Bukhara by car or minibus (480 km, 8 h.). We travel to Bukhara through Kyzylkum Desert. On the way stop at the Amu Darya River and near the seif-dunes.  The name « Kyzylkum »  translated from Turkic means « red sands. » Lunch on the road at a choykhana (tea house). Arrival in Bukhara in the evening. Accommodation in hotel. Overnight at hotel of Bukhara.

Breakfast at the hotel. Opening of the Silk and Spices Festival in Bukhara with its great turquoise domes, slender minarets and mosques with impressive facades decorated with blue tiles. The theatre procession of the festival participants starts from the monument of Hodja Nasreddin and goes to Poi-Kalon – the religious center of the city. The architectural complex includes the Miri Arab madrasah, Juma Mosque and the Kalon minaret – a symbol of Bukhara. You will also walk through old trading domes including Togi Saraffon (dome of money- changers), Togi Telpak Furushon (dome of hat makers) and Togi Zargaron (dome of jewellers). Puppet theatre and Uzbek classical music concert. A visit to the Labi Hauz landmark with the Kukeldash madrasah and Nodir Devon Begi madrasah located on the near a water pool surrounded by ancient mulberry trees. Possibility to visit the exhibition of photographs « Images of Bukhara. »

Today you can visit a fair of silk, spices, miniatures, carved wooden products, etc…. We continue to explore the city – citadel Ark, former residence of Emirs of Bukhara, mausoleum of Samanids, Chashma Ayub mausoleum. Exhibition of famous Bukhara carpets and suzani, panels made of fabric decorated with silk. Presentation of various spices where you can enjoy green tea and nuga with the addition of spices, the recipe of which dates from the XVII century. Overnight at hotel of Bukhara.

After breakfast a walking tour of Bukhara: visit Kosh Madrasah ensemble consisting of two madrasahs: Ulugbek and Abdulazizhan. Opportunity to see documentaries about Bukhara history. Tasting of the best varieties of wines of Uzbekistan in a caravanserai. After the fair in Labi House Square – a demonstration of traditional embroidery of susani and products decorated with gold thread.

The road to Samarkand is called the « Royal Road” and in ancient times it was an important route of the Great Silk Road connecting the main cities of Mavarannahr: Samarkand and Bukhara. Stop in Uzbek village and opportunity to see silkworm cultivation. The silk worm in the shape of a caterpillar has a great appetite. It eats day and night and prefers only mulberry tree leaves. Throughout life, a caterpillar eats 2 tons of mulberry tree leaves for 62,000 silkworm cocoons, of which only 100 kilograms of cocoons and 19 kilograms of silk are obtained. On the way to Samarkand, visit a pottery workshop in Gijduwan. Gijduwan Ceramics Workshop is known throughout Uzbekistan and is protected by UNESCO. Lunch at the pottery house, after lunch visit ruins in the Rabati Malik caravanserai dating back to the 11th century. Cross the road to see an old Sardoba (a reservoir of water for caravans). Continue the journey to Samarkand. Arrival and accommodation at the hotel.

After breakfast – a city tour of Samarkand – the Pearls of the East – a magical name that arouses interest and plunges us into the atmosphere of Asia. The first landmark is the famous Registran square surrounded by madrasahs with high gates, mausoleum of Guri-Emir, with the most beautiful ribbed dome decorated with papier-mache inside. Lunch in a national house (included in the price). After lunch, a visit to the surviving part of the Ulugbek Observatory –  the first observatory in the East, where stars could be contemplated with the help of a huge sexant.

Continuation of the excursion: Bibi Hanum – the largest mosque of its time in the whole region of Central Asia, the necropolis of Shahi Zinda – the real pearl of Samarkand architecture of the 14th-15th centuries, a unique complex where you can find all artistic processes of decoration of Islamic buildings. A walk through the picturesque Siab bazaar, one of the city ‘s busiest and most colourful locations. Overnight at hotel of Samarkand.

Departure to Tashkent by a high-speed train through the « Hungry Steppe » largely irrigated by the Syrdarya River  where cotton, the « white gold of Uzbekistan” is grown. Arrival and accommodation at the hotel. Sightseeing in the capital rich in parks, fountains and historical attractions: Independence Square, Amir Temur Square, Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater and beautiful metro stations of the city. Overnight at hotel of Tashkent.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for international flight home.

End of the programme.