Silk Road Journey Through Uzbekistan

Meet our expert and your Arena Travel Tour Manager at London Heathrow airport for your overnight flight to Tashkent. Tashkent is the capital and largest city in Uzbekistan.

We fly to Urgench this morning and continue by road to Khiva. Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan to be inscribed in the World Heritage List. Our city tour today will include:

• Kalta Minor; a large blue tower in the central city square
• Madrassah of Amin Khan; now a hotel
• Madrasah of Muhammad Rahim-khan; now a museum of literature and history
• Kunya Ark (old fortress)
• Juma Mosque
• Pakhlavan Mahmud Mausoleum; shrine of Khiva’s patron saint and the holiest site in Khiva. The interior displays an array of Khiva’s famed woodcarving, ceramic painted decoration, metalwork and inlay craft traditions.
• Islam Khoja Minaret and Madrassah; the smallest madrassah in Khiva but the highest minaret at 57 metres.
• Tash Hauli Palace
• Madrassah of Allakuli Khan; now a restaurant

We'll also visit the USDP (United National Development Programme) workshops for the development of local handicrafts. Here we’ll see tie-dyeing, carpet making, and wood carving. We’ll also visit a silk carpet workshop which is under UNESCO sponsorship. The workshop produces high-quality silk carpets and embroidered textiles using ancient designed from the Timurid dynasty taken from floor tiles and doors in the city.

Dinner and overnight at Erkin Palace, Khiva.

Today we drive to Bukhara, through the Kyzylkum desert, the fifteenth largest desert in the world. The journey will take 7-8 hours in total, but we’ll stop on route for comfort stops, photo opportunities etc. A picnic lunch is included today.

Located on the Silk Road, Bukhara is rich in historical sites and is Uzbekistan’s fifth largest city. The historic centre is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dinner and overnight in Basilic (May) or Sasha & Son (October)

This evening we’ll dine at Akbar House, located in the historical Jewish quarter, where we’ll see a demonstration of cooking plov, a rice pilaf with meat, carrots, onions and spices.

Overnight in Bukhara.

• Bukhara Artisan Development Centre
• Colourful local markets where the caravanserai (trade domes) and former madrassahs offer splendid embroidery work, textiles, clothing, jewellery, carpets, costumes, spices and other Silk Road treasures
• Chor Minor; an historic gatehouse for a now destroyed madrassah
• Poi Kalyan complex; an Islamic religious complex centred around the Kalan minaret, which dominates the historic centre of the city
• Ulugbek Madrasah; today the museum of history of the restoration of the architectural monuments in Bukhara
• Abdulaziz Khan Madrassah; now the museum of woodcarving
• Silk Market
• Lyabi-Hauz complex; the area surrounding one of the few remaining hauz (pond) in the city, which served as a source of water. The ponds were notorious for spreading disease and were mostly filled in during the 1920s and 1930s. The Lyabi-Hauz complex survived because it is the centre piece of a magnificent architectural ensemble
• Bobokul’s workshop; where we’ll see the traditional way of producing and colouring silk

Dinner and overnight in Basilic (May) or Sasha & Son (October)

Today we travel to Samarkand via Shakhrisabz, Tamerlane’s home town. Tamerlane was the ferocious and terrifying founder of the Timurid empire of central Asia, eventually ruling much of Europe and Asia. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’ll see the ruins of Timur’s summer palace Ak Saray (White Palace). Probably Tamerlane’s most ambitious project; all that is now left are parts of the gigantic, 40 metres high, entrance covered with gorgeous blue, white and gold mosaics. We’ll have the chance to learn about the famous Shakhrisabz suzani, which is very famous throughout Uzbekistan for its special design and colour. We’ll also visit Yulduz Opa’s textile market with a local expert.

Samarkand is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. The city prospered from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean and in the 14th century became the capital of the empire of Tamerlane.

Dinner and overnight at Dilimah Premium Luxury, Samarkand.

Our full day in Samarkand includes:

• Registan Square; the centrepiece of the city. There are three madrassahs framing the square, Madrassah Ulugbek, Madrassah Sher-Dor and Madrassah Tillya-Kori.
• Happy Bird Handicraft Centre, where we can meet with local artists and shop for souvenirs
• Meros silk paper mill, restored by well-known masters the Mukhtarov brothers. Thanks to their efforts an ancient tradition based on old Samarkand technologies has been revived. The production process is manual, and we’ll be able to observe this during our visit. The area surrounding the mill is very picturesque, with shady trees, the Siab river and a small tea house serving delicious pilaf and fruits.
• We’ll continue to the Hudjum silk carpet factory. We’ll observe the process of carpet manufacturing. Mostly young girls are employed in the factory, creating amazing carpets of the most vivid and varied colours. The factory uses organic dyes including walnut, pomegranate, indigo and madder
• Gur Emir Mausoleum, tomb of Tamerlane, his sons and grandsons

Dinner and overnight at Dilimah Premium Luxury, Samarkand.

We start the day with an excursion to Urgut bazaar, one of the few remaining traditional bazaars where people from the countryside sell their homemade produce.

On our return to Samarkand we’ll visit:

• the former family home of Avraham Kalantarov, a wealthy Jewish merchant. The building now houses a museum.
• El Merosi theatre of historical costumes, where we’ll see costumes from different historical periods
• Aisha textile workshop; famous for the manufacture of natural silk fabrics under the leadership of Valentina Romanenko. A large variety of products are presented here including contemporary works decorated with hand-embroidery, ancient costumes, traditional Uzbek suzani, suits made of silk for evening dress and business meetings.

Dinner and overnight at Dilimah Premium Luxury, Samarkand.

• Fine Art Museum of Samarkand; housing a fine collection of textiles
• Ulugbek Observatory
• Afrasiab Museum; dedicated to the history of the city
• Shakhi Zinda necropolis; the burial place of royal persons and nobles

In the afternoon we’ll return to Tashkent for dinner and overnight at the Miran International hotel.