Silk Road Journey Through Uzbekistan

Meet Karin Hellaby at London Heathrow airport for your overnight flight to Tashkent. Tashkent is the capital and largest city in Uzbekistan.

• Applied Art Museum; home to over 7,000 examples of embroidery, skull caps, jewellery and other examples of craftsmanship from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day
• Khazrati Imam Architectural Complex; over 20 craftsmen sell their handmade products here, where we’ll find everything from ikat fabrics to jewellery, woodcarving to pottery
• Chorsu Bazaar; for many centuries Chorsu Bazaar was one of the busiest bazaars in central Asia. The location hasn’t changed, but the old buildings have been replaced by new ones where locals shop for spices, vegetables, dried fruit, traditional and modern fashions and carpets. In the clothing section we’ll see Kurpacha, a traditional central Asian thick cotton wool blanket or mattress, Chapan robes, Khan-atlas, a silk fabric with a bright colour palette, and Tubeteika skull caps.

• Khudayar Khan Palace; built in 1871, is staggeringly grand. Originally consisting of seven courtyards and 119 rooms, sadly only 2 of the courtyards and 19 rooms have survived.
• Juma Mosque
• Dahmai Shahon Mausoleum

• Said Ahmad Khoja Madrassah, which is now home to a number of craftsmen producing handmade carpets and silk
• Yodgorlik Silk Factory; where we’ll see the production process of silk with traditional Ikat patterns. The factory was established in 1972 and today the staff number around 450 people, most of them women. Every month the factory produces up to 6000 metres of fabric, including pure silk and half-silk fabric.

• Amir Temur Square; the true heart of the city
• Independence Square; the largest square in Tashkent, more like a park than a square, with several monuments and fountains and filled with trees and flowerbeds
• Alisher Navoi Theatre; one of the leading centres of performing arts in Central Asia
• Akbar Rahimov’s Pottery School, where we’ll see how the products are made and enjoy tea and oriental sweets. The school began in the mid 20th Century and is now run by the founder’s son and grandson.

• 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

• 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

• Gur Emir Mausoleum; tomb of Tamerlane, his sons and grandsons
• Bibi Khanym mosque
• Siyab bazaar
• Happy Bird Handicraft Centre; where we can meet with local artists and shop for souvenirs
• 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.

• 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