Eastern caravan

The second day will be dedicated to a tour of the ancient capital of the Kokand Khanate. In the 18th century, Kokand was a major religious center, and numerous ancient mosques remain here to this day. We'll visit the Khudoyar Khan Palace (19th century), where we'll see its vibrant murals and ornamentation. We'll stroll through the Madari Khan Mausoleum with its blue dome and unusually colored mosaics, the Jami architectural complex, and the Dakhma-i-Shihon mausoleum. All these buildings tell the city's fascinating story, woven into the histories of countries—both existing and now remembered. We'll also take an excursion to Rishtan, a city of artisans whose blue ceramics are renowned worldwide. We'll learn about the process of creating these distinctive masterpieces and the secrets of local artisans. Return to Kokand and dinner at the hotel.

Today, we'll travel to Tashkent via the picturesque Kamchik Pass. We'll cover the 240 km between Kokand and Tashkent, a journey that takes about four hours. After checking into a hotel in the capital of Uzbekistan, you'll be free to spend the rest of the day at your leisure, resting after the journey.

Tashkent is diverse and multifaceted. It boasts archaeological sites dating back over 2,000 years, stunning medieval buildings, monumental 19th-century architecture, and the legacy of the Soviet era. We'll take a tour of the old city: Khast-Imam Square, where a majestic mosque houses one of the oldest copies of the Quran, the 16th-century Kukeldash Madrasah, and the unusual asymmetrical Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum. We'll immerse ourselves in a kaleidoscope of colors as we visit the bustling and fragrant Chorsu Bazaar, the oldest in Tashkent. We'll dine on delicious Uzbek pilaf at a restaurant that prepares 10 tons of this national dish daily. In the afternoon, we'll head to Samarkand.

One of the most ancient cities in the world, it was an important stop on the Silk Road in the Middle Ages. It is also the capital of Tamerlane's great empire, home to dozens of architectural masterpieces. We will visit Tamerlane's tomb, the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, with its ribbed dome and carved vaults, stroll through picturesque Registan Square, and the city's oldest bazaar (Siab), which covers over 7 hectares. We will visit the Ulugh Beg Observatory Museum and take beautiful photos of the legendary Bibi-Khanum Mosque.

After breakfast, transfer to Bukhara, another ancient and atmospheric city on the Silk Road. En route, we'll stop in Gijduvan, where we'll visit a family of hereditary ceramic masters. Here, we'll have lunch, sampling the famous local shashlik. Arrival in Bukhara. In the Middle Ages, it was an important political and religious center. Built in the 16th and 17th centuries, the madrassas that form part of the Lyabi-Khauz complex are located here. This complex, one of the city's central squares and its heart, consists of several picturesque buildings grouped around an octagonal pond. In Bukhara, we'll also visit the covered bazaar district with its workshops and learn more about folk crafts and traditions.

We continue our tour of Bukhara—it's impossible to fully explore this amazing city in one day! We'll see the "Forty Pillars Mosque," Bolo-Hauz, and the Ark Fortress, striking in its form and monumentality, which has been destroyed and restored several times. We'll visit the Poi-Kalyan architectural complex (12th-16th centuries), the Emir's Khan's country residence, the Sitorai-Mohi-Khosa Palace, whose name means "Like the Sun and Moon," and the memorial complex of one of Islam's most famous religious figures, the Sufi Bakhautdin Naqshbandi.

If you're taking an 8-day tour, you'll be transferred to the airport and returned home on this day. For those who chose the 10-day program, the adventure continues!
Our route to Khiva takes us through the vast Kyzylkum Desert, once traversed by the rich caravans of the Silk Road. Reddish sands (the desert's name translates as "Red Sands"), rocky hills, and dunes… we'll be sure to make several stops for beautiful photos. We'll also climb to an observation deck to admire the full-flowing Amu Darya River.
Upon arrival in Khiva, we'll stroll through the Old Town.

The city of Khiva, over 2,500 years old, is small and incredibly atmospheric. It's an open-air museum, lost in the desert and concealing a multitude of architectural gems. Almost every building here has a rich history, and the streets are full of legends, tranquility, and a fairytale atmosphere. We'll visit the citadel of the Khiva khans, Kunya-Ark, the Pakhlavan-Mahmud mausoleum with its colorful paintings and wood carvings, the Tash-Khauli palace with its intricate tiles, minarets, and madrassas.