Oriental tales

Arrival in Tashkent.

Excursion program with tasting of national dishes.

Objects to visit:

• Amir Temur Square - Amir Temur Square - the center of the new Tashkent, where the monument to Amir Temur, an outstanding politician and military leader of the Middle Ages, created a huge empire;

• Roman Catholic Church - Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Catholic temple in Tashkent. The construction of the church was started in 1912 on the initiative of the priest Justin Bonaventura Pranaitis on the project of the famous Polish architect Ludwik Panczakevich;

• Hazrat Imam Square - Hazrat Imam Ensemble - a religious complex in Tashkent. The ensemble was erected near the grave of the Imam of the city of Tashkent, a scholar, a connoisseur of the Koran and hadith, one of the first Islam preachers in Tashkent, a poet and artisan of Khazrati Imam (his full name is Abu Bakr ibn Ismail al-Kaffalash Shoshiy);

• Madrasah Barak Khan - The repository of the Koran of the Caliph Osman. It was built in the XVI century;

• Tilya Sheikh Mosque (XIX century) - Koran library (IX c.) (Display of Qur'an of Osman XVII c.) - The Tillya Sheikh Mosque has ceased to be the main mosque of Uzbekistan, but it is still one of the largest functioning mosques and major religious sites Tashkent;
• Jami Mosque - Jami Mosque or Khoja Ahrar Vali - the central element of the ensemble of the Tashkent Old Town;
• Madrasah Kukeldash - The largest of the 23 madrasahs of old Tashkent, built no later than 1569;

• Oriental Bazaar Chorsu - Ancient bazaar with a rich history. It is located in the old part of Tashkent, called "Eski Shahar". The Chorsu bazaar was known in the Middle Ages, was of great importance on the road of the Great Silk Road, was located at the crossroads of four shopping streets;

• Theater Square (history of theatrical art of Uzbekistan) - Bolshoi Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after Alisher Navoi is included in the cohort of the best opera houses in the world. There are performances of both world classical repertoire and works of national authors. The theater building itself, was built in 1947 and withstood a severe earthquake without damage;

• Palace of Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov (outside) - Built in 1891 by the architects VS. Heintzelmann and AL Benois for Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, exiled to the outskirts of the empire - in the Turkistan region.

Transfer ot the airport.

Evening flight to Urgench (1050 km), transfer to Khiva (30 km).

Hotel accommodation, dinner.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Excursion program around the city of Khiva.

Lunch.

Continuation of the excursion program.

Objects to visit:

• Ota Darvaza - This is the gate, located in the western part of Ichan-Kala. They are considered the main gateway to enter the city;
• Kunya Ark - Citadel; is located in the inner city of Khiva, Ichan-Kala. Kunya Ark served as one of the khan's residences;

• Madrasah Muhammad Rahim Khan - Muhammad Rahimhan was one of the most enlightened representatives of the Kungrat dynasty, who ruled the Khiva Khanate from 1770;

• Kalta Minor - It was conceived by Khan Khiva Khiva Muhammad Amin Khan as the largest and tallest minaret in the Muslim world;

• Madrasah Mohammed Amin Khan - In the Khan period, 64 madrasahs operated in the city of Khiva, the largest and most beautiful of them was the madrasah built by Khiva Khan Mohammed Amin, which has been well preserved to the present day;

• Madrasah Matniyaz Divan Begi - Madrasah was built in 1871 in the XIX century. It is located in front of the eastern wall of the madrasah of Muhammad Rahimkhan. It was erected by the financial minister (devan-begi) Muhammad Rahimkhan II - Muhammad Niyaz;
• Mausoleum of Said-Allauddin - This is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Said-Allauddin - well-known in the East righteous and Sufi sheikh;

• Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Mahmud - Architectural complex, one of the best works of Khiva architecture of the middle of the XIX century, executed in the traditions of Khorezm architecture;

• Madrasah of Shirgazi Khan - This is the oldest madrasah in Khiva. It was built in 1718-1720. after the successful military campaign of Shirgazi-khan (1715-1728) on Khorasan;

• Minaret of Islam Khoja is the tallest building of the old Khiva, its height is 44.6 meters, and with this indicator is the second-tallest minaret in Uzbekistan and Central Asia;

• Juma mosque is a Friday mosque in the Ichan-Kala fortress in Khiva. According to the data of the Arab geographer Mukaddasy, the Juma Mosque dates back to the X century;

• Tash Hauli is a palace complex in Khiva, the main palace of Khiva khans;

• Karavan-saray Alla-Kuli-khan - It was a trading market where they sold grain, fruits, soap, and candles. There was also a number of small trading houses. In the adjoining side there was a place for the slave trade.

Dinner and free time.

Overnight at the hotel.

Early breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Bukhara (450 km, 6-7 hours).

The road passes through the Kyzylkum desert and the Amu Darya river. Desert Kyzylkum means "red sands" in translation from the Turkic, which have a reddish color, whimsically reflected in the waters of the great Amu Darya river.

Lunch at the national chayhana in Bukhara.

Hotel accommodation.

Dinner.

Free time.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Excursion program.

Objects to visit:

• Mausoleum of Samanids - This monument marks the beginning of a new era in the development of Central Asian architecture, reborn after the Arab conquest;

• Mausoleum Chashma-Ayub - A cult building in the center of Bukhara, includes a mausoleum and a sacred spring. Currently it houses the Water Museum;

• Poi-Kalyan complex - the cathedral mosque with the minaret were in Bukhara from the moment of the conquest of Transoxania by the Arabs in VIII, there was a mosque at the foot of the city citadel;

• Madrasah of Abdulaziz-Khan - Madrasah is named after Ashtarkhanid ruler Abdulazizhan;

• Winter residence of the rulers of Bukhara Citadel Ark - At one time the Ark, towering over Registan Square, was a symbol of greatness, power and inaccessibility. On one of the walls of the Arch there once hung a large leather whip (Kamcha) - a symbol of power in the Bukhara Emirate;

• Trading domes Toki Saraffon, Toki Telpak Furushon, Toki Zargaron - In place of the ancient Chorsu Bukhara in 1569-70. The largest of the surviving shopping arcades of Bukhara - Toki Zargaron ("the dome of jewelers") was built, an excellent building of its kind. At the fork in two streets, one of which came directly to the central square - Registan, towers Toki Sarrafon - "the dome changed". Another market structure Toki Telpak-furushon - "dome sellers headgear" - absorbed a fan of five streets;

• Mosque Magoki Attori - The mosque was in the market, where before the Arab conquest there was a trade of idols, medicines and spices, that's why it was sometimes called "muscatels mosque";

• Madrasah Chor Minor - Madrasah of Khalifa Niyazkul, also known as Chor-Minor. The unusual design of Chor-minor causes confusion. Therefore, sometimes Chor-minor is considered only as a gate of a lost madrasah;

Ensemble Lyabi-Khauz - ("Lyabi" means "shore", "khauz" - "pool") - one of the central squares of the city of Bukhara, an architectural ensemble created in the XVI-XVII centuries. It consists of two madrasahs and Hunako, located around the house of Divan-begi. This madrassa Kukeldash (1568), the madrassah of Nodira Diwan-begi (1622) and Khanaka Nodir Divan-begi (1620). These structures are grouped around the house;

• Madrasah Kukeldash is the largest madrasah in Central Asia, its dimensions are 86 x 69 meters, due to this, it accommodates 160 hujras. (Hujra is a cell, a small room in a madrasah in which pupils lived and sometimes pilgrims rested);

• Madrasah and Khonaka Nodir Devan Begi - The most famous square of old Bukhara and the most beautiful and popular place in the city. There are teahouses, artists, artisans, musicians, and on cultural events are held on holidays.

Folklore show program in the madrasah Nodir Divan Begi.

Dinner.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Samarkand with a stop in Shakhrisabz.

Shakhrisabz is the homeland of Amir Temur (Tamerlane), an outstanding politician and military leader of the Middle Ages, who created a huge empire.

Lunch and excursion around Shakhrisabz.

Objects to visit:

• Ak-Saray - "home residence" of Temurids - Ak-Saray Palace - one of the most grandiose monuments of the Timurid epoch of the late XIV - early XV centuries, erected in the city of Kesha now Shahrisabz;

• Memorial Ensemble Dorus Saodat - It includes three parts: the Crypt of Jahangir, the mosque Hazrat Imam and the crypt of Temur. The beloved son of the ruler died in 1376 and plunged his father in utter despondency, so much so that "the heart of the sovereign was closed for compassion for 30 years";
• Hazrati Imam Mosque - In the middle of the XIX century, near the mausoleum of Jahangir, the Khazrat Imam mosque was built with a dome hall and a painted aivan. Now it is an active mosque, revered by believers;
• Memorial Ensemble "Dorus-Tilyavat" (XIV-XV centuries.) - Memorial ensemble, from which there were only three buildings on the former burial place of the local nobility.

Transfer to Samarkand.

Hotel accommodation, dinner.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Excursion program.

Lunch.

Continuation of the excursion program.

Objects to visit:

• Mausoleum "Gur-Emir" - This masterpiece of Central Asian architecture occupies an important place in the history of world Islamic architecture. The family tomb of Timur and the heirs of the empire was erected in the south-western part of the city in 1404;

• Mausoleum "Rukhabad" - It was built by the order of Amir Timur in 1380 over the grave of the Islamic religious figure Sheikh Burkhaneddin Sagardzhi, who became known for spreading Islam among the nomads of East Turkistan;

• Square "Registan" - In translation means "Sandy place". Registan is the administrative and trade and craft center of the eastern city;

• Khazret-Khizr Mosque is a Muslim religious building in Samarkand on the southern tip of Afrasiab. The name of the mosque is connected with the name of the prophet (nabi) Hizra - the patron of travelers, the legendary possessor of "living water";
• Cathedral mosque "Bibi Khanym" - Architectural monument of 1399-1404, the grandiose cathedral mosque of Tamerlane, richly decorated with tiles, carved marble and murals;

• Architectural Complex "Shahi-Zinda" - a monument of medieval architecture in Samarkand, an ensemble of mausoleums of the Samarkand nobility. The ensemble of Shahi Zinda was formed during 9 centuries and includes more than twenty constructions of IX-XIV and XIX centuries;

• Shopping on the real oriental bazaar - Siab bazaar;

• Hoja Doniyor mausoleum - According to the legendary information of the 18th century, a fragment of ashes of the Old Testament biblical prophet Doniyor (Daniel) was buried in the mausoleum, the remains of which could have been brought to Samarkand and buried by the Central Asian commander and conqueror Amir Timur (Tamerlan);

• Ulugbek's Observatory - One of the most significant observatories of the Middle Ages, built by Ulugbek on the hill Kuhak in the vicinity of Samarkand in 1424-1428;

• Visit to the holy place Al-Bukhari - Imam al-Bukhari - the great theologian of the East. He collected and recorded about 600 thousand hadiths - legends based on events from the life or sayings of the Prophet;

• Theater of historical costume "El Meros" - The theater presents costumes of various historical periods. These costumes have become a chronicle of the life of our ancestors, who, with the language of color, form, ornament and drawing, will reveal to us the secret secrets and laws of the beauty of the national costume.

Dinner and evening show program at the Theater of Historical Costume El Meros.

Free time.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Samarkand, the continuation of the excursion program. The Filatov wine museum (winery named after Professor Khovrenko) - At the winery you can visit a small museum, which briefly tells about the history of winemaking in Samarkand. Then you can go to the tasting room. At the tasting you can try out dry and vintage wines, cognacs and also balsam, which are produced at the Samarkand winery.

Drive to Urgut.

Urgut is a small town, a district center in the Samarkand region, located at the foot of the northern slope of the Zerafshan Range 40 kilometers from Samarkand. One of the main attractions of the city is the ancient garden of Chor-Chinor, translated into Russian meaning "Four plane trees". This garden consists of fifty old ancient plane trees, irrigated by the waters of a holy spring. The oldest of the giant trees have a coverage of 16 meters. At the entrance to Urgut is the largest bazaar in the Samarkand region. Here you can buy antique carpets, hand-embroidered (suzane), leather shoes, jewelry, artwork from metal, ceramic dishes and much more.

Return to Samarkand.

Dinner and free time.

Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to the station, transfer from Samarkand to Tashkent (high-speed train "Afrosiab").

Airport transfer.

Departure.

End of the tour.