Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan: Into the Silk Road Empires

Depart London Heathrow on your direct flight to Tashkent.

Arrive in Tashkent this morning and transfer to your city centre hotel. Have a rest this morning and in the afternoon join your guide for a tour of Tashkent visiting the old town with its collection of mosques and madrassahs, one of which houses a library of ancient Korans. Also visit the museum of Applied Arts to see some of the country’s finest crafts and art work. (BLD)

Take an early train to Samarkand this morning. On arrival head out to the town of Urgut near the Tajik border which hosts a lively Sunday market, after browsing the stalls and watching the tin workers and blacksmiths at work return to Samarkand. In the afternoon visit Tamerlane’s jade tomb lying beneath the fluted turquoise dome of his mausoleum. (BLD)

Embark on a sightseeing tour of Samarkand, Tamerlane’s capital and showpiece today. Visit Samarkand’s Registan Square – surrounded by 3 imposing madrassahs, some of the world’s oldest preserved madrasahs with their fine blue tile work and dating from the 15th century before heading to the Shah I Zinda necropolis where his family and friends were buried, walk the narrow lane lined with tombs of various sizes. Nearby is the Bibi Khanum Mosque built for his favourite wife and showing the effects of the seismic activity the area is known for. The remaining structure has a desolate beauty to it compared to all the repaired monuments. Visit the bazaar close by where the locals come for the various produce. (BLD)

Head to the station this morning to take the train to Bukhara, Central Asia’s holiest city, this afternoon visit the old city; a showcase of Islamic architecture. Your walking tour will take you to the Lyabi Hauz ensemble – the modern centre of traditional Uzbekistan with its three madrassahs and mosque. Also visit the Poi Kalon Minaret and mosque as well as stopping at workshops producing traditional crafts. (BLD)

This morning visit the famous fortress where prisoners of the Great Game were kept as well as the Mausoleum of Ishmail Samanid and the Balakhauz Mosque before heading out of the city to the emir’s summer palace, a unique blend of traditional Russian and oriental architecture with its hall not unlike those found in St Petersburg. (BLD)

This morning transfer to the Farab border and cross in to Turkmenistan, from here head to the ancient city of Merv. Sprawling across the desert landscape Merv has seen empires come and go over the centuries  from Alexander, the Persians and the Seljuk Turks all building cities here. Explore the ruins of the mausoleums where still standing and admire the size of the ancient city walls stretching out in front of you. After your visit transfer on to the city of Mary. (BLD)

A trip in to the desert in a 4WD takes you today to the little visited remote site of Gonor Depe, the region has been inhabited as far back as 7000BC but the city was deserted in the Bronze Age. The remains show mud brick walls as well as graves and a vast amount of ancient pottery. On returning to Mary visit the museum which houses many artefacts from Gonor Depe and Merv as well as a room  dedicated to the president. (BLD)

Board an early flight this morning to the nation’s capital, a bizarre city sculpted from white marble. Tour the city seeing some of the highlights including the Independence Park with its statue of the Rahnama Book, the National Museum introducing you to the country’s history, the Arch of Neutrality atop which a gold statue of the president stands and the Golustan Bazaar where it is possible to buy almost anything you can think of. (BLD)

Head out of the city this morning to Old Nissa, originally a Parthian city taken over by each empire as they swept through the region until the Mongols razed it to the ground. The plateau still shows evidence of this once grand city. After lunch you will head north in to the desert to the engineering hick-up that is the Darvaza Crater. In the 50s the drilling platform collapsed releasing gas in to the air, the engineers set fire to it to burn it off and the crater is still burning. Best seen at night you will camp nearby. (Facilities are very basic with dome tents and just a toilet). (BLD)

Waking up in the desert this morning you will head to Konye Urgench, once an important city in the Silk Road and the ancient state of Khorezm. The mausoleums still standing take visitors on a journey through its history and the Gutlug Timur Minaret is one of Central Asia’s tallest despite not being complete. After your visit cross the border back in to Uzbekistan and transfer on to the city of Nukus. (BLD)

This morning we drive to the former fishing town of Moynaq which used to be situated on the shores of the Aral Sea, stop along the way to visit the Islamic Mizdakhan Complex. On arrival in Moynaq there is time to take stock of the abandoned ships lying in the desert and contemplate the scale of the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea. There is a small museum which gives you an idea of the busy bustling port the town once was. (BLD)

A small town in northern Uzbekistan is the last place we would normally expect to find a vast collection of Avant Garde Russian Art but the Savitsky Museum has one of the finest collections outside Russia. There is plenty of time this morning to explore the museum before we drive south to Khiva, stopping en route to visit the desert castles of Toprak Kala and Ayaz Kala which date from the 1st century AD. (BLD)

Dating back more than 2000 years, Khiva is layer after layer of history and a beautiful city for a walking tour. Ringed by thick mud brick walls the old city has beautiful madrassahs, mosques, palaces and minarets connected by cobbled paths and all a beautiful example of the fine turquoise tile work of the region. After a relaxing day taking in the sights transfer to the airport for your evening flight back to Tashkent. (BLD)

This morning is at leisure until you transfer to the airport for your return flight to London. (BLD)