October 21 TASHKENT
Tuesday URGENCH
KHIVA
This morning we’ll awake rested and refreshed. After breakfast, we’ll depart on a morning flight to Urgench and on arrival proceed directly to Khiva (approximately 18 mile journey). Today we’ll step back into time as we have a thorough look at Khiva. The entire town is a museum, and recognized by UNESCO as a city of reserve! Like Samarkand and Bukhara, Khiva played a key role in the history of Central Asia and is part of the Great Triangle of the region. Here are the remains of the great palace fortress that was home to the Khan and his people, the clergy, the merchant class and the rich. Still intact are a spacious harem, a mint, an inlaid mosque and the 14th-century mausoleum of Seid of Allautdin. Our walking tour includes a visit to the Ichan-Kala architectural ensemble, Kalta minor, Kunya Ark, Madrassah Rakhimkhon, and Pakhlavan Makhmud’s Mausoleum, Islam Khodja Minaret and Museum. We’ll stop for lunch at the Madrassah Restaurant. As we continue our tour, we’ll see the Tashauli Palace/Harem, the Friday Mosque and the Caravan Sarai. Dinner and overnight in Khiva.
(B-L-D) **Hotel Asia Khiva
October 22 KHIVA
Wednesday BUKHARA
After breakfast, we will follow the Silk Road as we begin our 7-hour, 267-mile drive to Bukhara, via Kizilkum (red sands). We’ll make a short stop at the sight of Amudarya (Oxus River) for a picnic. We arrive in Bukhara late this afternoon. Bukhara is a city of mosques and minarets. Bukhara is like an open-air museum thanks to its more than 140 monuments, belonging to different periods, which form an architectural set. In the past, Bukhara and Samarkand rivaled each other in richness, beauty and magnificence. More than once Bukhara was destroyed by foreign conquerors; the Sack, the Greek-Macedonian, the Massaget, the Persian, the Arab and the Mongol ran along its roads. We’ll enjoy an evening walking tour to the Jewish Quarter and have dinner at Minzifa traditional house.
(B-L-D) ***Hotel Zargaron
October 23 BUKHARA
Thursday
Following breakfast, we’ll enjoy a full day exploration of Bukhara. We will visit Lyabikhauz, Madrassah Nadirkhon Divanbegi, Mogaki Attari Mosque, Poi Kalan Minaret and Mosque, Madrahsahs Aziz Khan and Ulugbek. We will also visit the Ark (fortress), the ancient heart of the town where behind its walls, the local regents - emirs with their courts - lived. Today, the fortress houses the Local Lore Museum. Bukhara cannot be imagined without its 12th-century Kaijan Minaret. According to the legend, not only did the minaret serve to summon the believer to prayer, but it was also used as a lighthouse for the caravans crossing the desert surrounding the town. The most ancient monument in the town is the 7th-10th-century Mausoleum of Ismail Samani, who was the founder of the Samanide State: its arabesqued walls of bricks create a unique game of light and shadow which makes the building light, as if it were embroidered. In Bukhara, old caravanserais and covered bazaars are preserved. Still today under the three domes, handicrafts are made and sold: embroidered tyubeteikas (Central Asiatic peoples’ typical hats), jewels, fabrics and carpets. Dinner tonight will be at Madrassah with a local folk show.
(B-L-D) ***Hotel Zargaron
October 24 BUKHARA
Friday SHAKRE SABZ SAMARKAND
Just after breakfast, we’re back on the Silk Road on a picturesque drive to Samarkand (265 miles). Along our way, we will visit Shakre Sabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane. We will see the Ak Saroy Palace ruins, Dorus Tilavat Seminary, Kok Gumbaz Mosque, Dorus Saidat and the Friday Mosque. We’ll have lunch at Shakre Sabz Hotel.
Our journey continues. Like the hordes of conquerors that were attracted to Samarkand by the splendor of its richness, we too arrive in the valley of the Zeravshan River. Samarkand is one of the oldest cities of Central Asia. It was called the “Eden of the Orient, precious gem of the Mohammedan world, the focus of the entire planet”! It existed in the same period of Babylon, Thebes, Athens and Rome and was chronicled in old Arab manuscripts. Samarkand contains elegant minarets, mosques, madrahsahs and splendid palaces.
(B-L-D) ****Hotel President Palace
October 25 SAMARKAND
Saturday
After breakfast, prepare for a full day sightseeing tour of Samarkand, with its great historical background. It was old when Alexander the Great captured it in 329 B.C. Centuries later the Mongols led by Genghis-Khan stormed across the steppe and destroyed the city. Then in 1369 a new leader emerged —the great warrior, Timur the Lame who became infamous throughout Europe as Tamerlane, the “scourge of all central and western Asia.” He dreamed of building monuments in Samarkand, which would surpass in beauty anything built before. Artisans from India created medieval masterpieces. We’ll visit the perfect and harmonic set of Reghistan Square; and the majestic Bibi Khanym Mosque, and of course, the 15th century Mausoleum of Tamerlane (Gur Emir), with its characteristic blue-tiled dome. Samarkand was the capital of the Turkic Empire and, as such, was once the most important cultural and economic center of Asia. The lavish palaces and monuments of the city are filled with the booty of Turkic plunder.
Two generations later, Tamerlane’s grandson Ulughbek, called the “iron limping man,” was also known as a great and enlightened thinker, humanist and astronomer. He was the author of many scientific discoveries and created the largest observatory of the Orient (built in 1428-1429). Today, the preserved part of the observatory is used as the Museum of Ulughbek. The magnificent excavations of the ancient town of Afrasaib, the cradle of modern Samarkand, can be seen from the hilltop setting. We’ll also visit the Silk Road Bazaar in search of treasures. Later, we will visit the local Synagogue and have dinner with a local Jewish family.
(B-L-D) ****Hotel President Palace
October 26 SAMARKAND
Sunday TASHKENT
After breakfast, the morning is at leisure to explore this amazing city. You might take this opportunity to catch up on your journal writing. Or, you might revisit the Silk Bazaar in search of more treasures. Be sure to be back at our hotel for an early lunch. Later, we return to Tashkent (205 miles). This evening will be a special farewell dinner at the exclusive restaurant, “The Caravan.”
(B-L-D) *****Hotel Inter-Continental
October 27 DEPART TASHKENT
Monday ARRIVE U.S.A.
Sadly, we bid farewell to this enchanting area, our new-found friends and our guide, Timur. Our early morning flight will connect in Istanbul via Turkish Airlines. We arrive back in New York’s JFK, the same day at 4:45 PM. (Meals en route)
B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
Flight schedules are always subject to change.
Kyrgyzstan, Lake Issyk-Kul
and Ferghana Valley Extension
Culture, history, scenic grandeur and adventure
October 9 Depart U.S.A.
Thursday
We depart today from New York, JFK. Add-on flights are available from select cities across the U.S. Board the Turkish Air flight #2 for the overnight flight nonstop to Istanbul departing at 4:00 PM.
(Meals en route)
October 10 Istanbul (Turkey)
Friday
Arrive at 9:40 AM, at the Ataturk Airport, where rooms are available for our eleven-hour layover. If you wish to explore Turkey, a Turkish visa may be obtained for $20 at the airport. Please be at the Turkish Air desk for check-in by 6:20 PM. The nonstop Turkish Air flight TK1348 to Central Asia departs at 8:20 PM this evening.
(Meals en route)
October 11 Bishkek
Saturday (Kyrgyzstan)
Arrive Bishkek at 4:30 AM, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. Welcome to Kyrgyzstan! We are met and transferred to our four-star hotel reserved for immediate occupancy. The morning is free for our jet lag recovery. In the afternoon we begin our sightseeing in the capital city.
(B-L-D) *****Hotel Hyatt
October 12 Bishkek
Sunday
Spend the entire day with our guide, learning about Bishkek (Frunze in Soviet times). The tour of the Kyrgyz capital starts with the History Museum, famous for its collection of Bolshevik Revolution artifacts. If the Scythian collection is available for viewing today, we will see it! This is followed by a visit to the Frunze House, named for the Soviet General Mikhail Frunze, who won Central Asia for the Bolsheviks in 1920, during the Civil War. We’ll stop for lunch at a local restaurant, and later visit the exotic Osh Bazaar and Ala Archa Canyon. Dinner for our last evening in Central Asia is at a local restaurant.
(B-L-D) *****Hotel Hyatt
October 13 Bishkek
Monday Issyk-Kul
We leave this morning for the 157 mile drive to Lake Issyk-Kul. En route, visit Burana tower to see the ruins of a caravan town of the Karakhanid period (10th- 11th Century AD). We also visit the nearby archaeological museum. Revive with a picnic lunch en route.
(B-L-D) ***Hotel Royal Beach
October 14 Issyk-Kul
Tuesday Cholpon-Ata
We spend the full day enjoying Cholpon-Ata, a settlement at Lake Issyk-Kul. The enchanting Issyk-Kul Lake is the second largest alpine lake in the world. High mountains surround it, with 134 rivers flowing into the lake, and traditional yurts dotting the picturesque landscape. Our tour includes a visit to the museum dedicated to the memory of Nikolai Michailovich Preshevalsky, an enthusiastic explorer accredited for his excellent works on the flora and fauna of the Issyk-Kul region. He was also known for breeding a tiny horse in the steppes of Tibet, which later came to be known as the Preshevalsky Horse. Lunch is at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we have leisure time to enjoy the beautiful scenery around Issyk-Kul Lake. You may wish to avail yourself of the water sports or health facilities offered. Dinner is at the hotel.
(B-L-D) ***Hotel Royal Beach
October 15 Cholpon-Ata
Wednesday KASARMAN - Naryn
Today we leave Issyk-Kul to drive to Naryn via Kasarman, with a picnic lunch en route. Arrive Naryn, a border town between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjang Province in China. This town was established to guard the Silk Road along the narrow and difficult Torugart Pass through the Tien Shan from Kashgar going eastbound. We dine at the hotel tonight.
(B-L-D) Hotel Celestial Mountain
October 16 Naryn - Osh
Thursday
We are off on a drive to Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan. Osh is one of Central Asia’s oldest and most important crossroads on the Silk Road. The origin of this ancient city is associated with King Solomon, Alexander the Great, and Suleiman the Magnificent. Settle into the hotel. The remainder of the day we are at leisure. Dinner is at a local restaurant.
(B-L-D) ***Hotel Crystal
October 17 Osh - Andijan
Friday FergHana
This morning we say good-bye to Kyrgyzstan and proceed to Kyrgyz-Uzbek border at Dostlik. After completing border formalities we continue a short distance to Ferghana (sometimes spelled Fergana), a picturesque, densely populated area in Uzbekistan - the heart of the Uzbek’s who make up 80% of the seven million inhabitants who populate this fertile area surrounded by mountains. This enchanting valley is known for its swift and intelligent horses, bred since ancient times. En route we visit Andijan (Andijhan) to explore the well-stocked bazaar, where the history of trading is documented dating to the 1st Century B.C. Andijan was an important stop on the Great Silk Road as the Eastern Gate to the Ferghana Valley. Another highlight of our stop here is a visit to the museum honoring Babur, founder of the Moghul dynasty that ruled India and built the Taj Mahal, Shalimar Gardens and many forts and palaces. Babur was born in 1483 and was the great-great-great grandson of Timur (Tamerlane). Lunch is served at a local restaurant, after which we proceed to Ferghana. Dinner is at the hotel.
Foundation
