DAILY ITINERARY

Day 1 Sat Arrive Ashgabat
Khush Gelinis – welcome to Turkmenistan! Upon arrival at Ashgabat Airport, you will be met and transferred to the hotel. Welcome Dinner.
D Hotel Nissa

Day 2 Sun Ashgabat
Today we enjoy a complete sightseeing tour of the capital city of Turkmenistan. We visit the Talkuchka Sunday Bazaar, also known as the Turkmen’s Carpet Bazaar, the famous archaeological site of Nisa, which served as the winter capital of the Parthian rulers, and the National Museum of History and Ethnography. Our last stop is the Carpet Museum, on of the best in Central Asia. The carpets and designs come from the Tekke, Yamud, Sarik and Chodor tribes.
B/L/D Hotel Nissa

Day 3 Mon Ashgabat/Mary
Today we explore Mary (formerly Merv), the oldest and most completely preserved of the oasis cities along the Silk Route in Central Asia. The remains of this wide oasis span four thousand years of human history and a number of monuments are visible, particularly from the last two millennia. Merv is often mentioned as Margiana by classical writers and was part of the Achaemenian Empire in the 6th Century BC until the invasion by Alexander the Great.
B/L/D Hotel Yrsgal

Day 4 Tue Mary/Bukhara
In the morning, transfer to the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border at Farap. Continue driving to Bukhara.
B/L/D Asia Bukhara Hotel

Day 5 Wed Bukhara
One of the grandest of Uzbek centres, Bukhara is an open museum with many mosques, madrassahs and a grand minaret. We spend the day visiting some of the finest examples of Islamic Architecture in the world, where exquisite tile and mosaic work complements the beautiful brickwork; it is no wonder this city is a World Heritage Site. Our visit includes the Lab-e-Khauz Complex with the Nadirkhon Devanbegi Madrassah, the Mogak Attari Mosque and the Poi Kalon Minaret. We also visit the Madrassahs of Aziz Khan and the Ulugbek Ark Fortress, the residence-cum-army headquarters of the Bukharan Emirs that houses an interesting collection of objects from those days and the Mausoleum of Ismail Samanid, which features some of the best 10th century brickwork, with a marked Persian influence. We conclude the day with a visit to Sitora-I-Mokhikhosa, the Summer Residence of the Emir.
B/L/D Asia Bukhara Hotel

Day 6 Thu Bukhara/Khiva Our drive from Bukhara to Khiva is through the arid setting of the Kyzyl Kum Desert. Along the way we stop for some refreshments and observe how humans have survived over the centuries in this unforgiving landscape. Khiva, the former capital of Khorezmia, flourished under the Achaemenid rule in the 6th century BC and was subsequently wrested away from the last of the Persian rulers, the Sasanids, by the invading armies of the Arabs. Later powerful Turkic tribes who were converted to Islam took the reins of the Kingdom and under whose rule the city flourished when great Muslim scholars attended the court of Khorezmshahs. A powerful and merciless invasion of the Mongolid hordes put an end to the ruling dynasty. B/L/D Hotel Asia Khiva Day 7 Fri Khiva Today we explore the World Heritage Site at Khiva, a city where time has stood still in the age of the Arabian Nights. Our visit starts with the main site of Itchan Kala followed by Kalta Minor, the Kunya Ark, the Rakhimkhon Madrassah, the Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmud, the Friday Mosque and the Tashauli Palace and Harem. To complete this extraordinary day, we climb the Khodja Minaret to take in the amazing fairy tale panorama. B/L/D Hotel Asia Khiva

Day 8 Sat Khiva/Tashkent
Drive to Urgench airport for our flight to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The remainder of the day will be at leisure.
B/L/D Tashkent Palace

Day 9 Sun Tashkent Our visit of Tashkent takes in the old part of the city, the Kafelsashi Mausoleum, the Barak Khana, the Tila Shaikh Mosque and Archives, followed by the Chorsu Bazaar, Kukeldesh Madrassah, the Friendship Square and the Navoi Theatre. In the afternoon we will have time to visit the History Museum of Uzbekistan and the Museum of Fine Arts. The evening is free, with an opportunity to see a local opera or ballet. B/L/D Tashkent Palace

Day 10 Mon Tashkent/Samarkand
This morning we will drive to Samarkand. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
B/L/D President or Asia Hotel Samarkand

Day 11 Tue Samarkand
Today we enjoy a day excursion to visit the World Heritage Site of Shakhrisabz, hometown of Tamerlane. This historic centre contains a collection of exceptional monuments and ancient quarters, which bear witness to centuries of vibrant history, particularly to the period of its climax in the 15th century under the empire of Tamerlane.
B/L/D President or Asia Hotel Samarkand

Day 12 Wed Samarkand
The historic town of Samarkand, recently declared a World Heritage Site, was and is a crossroads and melting pot of the world’s cultures. Founded in the 7th century BC as ancient Afrosiab, Samarkand had its most significant development in the Timurid period from the 14th to the 15th centuries. Our tour takes us to the major monuments and includes the Registan Mosque and the adjoining madrassas, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound and the Gur-Emir Ensemble, as well as Ulugh-Beg’s Observatory. Our afternoon tour also includes the Afrosiab Museum, located on the site of ancient Afrosiab, and the Historical Museum of Uzbek Culture and Art, which houses the wooden coffin of Tamerlane.
B/L/D President or Asia Hotel Samarkand

Day 13 Thu Samarkand/Bishkek
Drive back to Tashkent to take a short flight to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Our tour of the city starts with the History Museum famous for it s collection of Bolshevik Revolution artefacts. This is followed by a visit to Frunze’s House, named after the Soviet General Michael Frunze, who won Central Asia for the Bolsheviks in the Civil War. Next stop is the Burana Tower Archaeological Museum, which is situated on the site of a caravan town dating from the 10th Century.
B/L/D Golden Dragon Hotel

Day 14 Fri Bishkek/Lake Issyk-Kul
Drive from Bishkek to Lake Issyk-Kul. The scene surrounding Lake Issyk-Kul is enchanting in its surreal beauty. It is surrounded by high mountains, with 134 rivers flowing into the lake and traditional yurts dotting the landscape, this truly is a picturesque landscape.
B/L/D Sinegorje Hotel

Day 15 Sat Lake Issyk-Kul
Our tour includes a visit to the Preshevalsky Museum, dedicated to the memory of Nikolai Michailovich Preshevalsky, an enthusiastic explorer accredited for his excellent works on flora and fauna of the Issyk-Kul region. He was also known for breeding a tiny horse on the steppes of Tibet, which later came to be known as the Preshevalsky Horse. This afternoon we have time for leisure to enjoy the beautiful scenery around the lake. There are many water sports as well as spa activities on offer.
B/L/D Sinegorje Hotel

Day 16 Sun Lake Issyk-Kul/Almaty
Driving through the heart of the Zailiysky Steppes, with their wide greens filled with beautiful poppy fields we head off to Kazakhstan, one of the largest countries in the world.
B/L/D Otrar Hotel

Day 17 Mon Almaty
Today we enjoy a full day tour of Almaty, including a visit to the Zhenkov’s Cathedral, an extraordinary Russian Orthodox Church built of wood, after which we will take a walk through beautiful Panfilov Park. Later we visit the Central State Museum, which exhibits more than 40 different musical instruments; even today in remote villages, music is a part of a Kazakh’s way of life. The evening if free for us to enjoy at leisure.
B/L/D Otrar Hotel

Day 18 Tue Depart Almaty
Our route of the Caravans comes to an end today as we bid farewell to the last of the Central Asian Republics. After following many branches of the silk trader’s routes, it is our time to bid farewell with “Sau Bolinizder”, as we are transferred to the airport for our departure.
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