ARCHEOLOGICAL TRIP IN UZBEKISTAN

Arrival in Tashkent in the evening or early morning the following day (depending on your flight connections). Your travel guide will meet you and take you to your hotel. Two overnight stays in Tashkent.

Arrival in Tashkent with a different airline is at midnight or very early. Your travel guide will take you to your hotel. After breakfast in the hotel, you will start to visit the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. You see the archeological excavations in Aktepa and Yunus Abad. On the Aktepa Hill you will have a wonderful view of Tashkent. Not many people know that the hill is the remains of the fort which protected Tashkent in the 7th century from attackers from the North. Next place of interest: the Institute of Fine Arts, where you will meet the University's Professors and Archeologists. During a walk you will visit Independence Square with the building complex of the „Grieving Mother “and the Alischer Navoi Opera House and then we walk to Amir Timur Park. Dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: City Palace Hotel in Tashkent

You take the morning flight to Urgench, and then go by coach to the historical town of Khiva (35 km). Today you visit the old town of Khiva “Ichan Kala”, which has maintained its ancient character. You can stand in front of the massive town wall with its four entrances to the Ichan Kala and feel transported to another world: life pulsates just as it did in ancient times around the Kalta Minor (short minaret), which once was said to have been so high that you could see distant Bukhara from the top. On your sightseeing tour you will see: Kunya Ark – the old residence of the Khiva Khans, the Medrasa of Muhammad Rakhim Khan, the Mausoleum of Pakhlavon Makhmud, the Medrasa and Minaret of Islam Khodja, the Residence Tosh Khovli and the Djuma Mosque – Friday mosque, whose wooden beam ceiling is held up by 212 wooden columns decorated with artistic wood-carvings.
Sumptuous dinner with Khorezm Folklore Show in the Summer Palace of the last Khan of Khiva „Toza-Bog“ (at least 8 people). Let the magical impressions of the day take effect. One overnight stay in Khiva.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Accommodation: Musa Hotel in Samarkand

After breakfast, you visit the ancient fort Toprak-Kala. You visit a unique monument of ancient Khorezm architecture which was relevant during the Kushan-Afrigid period. The ancient Toprak Kala Settlement was the capital of the Khorezm Empire in the 3rd century BC. Toprak Kala is the only architectural monument from the Khorezm time which has been fully excavated. Tourists as well as archeologists are elated by its grandeur. Then on to Ayaz-Kala, to the yurt camp. There you will visit the remains of the Ayaz Kala fortress, one of the largest fortresses from the Khorezm period. This place was neither a town nor a settlement, it was a fortress town where border guards of the Kushan Dynasty settled more than 19 centuries ago. Open-air dinner. One overnight stay in the yurt camp.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Accommodation: Yurt Camp at Ayaz Kala

Trip through the semi-desert Kyzylkum («Red Sand») and steppes to Bukhara. Picnic on the way in an Uzbek «Roadhouse» tea-room. Arrival in Bukhara and check-in to the hotel. Exploring on your own. Dinner in a local restaurant. Three overnight stays in Bukhara.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Komil Boutique in Bukhara

We start our sightseeing with the mausoleum of Ismail Samani and that of Chashmai Ayub. Then we make a town tour on foot. Bukhoroi sharif (noble Bukhara) is a town with imposing market dome buildings, active mosques and medrasas and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. You will feel transported to he world of One Thousand and One Nights. It is hard to believe that today active teaching and learning still takes place in the mosques and medrasas, such as the medrasa Miri Arab and the Minaret and Mosque Kalon. You can admire the «classic» architectural complex Lyabi Khauzwith trading domes and several mosques, medrasas and the dervish monastery Khanaka in the town centre and will understand the honorary title of «noble». On the way we will see the market dome buildings such as TokiZargaron, Toki Telpakfurushon and Toki Saraffon. In the afternoon we will visit the Jewish residential area of Bukhara and go to a Synagogue which is over 400 years old. Dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Komil Boutique in Bukhara

Sightseeing at excavations! The excavations of the ancient town of Paykent are 60 km from Bukhara in the Karakul area. This ancient town developed in the 4th to 3rd centuries BC as a border fortress with Iran.
Paykent was a trading town. Its trade relations are confirmed by old coins found, from China, Iran, Samanid-State, Mery and Fergana. Thanks to the economic state of the town, culture and certain sciences also thrived. Paykent ceased to exist in the 12th century due to lack of water. Many people call Pavkent “Asia's Pompei”. This old town was taken over by desert and sand. Excavations began here at the beginning of the 20th century and since 1981 Pavkent has been working on a joint excavation with the Eremitage Museum (Russia). In 2003, the Museum “Story of the ancient town Paykent” was opened near the ruins. Here you can see various archeological finds (crockery, ceramics, porcelaine and coins from the 2nd to the 11th centuries). Thanks to these finds, the town's story could be reconstructed up to the 16th century. Return to Bukhara. Dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel Komil Boutique in Bukhara

After breakfast, we start off for Nurata. There you will see the famous sanctuary „Nur“ and see the source with the holy fish. After lunch in Nurata you go to a village in the Nurata Mountains. On the way to the villages in Nurata you will visit the petroglyphs of the Sarmysh Gorge where there are still more than 3500 drawings from the Bronze Age. This gorge is a real museum and is one of the largest galleries of rock drawings in the world. Arrival in Ashraf village. Three villages in particular - Ashraf, Sentob and Hayot are away from large towns and wide roads in a wonderful mountain landscape. Enjoy the fresh air, nature's music and the contact with the friendly locals during a walk through the village. Dinner and overnight stay in a guesthouse in Ashraf.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Accommodation: Guesthouse in Ashraf.

Today you go to one of the oldest towns in Uzbekistan - Samarkand! This is a really ancient town which was one of the main crossroads of the famous Silk Road, a Town-Museum like Bukhara and Khiva, has maintained its archaic flavour. “Eden of the ancient Orient”, “Rome of the Orient” is what poets and geographers rightly called this town. Arrival and transfer to the hotel.
In the afternoon you will visit the Gur-Emir-Mausoleum and the highlight of your trip Registan Square with three medrasas. Three particularly important sights in Samarkand: The main square Registan, Amir Temur`s Mausoleum Gur Emir and the unique architectural ensemble Shakhi Zinda,theAfrosiyab Museum and excavations. In the late afternoon, you will see a colourful folklore programme in the „El-Merosi“ Theatre (the people's inheritance) which tells the story of the area with the help of dance. During the show the actors will show costumes of different historic periods in Uzbekistan, from the Bronze Age to the present. Dinner in a local restaurant. Two overnight stays in Samarkand.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Largamak Hotel in Samarkand.

Today we will visit one of the greatest places of pilgrimage in the Islamic world – the Grave Complex of Saint Daniel. In the morning will also see the Bibi-Khanim-Mosque, which once was considered to be one of the greatest sacred buildings in the Orient. Next to the mosque is one of the oldest bazaars of Samarkand, Siyob. We will spend half an hour there. Then we will visit Ulugbek's Observatory, once the largest research centre in Central Asia; Shakhi Zinda or «living king» – a grave site where Timur's family is buried today. Samarkand -«Rome of the Orient» – was for centuries a flourishing trading and teaching centre. After a break, we will go to a paper manufacturer, founded by the master brothers Mukhtarov. Thanks to them, the old tradition of paper manufacturing using Samarkand technology was revived. It is interesting that the entire production is carried out manually and the guests can watch the process. Dinner in the restaurant „Samarkand“, where you can experience the culture of the country and the people at first hand.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Largamak Hotel in Samarkand

Under the leadership of a historical scientist, Director of the Archeological Institute, Amriddin Bermuradov, you will visit real excavations where you can also participate as well. You visit an archeological monument, the ancient town of Kafyrkala which existed in the 4th to 8th century.
This monument has a complicated terrain form with a 20-meter-high citadel in the middle. Area size is 70 x 72 metres. On all four sides is a rectangle separated by a ditch. The area of the construction is up to 18 hectars with a height of 10 metres. In the river bed Ilonsay on the slope there are culture layers of up to 8 metres in depth. Connected from the west there is an ancient construction of 40 hectars and 7-8 metres high. There is a legend that Kafyrkala resisted the Arabs even 20 years after Samarkand conquest by Kuteyba ibn Muslim. The ruins of this ancient town look very significant. The fortress is on the corner point that was formed from the north from the deep river bed Dargoma and the steep riverbank Ilonsay, and from the west from the deep river bed of the great gorge. Research work continues here. In the afternoon you go on to Shakhrisabz – the birthplace of Amir Temur. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Dinner. One overnight stay in Shakhrisabz.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel Orient Star in Shakhrisabz.

Breakfast in the hotel. You visit the remains of Timur's Summer Palace Ak Saray, the building of which lasted 24 years, and the Jakhongir Mausoleum for Timur's 20-year-old son who died in a military campaign. You also go to the Kok Gumbaz Mosque whose blue dome can be seen from far away that has unbelievable acoustics. On to Termez (360 km). Dinner in the hotel. One overnight stay in Termez.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel Le Meridian in Termez.

You drive to Kampyrtepa. This place was once known for its impregnable fortresses and castles. The site with remains from the Hellenic Period was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. After passing the Jarkurgan Minaret and crossing Alexander the Great Bridge, you arrive at the archeological excavations of Dalverzintepa. Here the excavations show the formation of sculptures in northern Bactria as well as Buddhist themes from the Kushan epoch.
You also visit the ruins of the town Khalchayan. During the excavations, the archeologists found a large number of historical objects. Amongst other things terracotta sculptures, ceramic crockery, coins and household objects. Return journey to Termez. Dinner in the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel Le Meridian in Termez.

Termes was once the centre of Buddhism in Middle Asia. Today, Termez is the capital of the Surkhandarya region which was formed around a Russian garrison fortress in the 19th century. It is also the warmest town in Uzbekistan: the winter is mild, and the summer is long and hot. The town is on the edge of the Amudarya River which separates Uzbekistan from Afghanistan. The "Bridge of Friendship" is the only land connection between the two countries. Termez is more than 2500 years old and is one of the oldest towns in the world. Amongst other things, you will see the Archeological Museum by Dr. Aynaev, the Khakim At Termezi Mausoleum, the Kyrk Kyz Palace – a two-storey, square brick building, the Sultan Saodat Complex and the ancient Buddhist Monastery Fayaz-Tepe, Meeting with the Japanese archeologist Mr. Katosan.
Transfer to the airport. Flight to Tashkent. Arrival and dinner in a local restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Accommodation: City Palace Hotel in Tashkent

After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Meals: Breakfast