Fascinating tour for gourmets

You fly with Uzbekistan Airways to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Flight time about 6 hours. Your travel guide will meet you and accompany you to your hotel. Light dinner in a local restaurant. Two overnight stays in Tashkent.

Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: City Palace Hotel in Tashkent

After breakfast in the hotel you will go sightseeing in Tashkent. In the old town, you will see the historic complex Khast Imam. In the large square you visit the Tilla Sheykh Mosque, the Barakkhan-Medrasa, the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the library in which the oldest Koran in the world is kept. Then we go to the Chorsu Bazaar, which was already well-known in the Middle Ages and stood at the crossroads of the caravansaries of the Great Silk Road. You can wander through the pedestrian area with its many street traders and cafés and travel with the only Underground Railway of Central Asia, which has impressive original stations.
Lunch with Lagman (bread, salad, tea, water) in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you go to the Museum of Applied Art, which is in a fine historic mansion, where there are over 7000 exhibits of traditional folklore from past times and foreign culture. You take the evening flight to Urgench, then go to the oasis town of Khiva (35 km).
Dinner with Mastava-Soup and Qiyma Zerafshan (bread, salad, tea, water). During the meal, your guide will tell you about Uzbek hospitality and tea traditions. Tea is very important in Uzbek cuisine and it is always offered first to a guest. The preparation and serving of tea also follow certain traditions.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Shaherezada in Khiva

A 2500-year-old oasis town of Khiva is a turquoise jewel. Oriental ornamentation, shady inner courtyards, the warm glow of the old town clay walls, as well as mosques, medrasas, mausoleums and minarets – all decorated with thousands of turquoise-coloured tiles are part of what was once a metropolis of the Silk Road. We will visit the Kunya Ark – the residence of the Khans of Khiva of the 17th century, Kalta Minor (short minaret) and the medrasa of Muhammad Amin Khan, the Juma Mosque, from the 10th century, as well as the Tash Khovli Palace – the new residence of the Khans from the 19th century.
Lunch with Shivit Oshi (green noodles with chopped dill) (bread, salad, tea, water). In the afternoon you visit the Islam Chodja Minaret with medrasa and the mausoleum of Pahlavon Machmud, a famous wrestler and popular saint of the people from the Middle Ages. In the late afternoon, you have time to explore for yourselves, relaxing in a typical tea-room or visiting the Oriental market. Culinary Master Class: Today we will make pumpkin soup and Tukhum barak together (cooked dumplings stuffed with eggs, milk and a touch of sesame oil, covered with yogurt or, if desired, with oil), (bread, salad, tea, water). During dinner our travel guide will talk about different types of Uzbek bread.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Shaherezada in Khiva

In the morning make a long journey through the Kyzylkum Desert to Bukhara. We cross the famous „Amudarya“ River and make photo stops on the river bank and in the desert. Lunch break in a local tea-room. When we continue, our travel guide will tell us about the country and the people. We reach the next Silk Road metropolis – Bukhara – in the late afternoon. Three overnight stays in Bukhara.
For dinner, there is vegetable soup and Manti (bread, salad, tea, water) in a local restaurant. Manti is one of the most popular Uzbek specialities. These are steamed dumplings filled with meat and onions or with different vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkin etc.

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

Today you will experience the magic of the old town of Bukhara. We will visit the most important historic sites: the Samanids Mausoleum – the oldest architectural building complex in Central Asia, the Bolo Khauz Mosque, the Ark-Citadel – residence of the Emirs of Bukhara and the largest complex and emblem of Bukhara – Poi Kalyan. On the way from the Poi Kalyan Complex through the domed bazaars pass medrasas to Lyabi Khauz, you will be greeted by gold embroiderers, scissor makers and cobblers.
Today you can enjoy Uzbek Dolma for lunch (bread, salad, tea, water). In the afternoon you continue sightseeing: The Lyabi Khauz Complex is the centre of old Bukhara with magnificent buildings. Then you dive into the hustle and bustle of craftsmen and discover wood-carvers, cutlers, potters, weavers and other artisans at work in their workshops. Culinary Master Class: Today you visit a Bukhara family and learn how to prepare the Bukhara speciality «Navruz» (New Day). Dinner with Pelmeni-Soup, Navruz and cake as dessert (bread, salad, tea, water).

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

In the house of the merchant Khodzhaev, which is today a museum, you will see how wealthy merchants and traders lived in Buchara 100 years ago. Then you visit the Bahauddin Naqshbandi Complex, which is one of the most holy sites for muslims, and the wonderful summer residence of the last reigning Emir. Peacocks will strut around in the garden, and countless works of art and guest presents from all over the world transform the inside of the palace into a place of splendour.
Lunch with Kazan Kebab (bread, salad, tea, water) in a local restaurant. In the afternoon you can wander around the bazaars or relax in a hammam (optional), or enjoy a cool drink at the gushing Labyi Khauz.
Dinner in a local restaurant with the Russian soup Borsh and Shashlik (bread, salad, tea, water).

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

The trip today is to Shakhrisabz, the birthplace of Amir Timur (Tamerlan). Timur was a ruler who in the 14th century conquered Iran and the Caucasians and defeated the Golden Horde in Southern Russia. There we will see the ruins of the Ak Saray Castle, the Kok Gumbaz Mosque and the “Dorut-Tilovat” Complex with the Shamseddin Kulal and Gumbazi Sayidon Mausoleums.
For lunch today there is Dimlama (bread, salad, tea, water) with a local family in Shakhrisabz. Towards evening we reach what is certainly the most famous town along the Silk Road - Samarkand. If we are lucky, we can experience a photogenic sunset behind the world-famous Registan Square.  
Tasting wine means enjoyment with all the senses. Whether with ears, eyes, nose, tongue or pallet – real pleasure-seekers cannot do without wine. We will do wine-tasting in the „Khovrenko“ wine-shop. Dinner in the restaurant „Samarkand“ with Umakay Djiz (braised beef or lamb) with potatoes, three different salads, tea, water, bread. Two overnight stays in Samarkand.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Largamak in Samarkand

In Samarkand the fairytale of One Thousand and One Nights begins again for you. Today you will see sites in this 2700 year-old town (UNESCO World Heritage): You will get a first impression of Samarkand in the “Afrosiyob” Museum. On the hill you will visit the historic observatory of Ulugbek with the enormous sextant built into the earth. The research station of the famous astronomer was already a modern observatory in the 14th century. Here you will reach for the stars and be amazed at how they could already determine the celestial bodies in those ancient days. Later you will visit a paper manufacturer where the fine, traditional paper of Samarkand is produced from mulberry tree fibres. This art has been practised here for far longer than we have known it. Samarkand was once known all along the Silk Road for its exclusive silk paper. For lunch you will today try Samsa dumplings filled with meat and onions and baked in a Tandoor (clay) oven. For vegetarians there are Samsa filled with pumpkin or potatoes. Then you will visit the Shakhi Zinda Complex, a wonderful collection of different mausoleums coated in different majolica and mosaic tiles in Timur style.
Highlight of the culinary Master Class: Preparation of the traditional Uzbek dish: Plov. This is the king of Uzbek national dishes. Uzbek Plov is traditionally made in a deep cast-iron cauldron, with thick walls so that it heats up evenly and the food does not burn. To prepare the Plov you use vegetable oil, mutton or beef, yellow and red carrots, onions and rice, or sometimes raisins, barberries and chickpeas. You can also add garlic, pumpkin or quince to the basic ingredients, depending on the cook's imagination. (bread, salad, tea, water – and ChakChak for dessert).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Largamak in Samarkand

Ancient Samarkand still has the splendour of past times! In the Middle Ages, the town was considered to be one of the most beautiful and important towns in the world. You will be impressed by the palace-like mausoleum of the ruler Amir Timur, the Gur Emir Mausoleum. Today we will enjoy the highlight of your trip – Registan Square with its three impressive, enormous, artistically decorated medrasas. And then we will visit what was once the largest mosque of Central Asia – the Bibi Khanum Mosque. On the way there is a colourful bazaar. Pyramids of nuts, almonds, pistachios, dried apricots, raisins and all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables are piled up on the market stands. All kinds of exotic aromas of spices and herbs will tickle your nose. Hatmakers and cobblers call out and offer their services. A market as colourful and fascinating as life itself.
For lunch today we have Uzbek Dolma (peppers or vine-leaves or cabbage filled with mincemeat, onions and rice) (bread, salad, tea, water).
In the late afternoon, we leave Samarkand and at 1800h take a fast train “Afrosiyob” to Tashkent. Arrival at 20.08h. Transfer to the hotel.
For dinner we will enjoy for the last time different types of Uzbek Shashlik (bread, salad, tea, water).
One overnight stay in Tashkent.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: Hotel Largamak in Samarkand

Flight home early in the morning.

Meals: Breakfast