Tour dell’artigianato in Uzbekistan

On arrival at Tashkent airport you are met and transferred to the hotel to rest and freshen up. In the afternoon a half-day city tour takes you to the Khazret-Imam (Hazrati Imam) architectural complex with the Barak-Khan Madrasah (15th–16th centuries), where many masters work in their small workshops making local souvenirs, wood carvings and other handicrafts. Then visit the old Chorsu (Eski Juva) bazaar, whose history goes back to the 2nd–1st centuries BC, to watch the masters at work in the local shops, and continue to the Abulqosim Madrasah, where craftsmen also work in their workshops. The tour ends at around 17:00 with the transfer to the hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Tashkent.

Complesso Hazrati Imam, Chorsu Bazaar

• Tashkent International Airport → Tashkent (9 km)

Durante la notte: Tashkent (Hotel)

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the railway station and take the train (economy class) to Kokand in the Fergana Valley, the former capital of the Kokand Khanate. Sightseeing in Kokand, then drive on to Fergana (about 90 km), check in at the hotel and rest. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Fergana.

Kokand, Fergana

• Tashkent → Kokand (235 km)
• Kokand → Fergana (90 km)

Durante la notte: Fergana (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After an early breakfast, drive from Fergana to Margilan and visit the Said Akhmad-Khoja Madrasah, today home to a number of craftsmen producing handmade carpets and silk. Walk through the traditional market and continue to the Yodgorlik silk factory to see the production of silk with traditional ikat patterns. If it is a Thursday or Sunday, you also visit the Kumtepa Bazaar, the largest market in the Fergana Valley. Drive on to Rishtan, to the house of a well-known ceramic master whose works are shown at exhibitions around the world. Join a pottery workshop and see the ceramic collection in his small museum, then continue to the house of a craftsman where a traditional Kyrgyz family makes wool carpets. At the end of the tour, transfer to Margilan railway station for the train to Tashkent (scheduled 16:48–21:38). On arrival in Tashkent, transfer to the hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Tashkent.

Margilan, Yodgorlik Silk Factory, Rishton

• Fergana → Margilan (15 km)
• Margilan → Rishton (50 km)
• Rishton → Margilan (50 km)
• Margilan → Tashkent (310 km)

Durante la notte: Tashkent (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

Early breakfast at the hotel and check-out, then transfer to the domestic terminal of Tashkent airport for the morning flight to Urgench. On arrival, transfer to Khiva (a short drive). Full-day city tour of Ichan Kala, the walled inner town of old Khiva: the Ichan Kala gates and walls, the Mohammed Amin Khan Madrasah (1850s), the Kalta Minor minaret, the Kunya Ark, the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrasah, the Sayid Alauddin Mausoleum, the Music Museum and the Juma Mosque, famous for the 218 wooden columns supporting its roof – a few finely decorated columns come from the 10th-century mosque. The tour continues to the Arabkhana Madrasah (17th century), the Dost Alyam Madrasah, the Abdulla Khan Madrasah (1855), the Aq Mosque (1657), the Anusha Khan baths, the Allakuli Khan Madrasah (1835), the Kutlimurodinok Madrasah (1809), the caravanserai, the Tosh-Hovli Palace (1832), the Islam Khoja Madrasah (1910), the Pahlavon Mahmoud Mausoleum, the Sherghozi Khan Madrasah and the outer town Dishan Kala. At around 16:00 the tour ends with the transfer to the hotel for check-in and rest. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Khiva.

Khiva, Mohammed Amin Khan Madrassah, Minareto di Kalta Minor, Fortezza di Kunya-ark, Muhammad Rakhim-Khan Madrasah, Moschea Juma, Palazzo Tach Khaouli, Mausoleo di Pakhlavan Makhmoud, Minareto Islam Khoja, Madrasa di Khiva

• Tashkent → Tashkent International Airport (9 km)
• Tashkent International Airport → Urgench (720 km)
• Urgench → Khiva (30 km)

Durante la notte: Khiva (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After breakfast, revisit Ichan Kala to see the remaining sights or do some shopping. Check out at around noon and, after lunch, drive to Bukhara (about 490 km, 5–6 hours). On the way you see the Kyzylkum Desert, the Amu Darya river, irrigation canals, camels, villages, towns and the everyday life of the local people. On arrival in Bukhara, transfer to the hotel for check-in and rest. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Bukhara.

Khiva, Deserto del Kyzylkum, Bukhara

• Khiva → Bukhara (490 km)

Durante la notte: Bukhara (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After breakfast, the Bukhara city tour starts at the Samanids Mausoleum (9th–10th centuries), the Chashma-Ayub complex (14th century) and the Bolo Hauz Mosque (1712), then continues to the Ark citadel, the early residence of the emirs of Bukhara. A tea break at a Bukhara silk-carpet showroom gives a short introduction to the history of Bukhara carpets. Continue to the Poi Kalyan complex ("at the foot of the Great") with the Kalyan Minaret (12th century), the Kalyan Mosque and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah (16th century), the Ulugbek Madrasah (15th century), the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah (17th century), the Magoki-Attari Mosque (10th–16th centuries), the trading domes Toki Zargaron, Toki Sarrafon and Toki Telpak Furushon (15th–16th centuries), the Chor Minor and the Lyabi-Hauz ensemble with the khanaka and madrasah of Nadir Divan-Begi (1620) and the Kukeldash Madrasah (1568–69). The tour ends at around 16:00 with the transfer to the hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Bukhara.

Mausoleo dei Samanidi, Mausoleo di Chashma-Ayub, Complesso Bolo Hauz, Arca di Bukhara, Poi Kalyan, Ulugbeg Madrasah Bukhara, Madrasa di Abdulazizkhan, Magoki-Attori Mosque, Le cupole commerciali di Bukhara, Chor Minor, Ensemble Lyabi Hauz

Durante la notte: Bukhara (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After breakfast, check out of the hotel for a half-day tour of the Bukhara suburbs. Visit the pottery village of Gijduvan to see how its pottery is made, then the Chor-Minor Madrasah (1807), Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa (19th–20th centuries), the summer residence of the last emir of Bukhara, and the Mausoleum of Bahauddin Naqshband (16th century). At around 14:00 transfer to the railway station for the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Samarkand (departure 15:50, about 1.5 hours). On arrival in Samarkand at around 17:20, transfer to the hotel for check-in. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Samarkand.

Gijduvon, Chor Minor, Palazzo Sitori-i Mokhi Khosa, Mausoleo di Bakhauddin Naqshband

• Bukhara → Gijduvon (45 km)
• Gijduvon → Palazzo Sitori-i Mokhi Khosa (50 km)
• Palazzo Sitori-i Mokhi Khosa → Mausoleo di Bakhauddin Naqshband (11 km)
• Mausoleo di Bakhauddin Naqshband → Bukhara (13 km)
• Bukhara → Samarcanda (255 km)

Durante la notte: Samarcanda (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After breakfast, a full-day excursion in Samarkand. First visit the Mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari (810–870), one of the most famous hadith scholars of the Islamic world. Then see the Gur-e Amir Mausoleum (Tamerlane's tomb, 14th–15th centuries), the Rukhobod Mausoleum ("House of the Spirit", 14th century) and the Registan square with the Ulugbek Madrasah (15th century), the Sher-Dor Madrasah ("having tigers", 17th century) and the Tilya-Kori Madrasah ("coated with gold", 17th century). Continue to the Hazrat Khizr Mosque (19th century), the Shah-i-Zinda architectural complex ("the living king", 11th–19th centuries), the Ulugbek Observatory (15th century), the Bibi-Khanym cathedral mosque (14th century) and the Siyob bazaar for shopping. The tour ends at around 18:00 with the transfer to the hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Samarkand.

Complesso commemorativo Imam Al-Bukhari, Mausoleo di Gur-e Amir, Rukhobod Mausoleum, Registan, Shah i Zinda, Osservatorio di Ulugbek, Moschea e Mausoleo di Bibi-Khanym, Siyob Bazaar

• Samarcanda → Complesso commemorativo Imam Al-Bukhari (25 km)
• Complesso commemorativo Imam Al-Bukhari → Samarcanda (25 km)

Durante la notte: Samarcanda (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

After breakfast, drive to Shahrisabz by comfortable minivan (about 1.5 hours). The city tour starts at the Ak-Saray Palace (White Palace) and the Amir Temur monument and continues to the Dorussiadat burial complex and the Doruttilavat complex. After lunch, drive back to Samarkand and transfer to the railway station for the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Tashkent (about 2 hours). On arrival, transfer to the hotel. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense. Overnight in Tashkent.

Shahrisabz, Palazzo Ak-Sarai, Dorus Saodat Complex, Dorut Tillavat Complex

• Samarcanda → Shahrisabz (90 km)
• Shahrisabz → Samarcanda (90 km)
• Samarcanda → Tashkent (344 km)

Durante la notte: Tashkent (Hotel)

Pasti: Colazione

Breakfast at the hotel. At around 10:30, check out and transfer to Tashkent International Airport for your departure flight.

• Tashkent → Tashkent International Airport (9 km)

Pasti: Colazione