TURKEY

Day 1:

2 pm onwards: check in to our hotel in Sultanahmet and free time at the hotel.

Day 2:

After breakfast at the hotel we will meet our guide in the lobby before departing for a walking tour of Sultanahmet. We will visit Sultanahmet Mosque (due to Friday prayers we will not be able to enter the mosque), Yerebatan Underground Cisterns and the Hagia Sophia Museum. After lunch at the traditional Turkish restaurant Köfteci Selim Usta we will walk to the Spice (or Egyptian) Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar. We round the day off with a boat tour on the Bosphorus and return to the hotel by around 6 pm, where we will have free time before dinner in the hotel.

Day 3:

After breakfast at the hotel we depart for Istanbul Atatürk Airport for our Turkish Airlines flight to Konya. On arrival in Konya, we will take a bus tour around some of the city’s most important sights from the Seljuk Empire era, including the Karatay Madrasa (museum), Ince Minaret Madrasa (museum) and Mevlana Museum, where we will see the Tomb of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî, the famous Sufi poet. After lunch at Cemo Restaurant, we will check in to our hotel around 2 pm and have the rest of the afternoon free. At around 7 pm we will take a short bus trip to the Mevlana Culture Center, where we will watch a Mevlevi Sema Whirling Dervish show. Afterwards we return to the hotel for dinner.

Day 4:

After breakfast we check out from our hotel in Konya and depart by bus to Sultanhanı Caravanserai, where we will visit the Carpet Repair Workshop Atelier and Aksaray. Lunch will be at the caravanserai or Aksaray Orhan Ağaçlı Station. After lunch we transfer to Kaymaklı Underground City, where will have a guided tour. We will then check in to our hotel, where we will have an hour or two to rest before departing for dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 5:

Today there is an early morning balloon ride (optional and extra) over Cappadocia before breakfast at the hotel. We then check out before visiting the Göreme Open Air Museum, Paşabağı and Devrent Valley. Lunch is at Hanedan Restaurant in a historic caravanserai. Afterwards we visit the Hacı Bektaşı Veli Museum before driving to Kayseri for a visit to the Gevher Nesibe Museum of Medical History. After a bus tour of the city we depart for Kayseri airport for our evening flight to Istanbul Atatürk Airport on Turkish Airlines. We will wait in the international departures lounge before boarding our early morning flight to Ganja, Azerbaijan. 

AZERBAIJAN

Day 1:

On arrival in Ganja airport we will meet our guide and depart for our hotel in Ganja. After resting we depart at midday to drive to the city of Naftalan to explore the Naftalan oil baths, stopping on the way to look at the Nizami Shrine. After lunch and a tour of the oil baths at a spa hotel in Naftalan, we visit the Imamzadeh Mosque before making our way back to Ganja for a city tour, visiting the Sheikh Bahauddin Complex (comprising a caravanserai, Shah Abbas mosque and medieval baths), the Shrine of the last Khan of Ganja “Javad Khans” and the museum of Mahsati Ganjavi. Dinner will be at the Ganja Entertainment Center, accompanied by national songs and dancing. After dinner we will transfer to our hotel.

Day 2:

After breakfast at the hotel in Ganja we depart for Sheki, where we will visit the Old Palace of the Sheki Khans. The palaces have been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status. We will also visit the Sheki Caravanserai and see the Shebeke artisan workshop, where they make stained-glass windows. After lunch we visit a local silk production studio, where we will have the opportunity to see how the silk is made. Afterwards, we drive to the village of Kish (Kiş) to look at the first Albanian Church. After checking in to our hotel we will have a tour of Sheki and dinner at the Khan Chelebi restaurant, accompanied by national songs and dancing before returning to our hotel.

Day 3:

After breakfast we depart for Qobustan, where we will have a tour of the petroglyphs (ancient rock engravings from the Upper Paleolithic period, 35000-34000 BC) in the Beyukdash and Kichikdash Mountains. Afterwards, we will drive to Baku to have lunch at Ciz-Biz restaurant in the Old City. After lunch we will take a walking tour of the Old City, including the Shirvanshah Palace, historic mosques and bathhouses, the Market Square, the caravanserais Multani and Bukhara and the Maiden Tower. We will then visit “Atashgah”, the Temple of Eternal Fire, and the Yanar Dag burning mountain and have dinner at the museum restaurant Shirvanshah, accompanied by live traditional music. The next morning after breakfast, we check out from our hotel and transfer to Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport for our afternoon flight to Almaty, Kazakhstan, with Air Astana.

KAZAKHSTAN

Day 1:

On arrival at Almaty International Airport we will meet our guide and transfer to the Alasha Oriental cuisine national restaurant for dinner. After dinner we drive to our hotel.

Day 2:

After breakfast at the hotel in Almaty we drive to the Almarasan Ridge to watch a spectacular performance of the Hunting Birds Show and learn about birds of prey such as falcons and eagles. We will then visit the Central Museum in Almaty before driving to Kok Tobe Mountain just outside the city centre. After lunch on the mountain at Restaurant Abai we will visit the National Museum of Musical instruments and the Kok Bazaar in Almaty. We will have dinner at a local restaurant before departing by overnight train to Turkistan.

Day 3:

On arrival in Turkistan we depart for our hotel to have breakfast. Afterwards we will visit the Museum of History, Mausoleum of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi, Mausoleum of Rabiga Sultan Begim, ethno-museum Kyluet and medieval baths, with time to shop for souvenirs. After lunch, we will drive to the historic city of Otrar, before moving on to the “ethno village” Alasha, where we will be able to watch traditional demonstrations and take part workshops. After dinner in a “yurt” (a traditional tent used by Turkic peoples) we will transfer to Shymkent by bus and check in to our hotel.

Day 4:

After breakfast at the hotel in Shymkent we depart for Taraz, en route visiting the Mausoleums of Aisha Bibi and Babaji Khatun from the 11th and 12th centuries. In Taraz we will visit the historical complex Kone Taraz and the Tortkul caravanserai. After a bus tour of the city we will have lunch at a local restaurant and then drive 340 kilometres to the Kordai customs and immigration checkpoint on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border before crossing into Kyrgyzstan.

KYRGYZSTAN

Day 1:

After completing passport control at the Kyrgyz-Kazakh Ak-Zhol border crossing we will meet our guide and transfer to the capital city Bishkek by bus. After dinner at a local restaurant we will check in to our hotel.

Day 2:

After breakfast we depart from Bishkek to visit the 11th century Burana Tower located in the medieval town of Balasagun, the capital of Karakhanid State. Afterwards, we will watch traditional horse games and then drive for around 2.5 hours to Kochkor village. We will have lunch in the village and afterwards watch a carpet-making demonstration, with an opportunity to participate. We then leave Kochkor for a 2.5 hour drive to Naryn, where we will check in to the yurt (traditional Turkic tent) camp. We will have dinner at the camp and spend the night in a yurt to experience the nomadic way of life.

Day 3:

After breakfast in the yurt camp we depart for Tash Rabat, a well-preserved 15th century stone caravanserai and one of the most important sites on the Silk Road. Afterwards we drive for approximately four hours to the resort town of Cholpon-Ata in the Issyk Kul region, with lunch en route. In Cholpon-Ata we will have a sunset cruise on Issyk Kul Lake, the second-largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Afterwards we will check in to our hotel in Cholpon-Ata where we will have dinner.

Day 4:

After breakfast and check out from the hotel in Cholpon-Ata we will visit the Petroglyphs Open Air Museum and Rukh Ordo Cultural Center. After lunch, we will drive for around 4.5 hours back to Bishkek, where we will have a bus tour of the city. A farewell dinner with a traditional music performance will be held at a local restaurant. We will then check in to a hotel in Bishkek where we can rest for a few hours before our departure to Bishkek's Manas International Airport for our return flight in the early morning.

Modern Silk Road Joint Tour ends.

UZBEKISTAN

Day 1:

Meeting at the international airport named after Islam Karimov in Tashkent. The guide will meet you with a table of the name of the state or city.

At the invitation of the guide, guests are accommodated in a comfortable transport (depending on the number of tourists there will be a car or a bus) and go to the Hilton hotel for accommodation.

On the way, the guide gives brief information about Uzbekistan and the city of Tashkent (a brief physical and geographical overview).

Check-in and accommodation in a 5* hotel Hilton.

Lunch, free time. For those who wish to organize an evening tour of the center of Tashkent "Tashkent evening for you to remember".

Day 2:

After breakfast at the hotel, meet with the guide in the hotel lobby. Boarding a tourist transport and departure for a tour of the Hazrati Imam ensemble, the largest cult center of Uzbekistan. The complex is located in the so-called "Old Town", among residential buildings of different periods.

During the tour, guests will visit Barak Khan Madrasah (XVI, XIX centuries), the mausoleum of Kaffal Shashi (XVI century), Mui Mubarak Madrasah (XIX century), where the oldest Quran of Osman, written in the VII century, is kept, as well as the modern Hazrati Imam Mosque (2007).

Going to Chorsu Square, guests They will have the opportunity to visit the current Kukeldash madrasah (XVI century), next to which is the oldest bazaar in Tashkent – Chorsu.

After lunch, which will give you the opportunity to enjoy Uzbek national cuisine, the tour will continue.

Many Muslims make a ziyorat to the mausoleum of Sheikh Zainudin, which also deserves attention. It is worth looking at the building, if only because it is one of the most ancient monuments of Sufism in all of Asia. The highlight of the complex is an underground cell, aka chillahona. The building, dating from the XII century, served as a refuge for the preacher during his 40-day retreat.

Dinner in the traditional cafe-restaurant Milliy taomlar.

Free time or a visit to one of the theaters in Tashkent.

Day 3:

Check-out from the hotel. Transfer to the Parkent district of the Tashkent region. In October 2010, in the mountain village of Kumushkan, the Hazrat Ali Buva mosque was built in honor of a descendant of the Prophet. Everything has been done in this mosque for the convenience and comfort of people coming from different cities and countries to the source of healing water. Entrance is for everyone. At the entrance to the mosque, on the gate, it is written: "Man! Remember, only good deeds can serve as keys to the gates of Paradise". It is believed that those who cannot perform Hajj should definitely visit the holy places on their land, including this high-altitude place. There are places to relax after the road, where you can drink tea, have lunch, drink healing water from a mountain spring and, of course, enjoy the beauty of nature of our great Uzbekistan.

Lunch in the nature in one of the teahouses of the Parkent region.

Moving to a unique object – the Institute "Physics-the Sun". During excursions around the Institute: we will learn everything about the work of the solar laboratory, why this particular area of Uzbekistan was chosen for the construction of the famous Solar Furnace – one of two existing in the world! We will see solar heliostats up close, which direct the rays to a giant concentrator consisting of 10700 mirror elements. The temperature in the focus of the concentrator rays reaches 3000 degrees. We will take the elevator to the top floor of the hub, from where a stunning panorama of the Chatkal ridge, Parkentsai and neighboring villages (villages) opens.

Return to Tashkent. Supper. Transfer to the train station. Departure to Samarkand by high-speed branded train "Afrosiab". Meeting at the train station, transfer to the Registan hotel, accommodation, rest.

Day 4:

Majestic Samarkand is always full of guests, especially those who come to ziyorat. Therefore, the tour begins with a visit to the mausoleum of Amir Temur - the dynastic tomb of the Temurids; the mausoleum of Rukhabad ("Abode of the Spirit") (XIV-XV centuries) – the tomb of Sheikh Burhaniddin Sagarji (head of Muslims in Beijing), buried according to his will in Samarkand.

It is impossible to imagine a city without the ancient Registan Square. Her visit will introduce you to Ulugbek madrasah, Sher-Dor madrasah, Tillya-Kari madrasah, each of which is an architectural masterpiece. Nearby is the Bibi- Khanum Mosque, after visiting which a rich lunch will be offered at the "Zargoron" restaurant.

After lunch, continue the tour and visit the complex of the Shahi-Zinda necropolis, consisting of more than 20 unique mausoleums of various times of construction. The core of the ensemble is the mausoleum of Qusam Ibn Abbas, the Prophet's cousin. Shahi-Zinda is a whole street of the medieval city, preserved to this day, where the oldest buildings of Samarkand are concentrated. It is an important place of pilgrimage. A short transfer to the Ulugbek Observatory. Then the guests will visit the mausoleum of Donier Paygambar (Prophet Daniel) (XIV, beginning.XX centuries), revered by both Muslims, Christians, and Jews; Hazrati Khizr Mosque (XIX century).

Dinner at the national house – a master class on cooking pilaf with tasting. Transfer to Bukhara by high-speed branded train "Afrosiab". Meeting at the railway station, transfer to the hotel, accommodation at the Asia hotel.

Day 5:

After breakfast, a tour of Bukhara: the mausoleum of the Samanids, the tomb of Chashma Ayub, the Bolo-Khauz complex, the ancient Ark fortress, the Poy-Kalyan complex, Abdulaziz-Khan madrasah, Ulugbek madrasah.

The Lyabi-Hauz ensemble is known not only for historical monuments (Kukeldash madrasah, Nadir Divanbegi madrasah), but also for famous kebabs and Bukhara dish "Baracha".

After a hearty varied lunch, guests go to the complex of Bahauddin Naqshbandi and his mother. The memorial complex (XVI century) is the center of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. Here is the grave of the founder of the order - Bahouddin Naqshband -, as well as the necropolis–the tomb of the Bukhara rulers. The famous motto of Naqshbandi is "Dil ba Yoru, dast ba kor!" (Heart to God, hands to work!) it is still popular among the people. The Silsila (chain of succession) of the Naqshbandi teachings dates back to the caliphs Ali and Abu Bakr.

Final dinner at the national house.

Day 6:

After breakfast at the hotel, we escort the guests to the international airport of Bukhara.