Orient Silk Road Express: Silk Road

Visit Medeu, the highest ice rink in the world. / Cable car ride to the summit of Talgar (3,200 meters). Welcome dinner. / Overnight stay at the hotel.

City tour: Orthodox Cathedral, Wedding Palace, Circus, and Central Mosque. / Lunch at a local yurt restaurant. Departure by Orient Silk Road Express train. / Welcome drink and overnight on board.

Arrival at Lake Issyk-Kol. / Stop at the Nomadic Culture Center. / Walk or swim in the lake, followed by a boat trip. / Train ride to Bishkek. Overnight on board.

City tour: Ala-Too Square, Manas Monument, Ala-Archa National Park. / Hotel accommodation and overnight stay.

Train journey to Samarkand. Relaxing day and overnight on board.

City tour: Shah-i-Zinda, Afrasiyab, Registan Square. / Overnight stay at hotel.

A beacon city of the ancient Islamic world, Samarkand, like a phoenix rising many times from its ashes, possesses a magic that dazzles the traveler. Its history is long: founded in 470 BC by the legendary Sakian king Afrasiyab, it experienced its first period of splendor during the rule of the Seljuks, who were the first to capitalize on its privileged position on the great caravan routes. Its golden age began with Tamerlane in 1370. Architects and artists arrived from all over the Arab world and, by order of the king, elevated Samarkand to the status of capital of that immense empire that stretched from the Volga to the Ganges and from the Tiananmen to the Bosphorus. Samarkand became a brilliant and colorful garden city, with ceramic temples gleaming in the sun and evoking enchantment. The urbanization project was completed by Timur’s successor, King Oulougbek (1394-1449), grandson of the great leader. He was not only an enlightened monarch who continued, following in his grandfather’s footsteps, to expand and beautify the city, but also a great scientist who made Samarkand one of the most important centers of late medieval culture.

Visit a silk carpet factory and a family of paper artisans. / Visit the Ulugh Beg Observatory and the ruins of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque. / Visit the Gur-i-Amir Mausoleum, Timur’s tomb. / Overnight at the hotel.

Folklore show based on local traditions. / Visit Shahrisabz, the birthplace of Tamerlane, which preserves notable vestiges of the imperial golden age, when it was a major trading center. The memory of the leader can be found both in the remains of the Royal Palace and in the large fifteenth-century mausoleums. / Train journey to Dushanbe. / Overnight on board.

City tour with Rudaki Park and the Opera House. / Train ride to Bukhara. / Overnight on board.

City tour: Kalyan Minaret, Lab-i Hauz Complex, Nasreddin Monument. / Folklore show in a madrasa. / Hotel accommodation.

Bukhara is truly a fascinating city. It has always captured the imagination of visitors. In the 1930s, a French traveler recounted: ”I never tire of observing life around me. There are streets teeming with indigenous traffic. ’Attention!’ shout the donkey drivers and arbakes, making their way through the crowds buying and selling whatever they can. Crouching against a wall, I listen to the flow of this wandering humanity: I’m in an anthill, and I finally understand where every ant is going.” Bukhara still presents its best side: the succession of centuries and events have not diminished its charm.
”Bukhara-i-sharif,” ”Noble Bukhara,” is the name by which the city is known in the East. Between the 9th and 10th centuries, Bukhara became the capital of the Samanid Empire, and it was during this period that the governors’ palaces were built. After the Mongol invasion, Bukhara assumed an important role as a religious center.

Visit the Samanid Mausoleum, Mir-i-Arab and Ark Fortress. / Overnight on board the train.

Visit the oasis of Khiva: with its city walls, the Kalta Minor minaret, palaces, mosques, and madrasas. / Overnight stay on the train.

Legend has it that in the vastness of the desert, isolated like a mirage, stood a well of fresh water, as precious as gold. When caravans passed nearby and saw it, they would shout ”Khei-va!”, ”A well!” From that moment, the city founded there was called Khiva. Its importance quickly grew, so much so that it became the capital of the powerful Khorezm Khanate state. Within the walls, the ancient center has largely retained its original appearance.

Visit to the current capital of Uzbekistan: Kukeldash Madrasah, the Kavoy and Amir-Timur monuments, and clay houses. / Farewell dinner. / Overnight stay at a hotel.

airport transfer