Silk and Spice Festival: Uzbekistan Small Group Tour 2020-2021

Arrive in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, where you’ll be transported from Tashkent International Airport to your hotel. Hotel check-in begins at noon, followed by a free day in Tashkent to sightsee and rest after your long flight.
Overnight at the hotel.
Optional Activities:

• Tashkent City tour upon request, including the Old City, Chorsu Bazaar, Amir Timur Square, Independence Square and the Metro (4-5 hours). Here we will give link to the tour page.
• Private visit to Navruz Ethnic Park, with each section devoted to a different region of Uzbekistan, and Sogdiana Art Center, containing an art gallery and over 20 showrooms with paintings, sculptures and other displays by artists from all over Central Asia.
• Performance at Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater (website: gabt.uz). (App. 10 USD).

Transfer in the morning to the train station to take the Tashkent to Samarkand train (330 km). Pick-up from Samarkand train station and transfer to hotel. Check-in to the hotel at noon and begin your tour of Samarkand. The private city tour, led by an experienced, local guide, will include the following:

• Gur Emir, the imposing burial site of Tamerlane and Mirzo Ulugbek.
• Registan Square, the commercial center of Samarkand for centuries and Samarkand’s most famous site today. The square includes three madrasahs: Ulugbek Madrasah (15th century), Sher-Dor Madrasah (17th century) and Tilla-Kori Madrasah (17th century).
• A boulevard lined with workshops, souvenir stores and ice cream stands Bibi Khanum Mosque, built by Tamerlane for his favorite wife.
• Siab Bazaar, a multi-level complex where you can shop for souvenirs and sample sweets, fruits and Samarkand’s famous bread.
• Shakhi-Zinda, a burial complex built between the 9th-14th centuries. Climb the blue-domed path and explore more than 20 small mausoleums that line the broad alleyway.

In the morning transfer from the hotel to the train station. Take the train from Samarkand to Bukhara (250 km). Pick-up from Bukhara train station and transfer to hotel.
A private, local guide will take you on a tour of greater Bukhara to see the following sites:

• Chor Minor (Four Minarets), an unusual madrassah built by Niyazkul in the 18th century, whose four minarets are said to reflect the four major world religions of that period.
• Drive to the Emir's Summer Residence, Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa (19th century). This is a unique site boasting of a blend of Oriental and Russian architecture.
  Continue your drive to the Memorial Complex of Naqshbandi, an ensemble dedicated to the founder of the Sufi Order of Islam known as "Naqshbandi". This complex contains a mausoleum, mosque, pond, and museum.
• Stop at the Chor-Bakr Necropolis, (City of the Dead, 10th century), ancient burial grounds which were developed into a memorial complex in the 1500s.

Return to Bukhara. Overnight at the hotel.
Tour duration: approximately 4 hours.

Spend the day enjoying the Silk and Spice Festival in Bukhara, one of the most spectacular festivals in Central Asia!
A marching parade comprised of all the festival participants starts around 8:30, beginning at The Ark Fortress (4th century) and continuing to Lyabi Hauz (15th-16th centuries) via the Poyi Kalon Complex (12th-16th centuries) and the Trade Domes (14th-17th centuries).
The opening ceremony of the Silk and Spice Festival is held near the Nodir Devonbegi Madsrasah (16th century). The day will be filled with music, dancing, acrobatics, wrestling, local folk art and traditional songs and dances.
Merchants and artisans will sell spice products and handmade merchandise of gold, ceramic, fine silk, cotton cloth and animal skins from all over the country. Stalls will be arranged all around Lyabi Hauz, the trade domes (Toki Sarrafon, Toki Telpakfurushon, Toki Zargaron and Kukaldash Madrasah) and Abdulazizkhon Madrasah.
Presentations and workshops at the festival are provided on calligraphy, ceramics, copper coinage, art and miniatures, blacksmithing, gold embroidery, ikat and carpet weaving, folk dances, national cooking, traditional sports and local instruments.
For a break from all the revelry, stop by the Magoki-Attori Mosque, the oldest mosque in Bukhara (12th century) and Bolo-Khauz Complex, consisting of an artfully decorated 18th century mosque, a minaret and reservoirs that once provided water for the entire city.
A special concert will be held in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast, you’ll have free time on your own to enjoy the Silk and Spice Festival. Uzbekistan tourists and locals from all across the country will join you in a final flurry of picture-taking and souvenir shopping before your departure for Tashkent.
Check out from the hotel by noon and transfer to Bukhara Airport in the afternoon. Take Bukhara to Tashkent flight. Pick-up from Tashkent domestic airport and transfer to hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Check-out from the hotel at noon. Transfer to Tashkent International Airport. End of the Silk & Spice Festival 2020 tour.