Grand Uzbekistan Tour (Departure via Khiva - Return via Tashkent)

After meeting at Istanbul Airport we fly out at 01:05 on flight TK262, landing in Urgench at 06:50 local time. Our guide meets us and we drive roughly 45 minutes to Khiva for breakfast. Afterward we enter the UNESCO-listed Itchan Kala and tour the Muhammad Amin Khan Medrese, the Kalta Minor Minaret, the Kunya Ark fortress, and several other medreses, visit craft workshops, and see the Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum and the area around the Islam Khoja Minaret. Following a prayer break at the Juma Mosque, we continue exploring the city through the Polvon Darvoza Gate and caravanserai, the Ak Mosque, the Tosh Hovli Palace, and the Allakuli Khan Medrese. After dinner at a local restaurant we spend the night at our hotel in Khiva.

After breakfast we set off on the roughly 460-kilometer, six-hour-plus drive to Bukhara, passing through the vast landscapes of the Kyzylkum, Central Asia's largest desert, and running alongside the Amu Darya River, a lifeline for the region. Before reaching Bukhara we stop to visit the mausoleums and complexes of Ali Ramitani and Muhammad Baba as-Samasi. After dinner we check into our hotel in Bukhara and rest.

After breakfast we visit the Mausoleum of Ismail Samani and the spring and mausoleum of the Prophet Job, then tour the mausoleums of three saints from the Golden Chain: Abdulkhaliq al-Ghujdawani, Arif al-Riwgari, and Mahmud al-Anjir al-Faghnawi. Back in Bukhara, we visit the mausoleums and complexes of Amir Kulal and Bahauddin Naqshband along with those of their mothers. After these visits, rich in spiritual atmosphere, we have dinner at a local restaurant and return to our hotel to rest in Bukhara.

After breakfast we begin with a visit to the Ark Fortress, a symbol of Bukhara. We then explore the covered bazaars of Toki Telpak Furushon, Toki Zargaron and Toki Sarrafon, medieval structures that still showcase the city's traditional trading life. From there we visit the Poi Kalyan Complex, the Kalyan Minaret, the Mir-i-Arab Medrese, and the Lyabi Hauz pool. After the tour we transfer to the train station and take the Afrosiyob high-speed train, roughly an hour and forty-five minutes, to Samarkand. On arrival we have dinner at a restaurant before checking into our hotel.

After breakfast our Samarkand tour begins with the Mausoleum of Imam Bukhari, followed by the Samarkand Paper Factory, where paper is still made using traditional methods, and the historically significant Ulugh Beg Observatory. We view Imam Maturidi's grave from outside, as it is under renovation, then visit the architecturally striking Shah-i-Zinda mausoleum complex and the Mausoleum of Amir Timur. At Registan Square, considered the heart of the city, we see the Ulugh Beg, Tilla-Kari and Sher-Dor medreses before visiting the Mausoleum of Ubaydullah Ahrar. We end the day with a roughly two-and-a-half-hour ride on the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Tashkent, followed by dinner and rest at our hotel.

After breakfast our Tashkent city tour begins at Independence Square, a symbol of the country's independence, followed by Amir Timur Square and Shahidlar (Martyrs') Square with its memorial. We then visit the Hazrat Imam Complex, home to the Barak Khan and Muyi Muborak medreses, the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, and the Tilla Sheikh and Hazrat Imam mosques, followed by the Center for Islamic Civilization, which houses one of the world's oldest Quran manuscripts. After free time for shopping at the famous Chorsu Bazaar and dinner at a restaurant, we transfer to Tashkent International Airport.

After arriving at the airport we complete passport control and check-in, then depart for Istanbul at 02:30 on Turkish Airlines flight TK371. We land at Istanbul Airport at 05:45 local time, bringing our Uzbekistan tour to a close.