Uzbekistan – Tajikistan Tour | 2

Flight to Tashkent.

Afternoon/evening arrival in Tashkent International Airport.

Migration formalities usually take 20 min to 60 min: visa/passport control and baggage claim. Come out of the terminal and meet the staff holding a sign “ANUR TOUR” .

Transfer to the hotel. As Tashkent airport is not far from the city center, the transfer will take about 20 – 40 minutes depending on the hotel location.

Arrival in the hotel. Check-in.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Take-away breakfast

06:30 Transfer to Tashkent Airport ( Terminal 3). 

08:00 Departure for Bukhara by morning flight.

09:10  Arrival in Bukhara Airport.

Come out of the terminal,  the driver will meet with sighboard "ANUR TOUR".

Transfer to the hotel to drop off the bags, standard check in after 14:00.

Meet the guide at the hotel. Start WALKING sightseeing in Bukhara (5 hours):

- Ensemble Lyabi Hauz (Nadir Divanbegi Madrassa, Khanaka, Kukeldash Madrassa and the monument of Khodja Nasreddin);

- Magoki Attari Mosque is one of the oldest mosques survived in Bukhara from the time before the Mongolian invasion;

- Abdullakhan’s Tim with numerous handicraft shops of souvenirs, ceramics, national clothes, and carpets;

- Caravanserai Sayfuddin (the Center of Handicraft Development of Bukhara);

-  Trading domes or so called covered bazaars Toki Sarrofon, Toki Telpak Furushon, and Toki Zargaron preserved from the XVI century and these bazaars were the centers for trade of silk, jewelry and money exchange. Today as well, there are shops in the domes selling a wide range of souvenirs from small magnets, suzani, and ceramics to the famous Bukhara carpets;

- Ulugbek and Abdulazizkhan Madrassas with the distinctive style of facade ornamental decoration;

- Poi Kalon Square with Kalon Minaret and Mosque, Mir Arab Madrassa – the heart of Bukhara, a monumental complex impresses the imagination;

- Ark Fortress – the oldest citadel dating back to I century BC where one can feel the history of the great fortress covered in beautiful legends and myths.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel

Morning at leisure.

11:00 Meet the driver at the lobby at your hotel in Bukhara.

Transfer to famous Gijduvan pottery workshop ( about 50 min drive from Bukhara) where visitors are welcome for a tour around the workshop and observe the process of ceramic making and painting.

The owners demonstrate the stages of making ceramics from turning the potter’s wheel to making paints from natural ingredients, decorating the ceramics in a distinctive style, drying, and firing.  Take a tour around the museum hall of ceramic masterpieces with a unique collection of the ceramic items of Gijduvan and other regions of Uzbekistan. 

Master-class of painting ceramics and lunch at the master's house.

After drying and burning the painted ceramics, the master will send the hand-made ceramics to your hotel in Samarkand within next two days.

Continue to the hotel in Samarkand. 

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

08:00 Transfer to border post Jartepa. Border crossing usually takes 30 min-1 hr.

Meet the guide and driver at Tajikistan part of the border. Start sightseeing tour:

Transfer to Marguzor, the famous seven lakes - seven wonderful water mirrors full of mountain riverside drops. Each lake looks different whenever the sun changes its position. Colors may vary from deep blue to indie color ripple. Most of them are cold to swim even in summer. These lakes belong to Fann Mountains system.

On the western edge of the Fan Mountains in the valley of the river Shing there are seven lakes, six of them are dammed origin, besides the lake Hazorchashma. Lakes are called Marguzor, but each lake has its own name: Nezhigon, Soybean, Gushor, Nofin, Hurdak, Marguzor, Hazorchashma. The difference in level between the upper and lower lake is 692 meters. Easy hike at the lakes. Lunch in the guesthouse.

- The Sarazm museum (UNESCO World Heritage).

16:30 Afternoon border crossing BP Jartepa to Uzbekistan (takes about 30 min-1 hr).

17:00 Meet the driver at Uzbekistan side of the border. Transfer to Samarkand.  

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide and driver. Start Samarkand sightseeing: 

– Gur Emir Mausoleum – a burial vault of Timur the Great and his descendants decorated with gold ornaments and considered as one of the most significant places in the world;

– Continue to the famous Registan Square – the heart of Samarkand and a real masterpiece of Central Asian medieval architecture consists of three grandiose buildings: Ulughbek Madrassa, Madrassa Sherdor, and Madrassa Tilla Kori.

– Bibi Khanim Mosque – the biggest medieval building in the city which was one of the most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world in the 15th Century;

– Samarkand bazaar Siyab.

Transfer to the hotel.
Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

09:00 Meet the guide at the lobby. Continue sightseeing program in Samarkand (5 hours):

– Shahi Zinda Necropolis – unique complex of Mausoleums  formed by standing on both sides of the cenotaph (an imaginary grave) belonging to the Muslim person named Saint Abbas ibn-Kussam;

– Ulugbek’s Observatory – the finest astronomical centers in the medieval world was built by order of Ulugbek, an outstanding scholar and astronomer;

– Khoja Doniyor Mausoleum - the mausoleum over the grave of one of the saints. According to legend back to XVIII century, the ashes of the Old Testament biblical prophet Daniyar (Daniel) are buried in the mausoleum, the remains of which were brought to Samarkand and buried by Amir Timur.

– Paper factory "Meros”  in Konigil village that produces unique paper that can be preserved for more than and is used in craftworks.

17:35 Departure for Tashkent by train "Afrosiyob"/"Sharq".

20:05 Arrival in Tashkent. 

Transfer to the hotel 

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. 

09:00 Meet the guide at the lobby.  Start sightseeing tour of Tashkent (5 hrs) :

- Amir Timur Square, founded in 1882 and originally called Konstantinovsky Square, was renamed on August 31, 1994, after the Amir Timur to honor the cultural and historical contribution of the great conqueror.

- Theater Square with the Opera House: State Academic Theater of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi built in 1947 is one of the best opera theaters in the world that performs both classical and national repertoires. 

- Independence Square, the main square of Uzbekistan reflects the past, present, and future of the country. There are fountains standing for the life energy of Uzbek people, the Cabinet and the Senate, the “Eternal flame" in honor of soldiers who died during the Second World War.
- Earthquake Memorial, the composition is devoted to the tragic date of the earthquake in Tashkent on April 26, 1966, and is erected in the approximate place of the earthquake epicenter. Residents still come to the monument to honor those people who took a part in the reconstruction of Tashkent.

- Khast Imam Square – consists of the Barakkhan madrasah and Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum.

- Chorsu bazaar – the ancient bazaar of Tashkent. “Chorsu” means “four water”, symbolically meaning the conjunction of four major parts of the old city in the bazaar where people come for trades. The bazaar beautiful blue dome, built in traditional style after the Tashkent earthquake, is often depicted in postcards and international magazines and became one of the major sights of interest both for locals and guests – one can see oriental tiled bazaar from different souvenir shops with ceramics, handicraft works, carpets and jewelry, the whole pavilion full of delirious fruits to the finest textiles and colorful fabrics.

- Tashkent Metro (the first line was launched in 1977) with beautiful train stations each decorated in thematic style with traditional ornaments and special lightning.

Resting time in the evening. Overnight at the hotel.

Take-away breakfast/ Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Tashkent International Airport.

Morning departure flight from Tashkent.

End of the tour