After breakfast at the hotel our guide will take you on a bus sightseeing tour (3-4 hours). You will spend your lunch time in one of the restaurants of the city, where you will taste dishes of national Uzbek cuisine.

After lunch you can walk around the capital on your own or we will take you to the biggest and oldest bazaar of Tashkent – “Chor-Su”.

You will finish your free time with dinner in one of the restaurants of the city.

Early departure to the railway station to the comfortable electric train “Afrasiab” going from Tashkent to Samarkand (2 hours 10 min. on the way). Our author’s tour continues. You will be met by tourist motor transport and transported to the hotel for accommodation upon arrival.

Here your guide is already waiting for you, who will be with you the whole day. Your excursion into the history of the city will begin with a visit to the museum of the foundation of Samarkand on the territory of the ancient settlement Afrasiab, where you will see the original wall painting (VII century) of one of the palaces, discovered during archaeological excavations.

Further you will be familiarized with a large exposition of artifacts (from I century BC to XIII century) found on the territory of the ancient settlement. The next object of excursion show will be the memorial museum of Ulugbek (grandson of Tamerlane) and the remains of the observatory built by his order in 1428-29, equal to which at that time was not in the whole Muslim East.

Ulugbek was not only the ruler of a huge country, but also a great scientist of his time, an outstanding astronomer. Many data obtained in Samarkand Observatory were used by scientists of Europe until the XVII century. In the museum you will see exhibits telling about the “astronomical academy of the East” and its remarkable creator.

Next to the museum is the grave of Russian archaeologist V.L. Vyatkin, who was the first to discover traces of the observatory in 1908. It is time to break for lunch in the national house, where you will taste a dish that is cooked only in Samarkand – “nakhot”.

With new strength you will go to the next object of our excursion – one of the greatest achievements of world architecture – the ensemble of Shah-i-Zinda mausoleums (XII-XIX cc.). From the entrance portal up the slope run up two rows of tombs – mausoleums, between which formed a corridor. More than two dozen mausoleums, mosques, memorial and service premises make up this majestic memorial complex.

The structures are different in size, architecture, color and finish. There are bright colored mosaics, carved lace walls and doors with strict geometric planes, almost devoid of facing.

The inscriptions, which are intricately and at the same time organically woven into the ornaments decorating the facades, have left us the names of wonderful folk craftsmen from Samarkand, Bukhara, Azerbaijan; the picturesque manner of Iranian masters is visible. One of the contemporaries wrote: “Heaven – the Moon and the Sun … sat on the carpet of reflection and bit their finger of surprise – they have never seen buildings so decorated and ornate”.

Then you will proceed to the majestic cathedral mosque Bibi-Khanim, built by order of Timur (Tamerlane) in 1399-1404 by both local architects and those brought from different countries. It was the tallest structure in the East at that time.

The facade and dome of the mosque give an idea of the original splendor of the entire grandiose building, decorated with colored mosaics, carved marble, figurative ligature, laid out of bricks, everywhere was applied abundant gilding.

In the courtyard you can see a marble loukh (lectern – first half of the XV century) for a huge Koran taken out of the mosque. It is covered with ligature of the Arabic language. The next architectural ensemble is the square of three madrasahs (spiritual Muslim school) Registan.

Accompanied by a guide you will walk along the street, which was laid by Timur’s order as a trade street, to the “heart” of Samarkand Registan Square (“sandy place”). Initially, it was the place of trading rows. Here were located caravan-sheds, baths, trading pavilions, shops of small craftsmen.

Merchants from different countries brought goods here: Asia Minor and the Volga region, the Far East and Siberia, Persia and the Arabian Peninsula. During the reign of Ulugbek, the grandson of Timur (Tamerlane), Samarkand became a major scientific center of the East. At this time, not only the famous observatory was built, but also Ulugbek’s madrasah (1417-1420) on Registan Square. Only in the XVII century the madrassah Sher-Dor – “having tigers” (1619-1636) was erected opposite it.

On its portal one can see the heraldic emblem: a tiger tormenting a doe on the background of a sunny face. The ensemble is completed by the central madrasah of Till – Kari – “covered with gold” (1646-1660) – was erected on the site of a caravan-shed of the XV century with partial use of its foundations and walls.

The building combined the functions of the madrasah and the cathedral mosque of the city. The interior of the mosque is painted with luxurious floral and vegetal ornament with abundant gilding.

Nowadays, an international festival of folk art is held every two years on the square between the three madrasas, where singers and dancers from different countries of the world demonstrate their singing and dancing art.

Your sightseeing day ends with a dinner in the national Uzbek house. You will be offered dishes of Samarkand cuisine, which you will not taste in any restaurant.

After breakfast at the hotel our guide will invite you to continue the excursion into the history of Samarkand. Not far from Registan Square, on the symbolic border between the “old” and “new” city, is the dynastic tomb of Timurids – Gur-Emir (1404-1405, additional additions – XV-XVII centuries).

Construction of the mausoleum began by order of Timur in 1403 for his grandson Mohammed-Sultan, who was to become the ruler of Maverannahr after Timur’s death. However, the grandson passed away before his grandfather.

Having gone on a campaign to China in 1404, Timur dies in the city of Otrar (Southern Kazakhstan) at the age of 69. His body is transported to Samarkand and buried in the crypt of the Muhammad-Sultan mausoleum.

Since that time it became known as Gur-Emir – “Emir’s grave”. During the reign of Ulugbek, the mausoleum became the burial place of persons exclusively from the Timurid family. The fully restored Gur-Emir attracts with its marvelous combination of proportions, lively ornament of mosaic facing and luminous blue of the ribbed dome.

Once upon a time, anyone entering the mausoleum was greeted at the entrance by a beautiful slab with an inscription saying that Timur was buried here. This slab and one door leaf decorated with skillful carving, ivory and silver are in the Hermitage. Inside the mausoleum, tombstones stand on the marble floor, enclosed by a patterned marble lattice, the central one of which – made of a single piece of black-green jade – is placed over Timur’s tomb.

Deep under the floor is a vaulted crypt with the burials of Timur, his sons, grandsons and two sheikhs (head of a religious order). At the base of the interior walls is a high panel of greenish onyx.

In the decoration of the mausoleum, it seems that all the means available in the artist’s arsenal were used: stone and wood carving, stalactites and stained glass, but the main position is occupied by blue-gold paintings.

All planes from the bottom of the walls to the top of the dome are covered with them. The artistic and historical significance of the Gur-Emir Mausoleum has caused great and enduring interest of researchers to it. Pages are devoted to it in all generalizing works on the architecture of Central Asia.

Then you go to the suburb of Samarkand, where there is a place called Kan-i Gil. Ab-i Rahmat (“Blessed Waters”) stream flows through it. This place has been known since the XIV century. Court festivals and folk festivals were organized here, tents and marquees were set up.

Nowadays this territory is built up with private sector houses. Here, on the bank of Ab-i Rahmat brook, is a small factory producing Samarkand silk paper.

In former times there were many such factories on the banks of small rivers and silk paper produced on them replaced papyrus paper in Europe already in XIV century. Enthusiasts revived the ancient technology of artisanal paper making from the bark of mulberry tree and now it is a place of pilgrimage for tourists coming to Samarkand.

The masters will show you the whole process of work, after which you will have an opportunity to buy your favorite silk paper products. This is a wonderful souvenir for memory – typical Samarkand souvenir.

It’s time to break for lunch in the national Uzbek house, where you will be shown a master class on cooking pilaf. After a very hearty lunch you have the opportunity to visit the biggest bazaar in Samarkand or walk around the city on your own before dinner in one of the city’s restaurants.

After finishing breakfast at the hotel, you will go to the railway station to the comfortable electric train that will take you to Bukhara (2 hours 10 min. on the way). You will be met by a tourist vehicle and transported to the hotel, where a tour guide is already waiting for you.

After accommodation – excursion to the architectural monuments of X-XIX centuries. The first object of the show is the core of ancient Bukhara – Ark fortress. For 2 millennia cultural layers of soil have formed here a high platform, on which at the end of XVIII-beginning of XX century Bukhara emirs erected new buildings and supplemented the old ones. There were a palace mosque, stables, mint, harems, warehouses, audience halls, underground dungeons, but most of the buildings no longer exist.

From the fortress walls of the Ark, rising 10-15 meters above the streets of Bukhara, a wide view of the city with countless domes and minarets opens up. Almost opposite the Ark, across the square (Registan), rises a very elegant, light and elegant ensemble Bala-house.

Its mosque was built in 1712, and the aivan (covered veranda) in front of it with thin wooden carved columns was built only in the early twentieth century.

Just one block away is a park, at the end of which is located a remarkable in its beauty mausoleum – the dynastic tomb of the Samanids (late IX-early Хвв). Its building is the first in the Central Asian region to be constructed of brick, both as a building material and as a decorating material.

The ratio and alternation of bricks laid horizontally, vertically, at an angle, cut in the form of disks and rosettes, create a rich architectural cover. Further you go to the architectural construction of XIV century – mazar (place of worship) – Chashma Ayub, erected over the legendary well (chashma) of prophet Ayub (Job).

We will finish your excursion for today and hurry up for dinner in one of the restaurants of the city.

After breakfast at the hotel the guide will invite you to continue the tour. If the previous objects of the show are as if embedded in the modern Bukhara building, the central part of the “old” city is an integral architectural ensemble of XVI-XVII centuries.

You will begin your tour with the complex of constructions Poi – Kalyan (“the foot of the Great”), grouped around the highest minaret of Bukhara – Kalyan (tower for calling to prayer). It was built in 1127. Its height is 47 meters, inside there are 105 steps leading to the top.

Building masonry and facings are made of burnt brick. The minaret stands on a monolithic foundation, sunk deep into the ground, which provides it with great strength. On the right side of the minaret rises the majestic building of the cathedral mosque Masjidi – Kalyan, erected in the first half of the XV century. over the remains of the medieval mosque XI-XII centuries.

It was rebuilt and renovated in 1514. Its high – raised dome, lined with bricks painted in blue color, argues with the bright blue sky. The inner courtyard of the mosque is framed by covered galleries, which support 288 domes with their powerful pillars.

Coolness and dusk reign here even on hot days. Opposite the mosque is the building of the Miri Arab Madrasa, erected by the influential sheikh (head of the religious order) Miri Arab of Yemen in 1535-36. Both externally and internally the building is decorated with colored mosaics.

This is a functioning madrasa where young men are trained to serve in mosques. In addition to the Koran, they also study natural sciences. Near the religious center of Bukhara there were shops of traders and workshops of craftsmen selling their goods. Old bazaars

The old bazaars of Central Asia were usually always covered. Galleries and domes protected from scorching sun rays in summer and from rain and snow in winter. A number of closed trade passages – tims – have been well preserved.

Very peculiar are domed market buildings – taki. To the XV century. refers to the dome of jewelers – Taki – Zargaron, to the XVI century – the dome of sellers of hats – Tilpak – Furushon, the dome of changers – Taki – Sarafon and Tim Abdullahan, designed for the sale of silk.

In the covered passages of the city, which are still in operation today, you can buy wonderful products of applied art, for which Bukhara has been famous since ancient times. One of the most ancient mosques – Magokki-Attari – is located near the trading rows.

According to written sources, it appeared on the place of a pagan temple, but later it was substantially rebuilt in the XII century, and then in the XVI century. The main facade with an asymmetrically located portal, striking with the variety of figurative brickwork and ornamentation of terracotta tiles (made of burnt clay), forming a real stone lace, has been preserved from the original building.

Walking a little along the narrow streets of medieval Bukhara, you will come to one of the largest sources of water supply in the city – Lyabi – Hauz. Water from the Shakhrukh canal, which flows through the city, was not always enough for the inhabitants, especially in summer.

Therefore, water was stored in primitive small reservoirs (khauz) or ponds. The almost square Lyabi-Hauza reservoir was built in 1620. It is framed by three monumental buildings: Khanaka Nadir – Divan – Begi (a strange house for dervishes and pilgrims) – the 20-ies of the XVI century; the second building – Madrasah Kukeltash (1568-69) – it was one of the largest madrasahs of its time (160 hujras – cells); Madrasah Nadir-Divan-Begi (1622).

Its facing is dominated by stylized vegetation motifs, among which the images of flying phoenixes stand out. For centuries, the territory where the Hauz is located, with the adjacent buildings, served as a place of rest and walks of Bukhara residents.

This tradition has been preserved even nowadays. Then you will go (by motor transport) to the north of Bukhara to the country residence of the last emirs of Bukhara – Sitora-i-Mahi-Khasa (late XIX c. – 1918). The old palace, built by Bukhara masters who studied Russian architecture in St. Petersburg and Yalta, is a mixture of European and Bukhara styles.

The new palace is a complex of buildings (also of mixed Oriental and European styles): a gate arch, a harem, a greenhouse, a covered gallery and the main building. The most interesting in this palace are the interiors of the White Hall and the reception hall. The walls and ceilings are decorated with the richest carving and painting on ganch (gypsum) in the traditions of Bukhara architectural and decorative school.

Carved gates with forged copper nails and handles decorated with fine chasing should be attributed to the undoubted attraction of Makhasa (as Bukharians lovingly call it). The palaces are located in a beautiful park with a variety of ornamental and fruit trees, lawns, a huge pond.

Once a part of the territory was occupied by a zoological garden, where gazelles, pheasants and peacocks walked on the grass, the latter walk freely and nowadays. The rich excursion program can be interrupted (at your request at any time) for lunch and dinner in the restaurants of the city.

After breakfast at the hotel you leave for Bukhara International Airport. Our author’s tour comes to an end. The program of your stay in the hospitable land of Uzbekistan is completed.

We will spend the first half of the day in the ancient part of Samarkand city, exploring the Bibi-Khonum Mausoleum (XIV century) and the Siab Bazaar, which is the largest and oldest in the city, with an area of 7 hectares! In the afternoon we will go to visit the locals in the mountainous region of Urgut, where we will master the technique of cooking national dishes – shashlik and lulia kebab.

You will have a unique opportunity to plunge into centuries-old traditions and cultural customs of the Uzbek people, which will not leave you indifferent! If you wish, we can spend the night in a village where we will cook “Tandyr Kebab” together with the locals and taste it by the fire to folklore songs and dances.

The final breakfast of our trip will be organized in national style with traditional viands, fresh farm milk and dairy products. Then we will transfer to the airport for the flight to the next destination.

If you wish to extend your stay in Uzbekistan, we can offer the following places for more detailed acquaintance with the culture of the country: Khovrenko Winery, winemaking museum and subsequent wine tasting; Visit to a silk paper factory and carpet factory with exclusively handmade products; Attendance at a national wedding (this option should be arranged in advance).