After breakfast at the hotel, you will go on a guided tour of the “old Termez” settlements. At the place of crossing the Amudarya River in III-II centuries BC there was a port, which functioned until the VIII century.

The preserved remnants of warehouses were called Kampyr-kala (“old fortress”) much later. To the north-west of the city wall of “old” Termez there was a Buddhist monastery, called by archaeologists Fayaz-tepe.

This above-ground building was erected in the I-II centuries by architects in the architectural type called sangarama. This cult complex included the monastery itself, which had rich artistic decoration, a stupa for storing sacred relics, various outbuildings and outbuildings that provided everything necessary for the monastic community.

Fayaz-tepe was decorated with paintings. Among the numerous surviving fragments are the face of Buddha in a halo and images of Buddhist devotees. A splendid statue of Buddha sitting under a sacred tree and on either side of him two monks with prayerfully folded hands were also discovered.

Sukhrandarya region, the tour continues. To the east of the sangarama there is a stupa made of raw brick and plastered with ganch (chalk). Another monument of Buddhist culture – Zurmala Tower – is located in the so-called suburban zone, where there was apparently a whole complex of Buddhist buildings. It is a huge stupa (diameter – 14.5m, height – 16m), deprived of its facings, which has survived the centuries – now it is almost a shapeless massif.

Its scale speaks about the special significance of this construction in the Buddhist construction of “old” Termez. The huge palatial country estate belonging to the ruling dynasty – Kyrk-kyz (“40 girls”) – is associated by popular rumor with the legend about Amazonian girls living in a fortified castle widespread in Central Asia.

The total number of rooms of the manor reached fifty. The building material is raw brick, the walls are plastered with clay. Kyrk-kyz is a kind of a museum of construction-technical searches and constructive experiments of early medieval architects of Central Asia.

This construction is characterized by the combination of pre-Islamic traditions with the demands of a different era. Not far from the estate, in the settlement of “old” Termez, there is an architectural complex At-Termizi, formed around the burial place of the famous theologian and hadith scholar of the IX century (hadith is a story about the deeds, words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad).

The nickname, Hakimi Termizi, inscribed on the marble tombstone, means “the wise man of Termez”. Over time, a small mausoleum was erected over the tomb. Subsequent expansion of the ensemble falls on the end of the XIII century and the beginning of the XV century. A large architectural ensemble Sultan-Saodat rises on the territory where post-Mongol Termez grew.

It is a group of different family tombs of Termez seyids, that is, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and religious buildings (X-XI cc, XV-XVIII cc). Not far from Sultan-Saodat, among the greenery of the surrounding gardens are the remains of a monumental structure XVI century, called Kokildora.

By its purpose it was a mausoleum-khanaka (a strange house for pilgrims). Do you feel dizzy from the onslaught of time? Then let’s move from the “old” Termez to the “new” one and go for lunch in one of the restaurants of the city.

Sukhrandarya region, the tour continues. After lunch you are scheduled to visit Termez archeological museum. It is simply a “temple” – of sciences, cultures and bygone civilizations. Rare European museum has such a rich exposition and equipment. 27 thousand exhibits – from archaic ceramics to a gigantic collection of coins and jewelry.

Here under the glass of luminous showcases are unique artifacts from different eras, changing dynasties and religious movements. There is an unusual room in the museum – the “Hall of Customs Confiscated Goods”. Here it is especially felt that the border is near.

The exposition presents items from different centuries, regions, and styles. You get a feeling that everything you see was taken out of a huge trunk, which traveled along the Great Silk Road for at least 20 centuries. You will have dinner at one of the restaurants in the city.

Breakfast at the hotel. Tour to Uzbekistan continues. You will transfer by motor transport to the city of Shakhrisabz (282km). The road passes through the so-called mottled lowlands – these are the last fading waves of the Gissar range and its spurs: Chakchar and Baisuntau.

The relief is varied and bizarre: jagged ridges, shaped peaks, pillars, peaks and cornices. All these forms are colored with a whole range of colors: snow-white, bluish, dark gray, greenish, orange, dark red. Closer to Shakhrisabz, there are villages with gardens and orchards, cotton fields.

Ancient mounds rise now and then on the flat terrain. Upon arrival in Shakhrisabz you will have lunch in a national Uzbek house. Then you will go on a tour of architectural monuments (XV-XIX cc) accompanied by a guide.

The most grandiose construction of that time was Ak-Saray Palace – “White Palace” (1380-1404), built by order of Timur. Both local masters and those captured in Khorezm and Azerbaijan participated in its construction. Only two pylons (pillars) of the entrance portal supported by side towers remained from the magnificent palace.

According to written sources, over the arch was written a saying of the fearsome Timur: “If you doubt our greatness, look at our buildings”. To the south of Ak-Saray there is a cult-memorial complex Dorut-Tilyavat (the end of the XIV century – the 1st half of the XV century): mausoleums, a mosque and a newly built on the old foundations madrasah (XIX-XX) – united by a small courtyard.

Nearby is the Jami Cathedral Mosque. To the east is once a huge tomb of Timurids – Dorus-Siadat (1379/80ãã-1404ãã). Only the mausoleum of Timur’s eldest son (Jehangir), built by masters from Urgench in the forms of Khorezm architecture, has survived to this day. There is also a crypt of Timur (1380-1404), lined with marble-like limestone, and the sarcophagus of white marble is empty.

Amir Timur was buried in Samarkand. Then you go to the city of Samarkand (about 100 km). Your way runs along the picturesque area of foothills and spurs of Zeravshan range (Pamir-Alai mountain system).

You will ascend by serpentine road to Takhta-Karacha pass (1675m). From the height of the pass you will see the blue-green spot of the oasis in the upper reaches of the Kashkadarya River, which you are leaving. Descending from the mountains into the valley, you will soon drive up to Samarkand. Upon arrival you will be accommodated in a hotel. This will be followed by dinner in one of the restaurants of the city

Breakfast at the hotel. Tour to Uzbekistan – continuation follows. Departure on a tour of architectural monuments of Samarkand XII-XX centuries (with exit to the objects of the show). You will see the dynastic tomb of Timurids – Gur-Emir (1404-1405, XV-XVII cc).

By order of Timur in 1404 began the construction of a mausoleum over the ashes of his grandson Mohammed-Sultan. In the same year Timur goes on a campaign to China, but unexpectedly dies in the city of Otrar (South Kazakhstan). His remains were transported to Samarkand and buried in the crypt of the Muhammed-Sultan mausoleum. Since that time it has been called Gur-Emir – “Emir’s grave”.

Later, the mausoleum became a place of burial of persons only from the Timurid family. The decor of the mausoleum is unique: stone and wood carvings, stalactites and stained glass windows are used here, but the main position is occupied by blue-gold paintings. All walls from the bottom to the top of the dome are covered with them. Then you go to the center of the “old” city – the ensemble of three madrasahs – Registan (“sandy place”).

Originally it was a trade square of Samarkand with caravan sheds, craft workshops and baths surrounding it. Life was boiling here, all day long, until the city gates were closed. In 1417-1420 by order of the ruler Mirza Ulugbek (Tamerlane’s grandson) a madrasah (Muslim spiritual school) was built on the left side of the square, it now bears his name. Only in XVII century, opposite the building of madrasah Sher-Dor – “having tigers” (1619-1636) was erected.

Its entrance portal depicts tigers tormenting a doe against the background of a sunny face. The ensemble is completed by the building of the central madrasah – Tillya-Kari (“painted with gold”), built in 1646-1660. The interior of the cathedral mosque, the entrance to which is located in the courtyard of the madrasah, is decorated with abundant gilding.

The next excursion object is the Bibi-Khanim Cathedral Mosque, built by order of Timur (Tamerlane) in 1399-1404. In the East at that period of time it was the highest and richly decorated both outside and inside construction. The excursion will be interrupted for lunch in one of the restaurants of the city.

Continuation of the excursion will start with one of the masterpieces of world architecture – the ensemble of Shah-i-Zinda mausoleums (XII-XIX cc). The entrance portal opens in front of you a corridor, on both sides of which there are mausoleums, mosques, memorial and service premises that make up this majestic memorial complex. Here you will not find two identical buildings similar in size, architecture, color and finish.

One of the contemporaries wrote: “The heavens – the Moon and the Sun … sat down on the carpet of reflection and bit their finger of surprise – they have never seen buildings so decorated and ornate”. Then you go to the memorial museum and the remains of the observatory of Ulugbek (grandson of Tamerlane). The observatory, built by Mirza Ulugbek in 1428-29, was unrivaled in the Muslim East.

Being a great scientist of his time, Ulugbek created the “astronomical academy of the East”, and his scientific work – “Ziji-Gurgani” contains a catalog of more than 1000 stars. It contains various systems of chronology, tables of geographical coordinates of 683 settlements of the world, definitions of the duration of the sidereal year.

On the same hill is buried V.L.Vyatkin, a Russian archaeologist who discovered the remains of the observatory in 1908. Museum of Samarkand foundation, on the territory of the ancient settlement Afrasiab, where you will see the world-famous original wall painting (VII c) of one of the palaces, discovered during archaeological excavations. You will get acquainted with a large exposition of artifacts (from VIIIc BC to XIIIc) found on the territory of the settlement.

Marakanda – so called Afrasiab by the ancient Greeks, is the ancestor of the present Samarkand. Here in the middle of the 1st millennium BC there was a fortress city, destroyed in the IV century BC by the troops of Alexander the Great.

In the VIII century, the rebuilt city was again destroyed by the troops of the Arab Caliphate, but again revived to life. After the invasion of Genghis Khan’s hordes in the XIII century, Afrasiab ceased to exist and the inhabitants moved to the south-west of it, to the territory of present Samarkand. Excursion day in Samarkand is completed. You leave for dinner in one of the restaurants of the city.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will visit a small factory producing silk paper, which was famous in the Middle Ages and replaced the papyrus paper used in Europe in the 14th century.

The technology of artisanal paper making was revived by enthusiasts and now tourists often come here to observe the process of silk paper making and buy silk paper products as souvenirs. You won’t see this anywhere else – it’s exclusive! Then we will take you to the biggest bazaar of the city, which occupies an area of 7 hectares and has been there since the IX century.

You will be waited for lunch in the national Uzbek house, where you will taste dishes of Samarkand cuisine – the most delicious and diverse in Uzbekistan. Transfer to the railway station will take a little time and you will go to Tashkent by electric train (2 hours 10 min. on the way). Tour to Uzbekistan continues.

At the station square you are already waited by motor transport, which will take you to SPA hotel in the mountains of Chimgan (80km – 1,5 hours), where you will be accommodated upon arrival. Dinner on the territory of the hotel.

After breakfast you will not need to go on an excursion – you came here to relax and enjoy the purest mountain air, magnificent landscapes, to swim in the warm and gentle waters of the Charvak reservoir.

There is plenty of entertainment to satisfy anyone: hiking in the mountains, horseback riding, water skiing and bicycles, scooters. Evening show programs in the hotel restaurant will not leave you indifferent. Relaxation in the fresh air will prepare you to go home.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will leave by motor transport to Tashkent, where you will have a sightseeing tour with a guide. You will get acquainted with the sights of the capital of Uzbekistan (3 hours).

Farewell lunch in one of the restaurants of the city. Motor transport will take you to the international airport of Tashkent. The program of your stay on the Uzbek land is finished. Tour to Uzbekistan is over.