Silk Road tour, cities of the Silk Road
| country: | Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| location: | Silk Road |
| departures: | 2010: 21 May, 8 Oct |
| price: | £2395 (16 days) excluding international flights |
| more info: | Minimum age 18 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Silk Road tour, cities of the Silk Road
This outstanding trip takes in four of the most important cities of the old Silk Road, and is perfect for culture and history buffs. Starting your trip in Uzbekistan you will first visit the splendour of Samarkand, Bukhara and Shakhrisabz – the birth place of Timur – before crossing the famous River Oxus and entering Turkmenistan where you will travel on to Merv, one of the great emporiums of the Silk Road (until a certain Genghis Khan flattened most of it).
After this you will travel to the curiously named and totally weird, modern capital of Ashgabat (the City of Love), then visit Konya Urgench before travelling on to Khiva. The tour ends where it started in among the leafy streets of Tashkent. This is an interesting and entirely original itinerary.
After this you will travel to the curiously named and totally weird, modern capital of Ashgabat (the City of Love), then visit Konya Urgench before travelling on to Khiva. The tour ends where it started in among the leafy streets of Tashkent. This is an interesting and entirely original itinerary.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Join tour in Tashkent: Accommodation for this night is included in the tour cost, due to the arrival times of our suggested flights. Those on the suggested group flight will arrive early hours of Day 2. |
| Day 2: | Tashkent: After our meeting we will go into the town to have lunch at an open-air restaurant, followed by a relaxed look around some of the sights: Kukeldash Madrassah, Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum, Barak Khan Mosque on Khasty and a visit to the Chor-Su handicraft bazaar. |
| Day 3: | Samarkand: After breakfast we drive to Samarkand, taking lunch on the way. Once we have checked into our hotel we take our first look around this amazing city with a trip down to the Registan. |
| Day 4: | Samarkand: Full day wandering through this incredible city, taking in such sights as the main bazaar, the Bibi Khanym mosque, Registan and Tamerlane’s tomb. |
| Day 5: | Samarkand – Shakhrisabz – Bukhara: After an early breakfast we drive via Shakhrisabz – the birth place of Timur, where we will see the Kok Gumbaz Mosque, the Ak Sarai Palace, the Djekhangir Mausoleum and Timur’s vault – before heading on to Bukhara. Arriving late afternoon in Bukhara we check into a beautiful guesthouse close to the famous Labi Hauz. Dinner is al fresco at the Labi Hauz. |
| Day 6: | Bukhara: Morning tour of the old town: the Arc – or town citadel, in front of which the British officers Connelly and Stoddard lost their heads in what was one of the most infamous events of the Great Game. We visit the Kolan Minaret, or Tower of Death – from which Amir Nasirulla Khan threw his enemies – as well as the rest of the beautiful old town. The afternoon is free in the bazaar for wandering, shopping etc. Dinner and traditional dancing will be at a colourful open-air townhouse. |
| Day 7: | Bukhara – Mary: Early start to drive across the Uzbek border and enter Turkmenistan. After customs formalities and having the thrill of crossing the Oxus – Amudarya River – we drive on to Mary where we check into our guesthouse. Arriving in Mary mid afternoon gives us plenty of time to see ancient Merv. Due to its size and historical importance, Merv is one of the most significant sites in Turkmenistan, indeed in all of Central Asia. It consists of a series of towns each succeeded by another throughout the course of history. We’ll see Erk Kala (6thC BC) with its citadel, Gayur Kala (3rdC BC), Sultan Kala (8-11thC AD), Abdullakhan Kala and Bairamalikhan Kala (15thC AD), Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar-the last ruler of a great Seljuk Empire (12thC AD), Great Kala and Little Kyz Kala (6-7th C AD), and the Mausoleum of Muhammed Ibn Zeid (12th C AD). |
| Day 8: | Mary – Margush – Mary: After an early breakfast we drive northeast from Mary to Margush / Gonur Depe (40km off road). Here the first agricultural settlements appeared in the delta of Murgab River as far back as the third millennium BC. Fertile silt coming from the mountains, an abundance of water and a moderate climate have created favourable conditions for good crops and the progress of the ancient economy has continued for several centuries. It is an amazing site that some experts believe represents the fifth great civilisation of ancient times. Return to Mary via Merv where we will see the small but excellent museum and any sites we did not see the day before. |
| Day 9: | Mary – Ashgabat: After breakfast drive to Ashgabat, en route visiting Abiverd, an ancient town through which once passed The Great Silk Road. In 1221 Abiverd fell into the hands of Mongols and the town was destroyed but it is still an interesting place to explore. On arrival in Ashgabat we will check into an excellent hotel and go for our first look around this wonderfully strange place. We will see the president’s ‘Tower of Power’ statue along with many other extraordinary monuments erected as a testament to his largesse. Dinner is at a town restaurant. |
| Day 10: | Ashgabat: Another day in this bizarre city where we are able to see the carpet museum – which holds the world’s biggest carpet; the Russian bazaar and the Hippodrome to see some of the beautiful Akhel Tek horses. We also travel out to see the famous site of Geo Tepe, where the Turkmens made their last stand against the Russians. If time permits we might visit the ancient city of Nisa or pop out to see Asia’s biggest market. Dinner is at a stunning rooftop restaurant. |
| Day 11: | Ashgabat – Darvaza: A comfortable 3.5hrs drive from Ashgabat is one of the more bizarre "100 places to visit before you die". Set amongst the most unforgiving and magically bleak desert environments imaginable, the Darvaza gas crater is like looking down into bowels of hell. We camp in the shelter of the sand dunes by the edge of the crater and enjoy the experience not only at sunset and sunrise but at night when it is one of nature's largest searchlights attracting any passing birdlife to circle around in its beams. On the way, we also visit two other craters filled with boiling black water and mud geysers: all in all a pretty surreal experience. |
| Day 12: | Konya Urgench: In the morning we’ll continue our journey up to Konya Urgench. Here we will visit the medieval town, the city Gurganj, the Palace of Turabek Khanym, Mausoleums of Khoresm Shakh II Arslan and Tekesh, Kyrk Molla, Ak Kala, Mausoleum of Nadjammidin Kubra, plus the history museum and the Kutluk Timur Minaret. |
| Day 13: | Konya Urgench – Khiva: After breakfast we drive to the border, say goodbye to our Turkmen guide, cross the border back into Uzbekistan and drive to Khiva. Khiva is the most intact and remote of Central Asia’s Silk Road cities, the oldest destination on a trip back from Socialist Tashkent to medieval slave town. Where Samarkand will leave your imagination exhausted, Khiva’s ancient romance is plain to see – a wonderful vision of the past. Here we have a guide to take us to many of the city’s famous sights but those that wish to go it alone will be free to do so. |
| Day 14: | Khiva: All day in Khiva where we visit all the sumptuous sites in the presence of an expert local guide, including the Kukhna Arc, the Mohammed Khan Madrassa, the Jama Majid mosque with its amazing wooden pillars, the Alloquli Khan Madrassa, bazaar and caravanserai. You will also have a chance to climb the Kalta Minor Minaret. |
| Day 15: | Khiva – Tashkent: After breakfast we transfer to Urgench for the flight back to Tashkent, the Uzbek capital. This is a lovely city with tree lined avenues and open parks. The afternoon will be free to wander at leisure. |
| Day 16: | Tashkent: The tour ends with breakfast at the hotel. |
small group cultural tours
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends it's good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as experiencing new cultures.how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
In Central Asia we have developed unique relationships with many of the semi-nomadic peoples of the region and through our form of interactive, socially conscience tourism have helped them adapt to the modern, changing world by providing important income opportunities. With Sogan Bai, an eagle hunter from the shores of Lake Issyk Kul, or Noorgul, a shepherdess from the pristine Son Kul, or Nazira and her family at Tash Rabat, we have been responsible for introducing them to the homestay market, helping them to provide good, clean and interesting accommodation which in term allows them to educate their children, improve their standard of living and look after their ill. The wonderful thing about this kind of interactive tourism is that everyone gains – the nomads financially and us with the wonderful welcome and experience they give us. On our horse treks, we work exclusively with the fine horse-man Anar Bek, who along with his family and members of the local community, ensure that the horses we trek with are well treated, well fed and well looked after. Wherever possible we stay in locally owned accommodation, eat in locally owned establishments and purchase supplies from the local nomads. We also support several NGOs around the world such as the Hope Foundation, A-Cet and Adopt-A-Minefield, which are all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit. Environment When you take one of our trips, we make a contribution to “Carbon Clear” – an organisation who work with hundreds of organisations to measure their carbon footprint and reduce their carbon emissions. We also support several NGOs around the world, all carefully selected to improve the standard of living for the communities we visit. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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