Follow the footsteps of travellers past, journeying through the Silk Road cities that linked Europe and the Far East.
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are central links along the Silk Road and have extraordinary
histories, from the great empires and conquerors of the ancient and medieval world, to
the migrations and exchanges between vastly different cultures. Nevertheless, these two
countries have retained their distinctive cultures, seen most clearly in their traditional
arts and crafts. This 18-day tour uncovers the wealth of history and culture in the ‘Stans’,
with visits to the Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, to Sasanian citadels,
Achaemenid and Parthian ruins, the palaces of the emirs and the desert oasis of Merv.
Days 1–2: Arrive in Tashkent, tour the old town and Khast-Imam complex.
Day 3: Train to Samarkand, visit the main square.
Days 4–5: Visit Shahrisabz, the city of Tamerlane.
Days 6–9: Investigate Bukhara’s Samanid sites, Islamic mosques and emirs’ palaces.
Days 10–11: In Turkmenistan, visit Mary and the excavations at Gonur Tepe.
Days 12–14: Explore ancient Merv; fly to Ashgabat, visit the extraordinary Carpet Museum.
Days 15: Fly from Dashoguz to Kunya-Urgench, admire iconic Islamic architecture, cross to Nukus.
Days 16-17: In Khiva, explore the old town.
Days 18: Fly to Tashkent and depart.
Grace McLean
Phone:+44 (0)2076 109 926
Email:grace@academytravel.uk
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0207 610 9926
info@academytravel.uk