Medieval Fairy Tale

Key highlights

What awaits you

Itinerary

Day-by-day program

1. 01

   Day 1 — Arrival

   • Arrival in Samarkand.
   • Airport meet and greet, hotel check-in from 14:00.
   • Free time without transport or guided services.
   • Samarkand is one of the world's oldest cities, capital of legendary Sogdiana — Marakanda, and later capital of Tamerlane's vast empire.
   • A museum city, the heart of Silk Road caravan trade, Samarkand has beautifully preserved the unique aura of Asian medieval times to this day.
   • Overnight at the hotel.
2. 02

   Day 2 — Excursion

   • Samarkand (excursion)
   • Samarkand city tour:
   • Central Asia's most famous square — Registan, surrounded by three monumental madrasahs — Sher-Dor, Tillya-Kori, and Ulugbek madrasah
   • Gur-Emir Mausoleum — the grand dynastic tomb of Tamerlane, which served as a prototype for Humayun's tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra
   • Central Asia's largest cathedral mosque — Bibi-Khanym
   • Samarkand's largest market — Siab Bazaar
   • Architectural ensemble of 11 medieval mausoleums — Shah-i-Zinda
   • Ulugbek Observatory Museum — one of the most significant observatories of the Middle Ages, where underground a fragment of the giant sextant has been preserved
   • Overnight at the hotel.
3. 03

   Day 3 — Arrival

   • Samarkand – Gijduvan – Bukhara (280 km; 4.5 hrs)
   • Breakfast at the hotel.
   • Transfer to Gijduvan. Visit to the Narzullaev family — hereditary master potters.
   • Introduction to the Gijduvan pottery school, the process of making, firing, and painting ceramics.
   • Transfer to Bukhara — another ancient city of Uzbekistan through which the Great Silk Road also passed.
   • Medieval Bukhara was one of the main political, cultural, and religious centers of the Middle East.
   • More than 140 architectural monuments are beautifully preserved here, including grand madrasahs, mosques, and the city's famous symbol — the
   • Kalon minaret, Ark Fortress, functioning medieval baths, and trading domes. The historic center of
   • Bukhara is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
   • On arrival in Bukhara — hotel check-in.
   • Bukhara city tour: Labi-Hauz ensemble — Bukhara's most famous square with an artificial pond, surrounded by Kukeldash madrasah, Nadir
   • Divanbegi madrasah, a khanaka, the famous monument to Khoja Nasreddin, and many cozy cafés.
   • Visit to the 16th-century covered bazaar trading quarter with folk craft workshops.
   • Overnight at the hotel.
4. 04

   Day 4 — Excursion

   • Bukhara (excursion)
   • Continued Bukhara city tour:
   • Samanid Mausoleum — a dynastic tomb combining Sogdian and Islamic architectural traditions
   • Chashma Ayub — an unusual mausoleum in the shape of an elongated prism, linked to biblical legends of the wandering Job
   • Bolo-Hauz complex — a monument of Bukhara's monumental Registan, consisting of a pool, minaret, and mosque decorated with 20 carved columns
   • Citadel of ancient Bukhara, a «city within a city» — the ancient Ark Fortress
   • The oldest building on the ceremonial square, the central ensemble and main symbol of Bukhara — Poi-Kalon complex
   • Stunningly beautiful Abdulaziz-Khan madrasah, richly decorated with intricate ornaments
   • Strict and balanced Ulugbek madrasah
   • Suburban sightseeing:
   • Summer residence of the last Bukharan emir — Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace
   • «Central Asian Mecca» — memorial complex of the famous philosopher and Sufi of the East
   • Bahauddin Naqshbandi
   • Overnight at the hotel.
5. 05

   Day 5 — Departure

   • Bukhara
   • Breakfast. Departure from Bukhara. Transfer to Bukhara airport. End of the tour program.