Uzbekistan 4 Days

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Collection: Complex Tours

(Tashkent, Samarkand & Bukhara)

Day 1

Arrive to Tashkent. Transfer to hotel for overnight.

After breakfast at hotel, drive to domestic airport to take a flight to Bukhara. Upon arrival, start city excursion.

Visits in Bukhara:

Poi Kalon Ensemble (Pedestal of the Great) – the square separates the Mir-I-Arab Madrassah and the Kalon Jummi Mosque. The Kalon Minaret (Great) is one of the defining symbols of Bukhara.
Three remaining domed bazaars:
- Taqi Zargaron (1570) – Jeweler’s Bazaar
- Taqi Telpak Furushon – Cap Makers’ Bazaar
- Taqi Sarrafon – Moneychangers’ Bazaar
  These were among dozens of specialized bazaars in the town.
Magok-I-Atori Mosque – the remains of a Buddhist monastery, a Zoroastrian temple, and the mosque of the Arab invaders, all sharing the same space.
Lyabi Hauz Ensemble – plaza built around a pool in 1620 (name means “around the pool” in Tajik).
- Nadir Divanbegi Madrassah – built in 1630, east side of the plaza
- Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka – west side of the plaza
- Kukeldash Madrassah – once the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia

PM Visits:

Ark Fortress – royal town-within-town, as old as Bukhara itself, home to rulers for over a millennium
Bolo Hauz Mosque (“Mosque Near the Pool”) (1712) – the royal court mosque
Ismoil Samani Mausoleum – the town’s oldest building (completed around 905), one of the most elegant structures in Central Asia
Chashma Ayub (“Spring of Job”) – built in 12th century over a spring

Overnight at hotel.

Transfer to Samarkand by train. Upon arrival, start city visits.

Visits in Samarkand:

Gur Emir (Tomb of the emir) – mausoleum of Timur and the Timurids (15 c.)
Reghistan Square (Sandy Place) – ensemble of majestic madrassahs (15-17 cc.)
Bibi Khanym Mosque (15 c.) – the gigantic congregational mosque, once one of the Islamic world’s biggest mosque
Siab Market – colorful main farmers’ market

PM Visits:

Shakhi Zinda (The Living King) – necropolis of Samarkand rulers and nobles. The name refers to its original, innermost and holiest shrine – the grave of Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, who is said brought Islam to this area.
Ulugbek Observatory (1420) – the remains of an immense (30 m tall) astrolabe for observing star positions, part of a three-storey observatory, and Afrasiab ruins and museum with fragments of 7th-century frescoes.

Overnight at hotel.

Drive back to Tashkent. Upon arrival, if time permits:

Tashkent Old City & Historical Sites:

Kukeldash Madrassah – built in the mid-16th century by the ruler’s vizier Kukaldash, the madrassah was the biggest among 17 madrassahs in Tashkent.
Friday Mosque (Khodja Akhrar, 1404-1490) – three renewed domes next to Kukeldash Madrassah, Chief Sheikh of the powerful Sufic order of Naqshbandi.
Mausoleum of Zaynutdun Bobo – oldest architectural Islamic monument in Tashkent. Sheikh Zaynutdin was a son of famous Muslim philosopher and poet Shikhabuddin as-Sukhravardi, direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed.
Khast Imam Square – the holy heart of Tashkent and the least Russified/Sovietized part of the city, consisting of:
- Barak Khan Madrassah – founded in the 16th century by a descendant of Tamerlane who ruled Tashkent for the Shaybanid dynasty. Administrative center of the Mufti of Uzbekistan.
- Tillya Sheykh Mosque – built at the same time as Barak Khan Madrassah, now employed as the district’s Friday Mosque. Highlight: immense Osman Koran, claimed to be the world’s oldest; in 655 it was stained with the blood of the murdered Caliph Osman.
- Kafal Shashi Mausoleum – grave of a local doctor, philosopher, and poet of Islam (904–979). The portal, inner dome, and arcade date from the 16th century.
Chorsu Bazaar – the biggest, spice-smelling farmers’ bazaar in Tashkent.

Transfer to airport for departure flight.