Arrive to Tashkent. Transfer to hotel for overnight.
Take a fast train to Samarkand.
City tour.
Visit to Gur Emir (in Tajik - 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 and Siab market – colorful main farmers’ market.
PM visit to 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 rea.
Also visit to Ulugbek Observatory (1420) – the remains of an immense (30 m. tall) astrolabe for observing star position, part of three-storey observatory and Afrasiab ruins and museum with fragments of 7th century frescoes.
Transfer to Bukhara via Shakhrisabz.
In Shakhrisabz visit Ak Saray (White Palace) – Summer residence of Tamerlane (14 c.), Kok Gumbaz (Blue Dome) – Friday mosque (15 c.), built by Ulugbek in honor of his father and Dorut Tilyavat (House of Meditation) – burial complex of Timur’s forebears.
Also visit Crypt of Timur – an underground room, which was discovered in 1963.
City tour in Bukhara.
Visit Poi Kalon Ensemble (Pedestal of the Great). The square separates the Mir-I-Arab Madrassah and the Kalon Jummi mosque. The Kalon Minaret (in Tajik means Great) is one of the defining symbols of Bukhara.
Also visit 3 remaining domed bazaars – Taqi Zargaron (1570), or Jeweler’s Bazaar, Taqi Telpak Furushon or Cap Makers’ Bazaar and Taqi Sarrafon, or Moneychangers’ Bazaar, which 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 and Lyabi Hauz Ensemble.
Lyabi Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for “around the pool”).
To the east, the Nadir Divanbegi Madrassah, built in 1630, on the west side of the square, and built at the same time, is the Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka.
North across the street, the Kukeldash Madrassah, once was the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia.
PM visit the Ark fortress – royal town-within-town, as old as Bukhara itself, home to the rulers of Bukhara 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) and one of the most elegant structures in Central Asia, and Chashma Ayub (“Spring of Job”) – built in 12 century over a spring.
Take an overnight train to Tashkent.
After breakfast at local restaurant, drive to Uzbek – Kazakh border Jipek Joly.
Then transfer to Turkestan via Otrar.
There you will have sightseeing at Local History Museum “Otyrar”, Arystan-Bab Mausoleum, archaeological site of the ancient settlement of Otrar.
After sightseeing in Otrar you will be taken to the city of Turkestan, which was founded around 500 AD at the crossroads of caravan routes from Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva to northern Kazakhstan.
The city was known as the spiritual and political center of the Turkic-speaking people in the XVI-XVIII centuries, and was the capital of the Kazakh Khanate.
Overnight at hotel.
Drive to Almaty.
City tour.
The tour continues through the Plaza of the 28 Panfilov Heroes Memorial where dedicated to the victims of the Civil War and the Second World War are.
After you reach the Museum of Musical Instruments.
If time permits, optionally, we may include visit to "Hawks Nest" where many hawks, eagles and golden eagles.
It is a tradition to use these birds to hunt.
The visit concludes Kok Tebe for a panoramic view.
Departure flight.
Registan Square, Ark fortress, Crypt of Timur (Tamerlane), ancient settlement of Otrar, Hawks nest in Almaty.