Rishton, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva: 13-day sightseeing tour

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1

   The first day is arrival and a short drive to Kokand. You are met at the airport, and then — a drive to the city at the entrance to the Fergana Valley, which once stood on the Silk Road and was the capital of a khanate with many madrasahs and mosques. The pace of the day is calm: the road, accommodation, rest.

2. Day 2

   The day is entirely given to Kokand and a trip to Rishton. In Kokand — the residence of the last ruler of the khanate, a mausoleum built at the will of the poetess Nadira, a mosque with columns of especially durable elm and the khan's tomb. Then — Rishton, where glazed ceramics have been made for centuries: here they show the work of the masters and the process itself. Between the two cities — short drives, the day is full, but without haste.

3. Day 3

   A day of the road: from Kokand to Tashkent over the Kamchik mountain pass. It is along this road that the main flow from the capital to the Fergana Valley goes, and the pass itself is a notable event of the day. In Tashkent, accommodation and free time await you, when you can simply breathe out and look around.

4. Day 4

   The main thing on this day is the Old City of Tashkent. Here is the spiritual center with the manuscript of the Uthman Quran, the oldest architectural monuments, and nearby — authentic mahallas with adobe houses and narrow streets. A separate stop is the Chorsu Bazaar under a huge dome, where spices and souvenirs are bought. Lunch takes place in a pilaf center, where tons of this dish are cooked in giant cauldrons. Then — a drive to Samarkand, the former capital of the empire of Tamerlane.

5. Day 5

   This is the day of Samarkand, and it is dense. Registan Square with three madrasahs, the tomb of Tamerlane, the Bibi-Khanym Cathedral Mosque, the Siab Bazaar, the Shah-i-Zinda ensemble and the museum of the Ulugh Beg Observatory with a preserved fragment of a giant sextant. All this — on foot through a city that has preserved the aura of the Asian Middle Ages. The day requires attention and endurance, but remains in the memory for a long time.

6. Day 6

   The morning begins with a visit to a family of hereditary ceramicists, where they introduce the Gijduvon school, firing and painting, and lunch takes place in their house with a tasting of kebabs. Then — a drive to Bukhara, a city of the Silk Road with more than 140 preserved monuments and a center included in the UNESCO list. Here — the country residence of the emir, accommodation and a walk around a square with a pond, where a madrasah, a khanaka and a monument to Khoja Nasreddin stand.

7. Day 7

   Continuation of getting to know Bukhara. On this day — the Samanid tomb, a mausoleum connected with legends about Job, a complex with a reservoir, a minaret and a mosque on carved columns, the Ark Citadel, the central Poi-Kalyan ensemble and two madrasahs — of Abdulaziz Khan and of Ulugh Beg. The day is contemplative: a lot of architecture, little road, there is time to examine the ornaments.

8. Day 8

   A day of the big road — from Bukhara to Khiva through the Kyzylkum desert along the Amu Darya. On the way — stops among the dunes, whose sand really does give off red, and a view of one of the largest rivers of the region. Then arrival in Khiva and a walk through the inner part of the Old Khiva, surrounded by a fortress wall. The pace of the day is set by the road, not by the excursions.

9. Day 9

   Khiva, which is more than 2500 years old, appears as an eastern city almost untouched by time. On this day — the pilgrimage complex, the Kunya-Ark fortress, the madrasah and minaret of Islam Khoja with a view of the whole city, the Tash Hauli palace, a madrasah with a museum of the history of medicine, an unusual mosque with carved wooden columns and the largest madrasah of Khiva. The day is on foot and full, all of it — inside the Ichan-Kala.

10. Day 10

    The day goes into antiquity and into the desert. First — the ancient settlement of Ayaz-Kala with a labyrinth at the entrance, built so that the southern wind would carry out the dust, and a half-ruined fort on a rock nearby. Then — the fortress of Toprak-Kala, where the traces of an ancient city can be read: a square, the remains of a sanctuary of fire worshippers and the ruins of the palace of the rulers. Lunch — on Lake Akchakol, after which a drive to Nukus.

11. Day 11

    The most poignant day of the trip. In Moynaq — a monument on the highest point of the city, from where a panorama opens onto the bottom of the former sea, which has retreated for tens of kilometers; here the scale of the Aral tragedy is especially clearly felt. Nearby — the "Ship Cemetery" with rusting hulls left in the port when the sea began to grow shallow, and the exposed bottom became overgrown with saxaul. After lunch — the necropolis of Mizdahkan on three hills, where burial structures of different religions neighbor on one land, with mausoleums and a place that is called the "World Clock". Return to Nukus.

12. Day 12

    Nukus is the capital of Karakalpakstan, an oasis among the deserts, to which Aralkum has now been added. The main thing on this day is the museum with a collection of avant-garde painting and objects of the culture of ancient Khorezm, known far beyond the borders of the country. After the museum — a drive to Khiva and accommodation in a hotel. The day is calm, with one strong accent.

13. Day 13

    Completion of the trip: breakfast and a group drive from Khiva to the airport of Urgench. The tour program ends here, and then — the flight home.