IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MARCO POLO

Flight to Istanbul at 17:55-22:25 by Turkish Airlines. Then flight to Ourguentch at 01:15-07:00 by Turkish Airlines. Dinner and overnight on board.

Arrival in Ugrach at 07:00 by Turkish Airlines and welcome by your English speaking guide outside the airport.
outside the airport. Transfer to Khiva and check in at the hotel. Breakfast at the hotel. REST
IN THE HOTEL UNTIL NOON TO REST. Lunch at leisure. Guided tour through the entrance gate of the
fortress "Ata darvaza" (Itchan Qala - inner city). The architectural monuments of the fortress were
The architectural monuments of the fortress were erected in the 10th - 18th centuries and are preserved in good condition until today. You will visit
the truncated minaret Kalta Minar, the Mohamed Aminkhan medersa, the king's seat and the ancient
and the old Kounya Ark Palace, the Medesa of Mohamed Rahimkhan, the Mausoleum of Said Aluddin, the Mausoleum of Pahlavan
mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud and the minaret of Islamkhodja. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive through the Kyzyl Koum desert to the ancient fortresses of Khorezm.
In the vicinity of Ayazkala, archaeologists have actually discovered the remains of more than 40 citadel cities
but only the remains of the two best preserved cities are visited. Lunch at leisure. After crossing the
Amu Darya, you will discover successively the fortresses of Kyzylkala, Toprakala seat of the Khorez dynasties
dynasties of Khorezm and Ayazkala with its two ruined fortresses. Return to Khiva. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast will be served. Continuation of the visits by the Jouma mosque, the Caravan saray, the Toch Khavli palace and the Khan Harem.
Khan's Harem. Lunch at leisure. Guided tours of the Nurullaboy complex, summer palace of the last king of Khiva palace of the last king of Khiva, the Qibla Toza Bog palace, then walk around the ancient city wall by bike or on foot, climb the walk, climb the ramparts for a panoramic view of the city. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Bukhara. The road passes through the Kyzyl-Kum desert and we drive between the sand dunes. In the past, caravans heading to the West passed through this part of the Silk Road which linked the Western cities and Bukhara. Lunch at leisure. Arrival and accommodation at the hotel. Guided tour of the Labi Khahuz complex with 3 huge medersas: khanakha and medersa Nadir Devonbegui, medersa Koukeldach. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

You will have breakfast. You will start the guided tour with the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, the vegetable and dried fruit market of the city, then you will see the mausoleum of Shachma Ayub, one of the most revered monuments of the city, the Reghistan square for the visit of the Ark Citadel, the oldest building of Bukhara, the Bolo Khaouz mosque built in the 18th century. Lunch at leisure. Then guided visit of the Ulugh Beg medersa (1417) built by the astronomer prince of Samarkand and the Abdul Aziz Khan medersa (1654) which faces the previous one, the Magoki-Attari mosque, in the heart of the city, you will admire the Poyi Kalyan complex, the Mir Arab medersa (1535) and the Great Mosque built in 1514. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Guided tour of the outside of Bukhara city. You will go to Bakhuddin Naqshbandi complex which was the great souffi of Central Asia, to the summer palace of Bukhara emir - Sitorai Mohi -Khossa, to the small medersa Chor Minor (1807) with its four minarets topped with turquoise blue domes. Lunch at leisure. Afternoon visit to the Bukhara embroidery workshop and the synagogue, then free time for personal discovery. Optional: Dinner with a show of dances, traditional songs and fashion show in Nadir Devanbegui medersa. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Drive to Nourata. Along the way you will visit the water tank (Sardoba) and the ruins of the 12th century Caravan Saray Rabbati Malik, the paintings engraved on the rock just beside the road. Arrival at Nourata. Lunch at leisure. Guided tour of the city of Nourata where you will find the ruins of an ancient fortress that was built at the time of the Greek conquest (Alexander the Great). You will visit the complex of Nourata including two mosques, a sacred and curative spring whose water is very rich in various natural minerals. You continue on the way to Yanguigazgan, the village of the Kazakh berserkers. Drive to Yanguigazgan. Arrival and installation in the yurt. Possibility to walk in the desert and ride on camels. Dinner with vodka and songs of a Kazakh shepherd and overnight in the yurt.

Breakfast is served. Then drive to the Aydarkul lake. You will have a short walk along the lake, with the possibility of swimming. On the way visit the two thousand year old fir tree in Mojroum. Walk at the foot of the mountains and in the forest. Lunch at a local's house. Road to Hayat village, a beautiful village at the foot of the Nourratine Mountains. Arrival and installation at the inhabitant's house. Walk in the village. Dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast. Hike (5-6 hours of easy walking, 200-300 m difference in altitude), with the possibility to visit a typical village market. Picnic on the pass. Arrival at the pass from where you can observe the panorama of the village (2000 m high), the highest point of the Nourata mountains and you can see mouflons. You will discover the ancient Tajik village in the Karisay valley. Return to the village. Dinner and overnight stay in the village.

We have breakfast. Continuation of trekking on the mountains and this morning you will take the direction of Hayatbochi peak, where you will see the mouflons and the birds of the mountain. On the way you will pass through the forest. 2200 m at altitude level. Arrival and picnic on the summit. Then you will discover a beautiful landscape, return to the village Hayat. Drive to Samarkand. Arrival and accommodation in hotel. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Guided tour of Samarkand: You will start your visit with the Gur Emir mausoleum and the Reghistan complex with the Ulugh Beg medersa (15th century), the Sher Dor medersa (17th century), the Tillya Kari medersa (17th century). Lunch at leisure. Continuation of the guided tours by the Bibi Khanoum mosque and the Shakhi Zinda necropolis where each mausoleum is covered by a turquoise blue dome entirely decorated dating from the XI -XV centuries. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Shakrisabz the birthplace of Tamerlane. Guided tour of Dorus Tilovat complex which consists of Chamsiddin Kulol and Gumbazi Saidon mausoleums, Kok Gumbaz mosque, and the second Dorus Siyadat complex which consists of Hazrati Imam mosque and the mausoleum of Jahangir Sultan, the eldest son of Timur. Lunch at leisure. This afternoon you will discover the most beautiful landscape of the country by crossing the Pamir mountains, stop to take beautiful pictures. Return to Samarkand. Optional: Musical show and presentation of historical costumes in Samarkand. Dinner at leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast. Guided tour with the Samarkand parchment workshop (produced in the ancestral way from the bark of the murier tree), the silk carpet factory and the Ulugh Beg observatory. Lunch at leisure. Guided visit of the Afrociabic museum with its frescoes dating from the 7th and 8th centuries, the churches: Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian. Then free time for personal discovery. Transfer to the railway station for the fast train "Afrosiyob" at 17:00 or 18:00, arrival in Tashkent at 19:10 or 20:10, welcome by your driver. Free dinner. Transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast will be served. Then transfer to the international airport for the flight to Paris by an airline. Formalities and customs control.