Day 6 / ST. PETERSBURG

On arrival at St. Petersburg station in the early morning  our representative will receive you and take you for breakfast. Later, we take you on a city tour of St. Petersburg, a magnificent city built three hundred years ago and also known as 'Northern Venice'. We drive along the 'Great Perspective' famous today as Nevsky Prospect, lined with marble palaces of Russian royalty and aristocracy, with boutiques and art salons arranged in old settings of the 18th century and Renaissance cathedrals & churches as its backdrop.

Enjoy this 4.5 km long thoroughfare drive which cut's through woods and marshes from the Admiralty to the Monastery of Alexander Nevsky, with its magnificent Trinity Cathedral. Take a photo-stop along the Neva embankments for a panorama of the city's Rostral Columns. We drive by the Summer Garden surrounded by cast iron fence whose beauty is described as every kilo of cast iron being worth a kilo of gold. Stop to enjoy an overwhelming beauty of the third largest square in the world Palace Square with the world's biggest free-standing Alexander Column. See the beautiful architectural building as you pass through the city. Visit Peter & Paul Fortress, for its nucleus around which this magnificent city has arisen.

Later, we take you to Issak's Cathedral the main chruch of the Russian Empire. The cathedral was under construction for 40 years and was decorated in an elaborate way. Overnight at your Hotel.(B/D)

Day 7 / ST. PETERSBURG

After breakfast, morning visit the Hermitage Museum. The gigantic collection of nearly three million objects of the Heritage Museum, ranked as one of the world's major museums, is housed in six buildings and categorised as: West European art, the Antique world, primitive culture, Oriental culture and Art, the history of Russian culture and numismatics. Enjoy a boat ride on the canal's of Neva River in St. Petersburg, from where one can view the city's grand neoclassical architecture.

In the evening witness Russian Folklore show with local dinner. Overnight at your Hotel.(B/D)

Day 8 / ST PETERSBURG – MOSCOW  - TASHKENT

After breakfast at your hotel, we take train for Moscow and on to airport to board flight for Tashkent.  On arrival transfer to hotel for Overnight

Day 09 / Tashkent/Urgench/Khiva (Flight - Drive)

An afternoon flight gets us to Urgench, the capital Urgench of the horezm Province lies between the Amu-Darys River and Turkmenistan. It is a halting point for tourists on their way to Khiva.
Overnight: Hotel Malika, Khiva (2 nights) (B, D)
 

Day 10/ Khiva

Today we explore the World Heritage e at Khiva, a city where time has stood still. Our visit starts with the main site of Ichan Kala followed by Kalta Minor, the Kunya Ark, the Rakhimkhon Madrassah, the Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Makhmud, the Friday Mosque and the Tashauli Palace and Harem. To complete the feeling, we climb the Khodja Minaret to take in the amazing fairy tale panorama. (B, D)
 

Day 11/ Khiva/Bukhara (Drive)

Our drive to Bukhara is through the arid setting of the Kyzyl Kum Desert. Along the way we stop for some refreshments and see how humans have survived over the centuries in this barren landscape. Prior to arrival in Bukhara, a visit will be made to Sitora-i-Mokhikhosa, the Summer Residence of the former Emirs of Bukhara.
Overnight: Hotel Zargaron Hotel, Bukhara (2 nights) (B, D)
 

Day 12/ Bukhara

One of the grandest of Uzbek centers, Bukhara is an open museum with many mosques, madrassahs and a grand minaret. We spend the day visiting some of the finest examples of Islamic Architecture in the world, where exquisite tile and mosaic work complements the beautiful brick-work; no wonder the city is a World Heritage Site. Our visit includes the Lab-e-Khauz Complex with the Nadirkhon Devanbegi Madrassah, the Mogak Attari Mosque and the Poi Kalon Minaret. We also visit the Madrassahs of Aziz Khan and the Ulugbek Ark Fortress, the residence cum army headquarters of the Bukharan Emirs that houses an interesting collection of objects from those days and the Mausoleum of Ismail Samanid, which features some of the best 10th century brickwork, with a marked Persian influence. (B, D)
 

Day 13/ Bukhara/Gijduvan/Samarkand (Drive)

This morning we start off with our visit to a local family ceramic factory in Gijduvan then continue onto visit the World Heritage Site of Shakhrisabz, home town of Tamerlane. This historic centre contains a collection of exceptional monuments and ancient quarters, which bear witness to centuries worth of history, and particularly to the period of its climax in the 15th century under the empire of Tamerlane.
Overnight: Hotel Samarkand Plaza, Samarkand (4 nights) (B, D)
 

Day 14/ Samarkand

The historic town of Samarkand is a crossroad and melting pot of the world's cultures and has been declared a World Heritage Site recently. Founded in the 7th century BC as ancient Afrosiab, Samarkand had its most significant development in the Timurid period from the 14th to the 15th centuries. We start our day with visit to the Urgut Market, which is known in this region. Next stop is the Afrosiab Museum, located on the site of ancient Afrosiab and the Historical Museum of Uzbek Culture & Art, with the wooden coffin of Tamerlane and a large copy of the Koran. We culminate the day with a visit to the Ulugbek’s Obervatory & Gur Emir, the mausoleum of Tamerlane. (B, D)
 

Day 15/ Samarkand

We save the best for last. Our tour today takes us to the major monuments and includes the Registan Mosque and the adjoining madrassas, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, the Shakhi-Zinda compound. (B, D)
 

Day 16/Samarkand/Penjikent/Samarkand

Today we make an attempt at crossing into TAJIKISTAN. The border crossing is subject to rules that keep on changing, one of the notorious features of daily life in Central Asia. Our objective is to the see the site of the ancient city of Sogdiana at Penjikent. Should the border crossing not be possible then we return to Samarkand for a free day. (B, D)
 

Day 17/ Samarkand/Tashkent (Drive)

Early morning depart for Tashkent. Upon arrival check in at the hotel then head out immediately to visit the old part of the city, the Kafelsashi Mausoleum, the Barak Khana, the Tila Shaikh Mosque and Archives, Kukeldesh Madrassah, the History Museum of Uzbekistan and the Navoi Theatre. The evening is free, with an opportunity to see a local opera or ballet (optional).
Overnight: Hotel Dedeman, Tashkent (1 night) (B, D)
 

Day 18/ Depart Tashkent – Home TOWN

Our tour comes to an end as it is our time to bid farewell with “Sau Bolinizder”, as you are transferred to the airport for your flight out. Check out time is by 1100 hrs. (B)

BON VOYAGE

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