Uzbekistan Jewish Heritage Tour
- Tour countries:
- Uzbekistan
- Type of tour:
- Religious, Historical, General
Day 01: Tashkent
Arrival in Tashkent. There you will be met by our representative and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.Visit to the Applied and Decorative Art Museum of Uzbekistan, Bukharian Jewish Synagogue "Beit Menachem" with two prayer halls ( religious services held daily, morning and evening ), old Tashkent, Jewish community and school № 321. Colorful Oriental Bazaar "Chorsu" where Jewish vendors are among the many who take part in this circular indoor-outdoor marketplace, crowded with stalls that sell innumerable products including spices, nuts, flowers , fruits, vegetables, cradles for babies.Ceremonial dinner.Night in Tashkent.
Day 02: Tashkent-Samarkand
Breakfast. Drive to Samarkand (300 km), the city is more than 2500 years old, Stopping near the "gate" of Amur Temur where two mountain ranges meet. Opportunity to photograph two great mountain ranges of Uzbekistan and see the ancient river stream. Samarkand (then known as Maracanda) was the site of the marriage of Alexander the Great to the local princess Roxana. Accommodation in hotel. Sightseeing tour to Registan Square, the main attraction of Samarkand and an impressive place for holding the world's finest old and modern music festivals and holidays and to Ulugbek Observatory (he was a scientist, astronomer and architect of the XVth century) whose scientific and astronomic discoveries greatly advanced knowledge in these fields. Night in Samarkand.
Day 03: Samarkand
Breakfast. Visit to Hebrew Prophet Daniel's Tomb which is next to a pleasant ancient and contains a burial chamber around 18 meters long, the Jewish Quarter, and synagogue, located in the old section of Samarkand. Samarkand bazaar. Continue sightseeing, Shakhi Zinda Necropolis- ancient necropolis (IX,XIV,XIX c.), Bibi Khanum Mosque ( the complex was build in honor of the wife of Amur Temur in the fourteenth century), Gur-Emir Mausoleum (XIV century).Night in Samarkand.
Day 04: Samarkand - Bukhara
Breakfast at the hotel. Free time. Drive to Bukhara (300 km). To be met by the sound of music (from the karnay, a local musical instrument) and the local precious drink chay. Representatives of Jewish society will be invited.Night in Bukhara.
Day 05: Bukhara
Breakfast at the hotel. Lyabi Hauz complex ("the complex around the pond"), Nadir Divan Begi Khanaka (old hotel for merchants). This pond dates from the XVIIth century when it was the principal source of water (built on the land of a Jewish widow, who then was given the land to built the synagogue and the Jewish Quarter). Visit an ancient Chaykhana, the sculpture of Khodga Nasriddin in bronze made by local Jewish sculptor Yaakov Shapiro, Synagogue, Jewish Quarter, school and kindergarten. You will be greeted with the words "Shalom Aleyhim" "Peace be with you"), a tradition not found among European Jews, visit traditional houses of nineteenth Jews later converted into hotels, Lunch at the house of Fayzullo Khodjaev with national costume show. The sightseeing continues with trade domes (XVI c) of money changers, hat sellers, silk, carpets, puppets and jewelry, Magoki Attari site which was originally a Zoroastrian temple, Abdulazizkhan Madrassah with its sandali (old version of house heating), Poi-Kalyan complex with the greatest minaret of Central Asia. Visit the Ark Fortress (winter residence of local rulers from the first century) , Bolo Hauz Mosque, Samanids Mausoleum . Night in Bukhara.
Day 06: Bukhara
Breakfast. Visit Sitorai Mokhi Khosa (summer residence of local rulers with national traditional dress), Chor - Minor built in Indian style. Free time. Night in Bukhara.
Day 07: Bukhara - Khiva
Early breakfast. Drive to Khiva via the Kizilkum desert(460 km,9 hrs).Arrive Khiva and hotel check-in, free time.Night in Khiva.
Day 08: Khiva
Breakfast. Sightseeings in Khiva with visiting Ichan Kala (old city) surrounded by high walls of air-dried bricks. Ata - Darvaza (West Gate, XVII - XVIII c.), Kalta Minor Minaret (small tower).Continue the sightseeing tour: Muhamad Amin khan Madrassah (XIX c.), Kunya Ark (old fortress), Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum (XVIII - XIX c.), Islam Khodja Minaret and Madrassah, Tash Hauli Palace ( with view of the palace's harem-women's quarter), Caravanserai ( traditional inn for travelling merchants), Djuma Mosque ( XI-XII c.) with 200 wooden pillars. Night in Khiva.
Day 09: Khiva - Urgench - Tashkent
Breakfast. Transfer to Urgench airport for flight to Tashkent. Arrive Tashkent and transfer to the hotel for check-in. Sightseeing tour: Earthquake Memorial, Independence Square, Metro Station. Night in Tashkent.
Day 10: Tashkent
Breakfast. Transfer to an international airport of Tashkent. Departure.
