THE HIGHLIGHTS
ANCIENT CITIES OF THE SILK ROAD
You’ll visit six romantic trading towns, including medieval Khiva, perfectly preserved in the desert, and Bukhara, where camels would once wander. It was so rich during its Silk Road heyday that it boasted 365 mosques – one for every day of the year – and its historic centre is now a Unesco-protected site. Other highlights include Tashkent, which was flattened by an earthquake in 1966 and rebuilt by the Soviets, and Samarkand, the Silk Road’s most iconic and romantic city built by the 14th-century Turco-mongol warlord Amir Timur, known in the west as Tamerlane. The stunning Registan square is simply not to be missed, with its exquisite fluted turquoise domes, mosaic madrasas, majestic arches and towering minarets.
FASCINATING ADDED EXPERIENCES
The Silk Road’s most important commodity was, of course, silk – and you’ll visit Margilan (near Fergana), centre of the still-thriving silk trade. You’ll see the entire silk-weaving process from cocoon to end product. You’ll also visit the private Meros silk paper making factory in Samarkand and a carpet embroidery workshop in Bukhara.
BREAD-MAKING AND WINE-TASTING
The lepyoshka flatbread is legendary in Uzbekistan and said to last for months. Plus, it is apparently impossible to recreate anywhere else – although after a bread-making masterclass in Khiva, you might be keen to try when you return to the UK. You’ll also learn how to make other Central Asian specialities during a cooking class in a family-owned local restaurant and enjoy wine tasting at the Khovrenko Winery in Samarkand.
STUNNING SCENERY
Landlocked Uzbekistan boasts beautiful mountains, fertile valleys and arid desert. Enjoy the views during a train journey into the Fergana Valley, a drive over the Kamchik Pass (at an elevation of 2,268m) and a domestic flight to Urgench.