Private or group tours inquire Jewish Travel Agency.
The laws and traditions of the Jewish peoples of Uzbekistan have thrived for centuries in this mostly Islamic region. Unique communities of Jews carried on their distinctive traditions throughout the region for hundreds of years. Stories of their arrival in Central Asia vary from the 6th through the 19th centuries, but the Jewish quarters in the cities of Uzbekistan are well preserved. Experience the thrill of history and the story of a people in this truly amazing part of the world.
Highlights:
· Visit exotic oriental bazaars, traditional tea houses and ancient villages
· Discover cultural treasures of Central Asia: magnificent synagogues and ancient palaces
· Meet and interact with hospitable Central Asians
· Enjoy traditional music, dance performances and fashion shows
Route: Tashkent -Samarkand -Bukhara -Khiva –Tashkent
Day 1 Tashkent
Tashkent Palace or International (former intercontinental Hotel)
Arrival in Tashkent. There you will be met by our representative and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation. Welcome dinner.
Day 2 Tashkent
After breakfast a sightseeing tour 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.
Day 3 Tashkent-Samarkand –Grand Samarkand Superior
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. All our guest rooms are located in the left wings of the hotel with views of the beauty of Samarkand and its legendary monuments through the windows and balconies. Lunch. 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’s Observatory.
Day 4 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. Lunch at the hotel. Continue sightseeing tour: Shahi Zinda Ensemble – ancient necropolis (IX,XIV,XIX c.), Bibi Khanum Complex ( the complex was build in honor of the wife of Amur Temur in the fourteenth century), Guri Emir Mausoleum (XIV century). Dinner.
Day 5 Samarkand – Bukhara Minorai Kalon
Sunrise photography. Enjoy your free morning. Sightseeing drive to ancient Bukhara through Silk Road You will be met by the sound of music and the local precious drink chay and sweets will be served. Representatives of Jewish society will be invited for the meeting. You will be accommodated at Minorai Kalon or Sasha & son. Dinner
Day 6 Bukhara
Explore Labi Khaus Complex (“the complex around the pond”), Nadir Divan Begi Khanaka (old hotel for merchants) And Medreseh. The LH 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 Madreseh with its sandali (old version of house heating), Poi-Kalon Ensemble with the greatest minaret of Central Asia. Lunch. Visit the Ark (winter residence of local rulers from the first century), Bolo Khaus Complex, Ismail Samoniy Mosque.
Dinner and Folklore show featuring local dancers, singers and fashion stars.
Day 7 Bukhara
Breakfast. Visit Mohi Khosa Palace (The summer Palace of Moon and Stars) and Chor Minor Complex, built in Indian style. Free time.
Day 8 Bukhara – Urgench (Khiva) Orient Star
Early breakfast. Departure to Khiva through Kizilkum desert which was the main Silk Road that connected East with West, stop at the yurts full of camels, to have picnic in local Chaykhana (tea-house), stop in Amu Darya (Oxus River), one of the biggest rivers of Central Asia. Dinner.
Day 9 Khiva
Breakfast. Excursion to Ichan Kala (old city) surrounded by high walls of air-dried bricks. Ata – Darvaza (West Gate, XVII – XVIII c.), Kalta Minar (small tower). Lunch at the national restaurant. Continue the sightseeing tour: Medreseh Mohammad Aminkhan (XIX c.), Kunya Ark (old fortress), Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum (XVIII – XIX c.), Medreseh Khodja Islam with
minaret (tower), Tash Hauli Palace ( with view of the palace’s harem-women’s quarter), Caravanserai ( traditional inn for traveling merchants), Juma mosque ( XI-XII c.) with 200 wooden pillars. Dinner panoramic view of Khiva in moonlight. Transfer back to the hotel.
Day 10 Khiva-Urgench–Tashkent
Morning flight to Tashkent. Upon arrival you will be transferred to the hotel for accommodation. Visit the ancient part of Tashkent and the museum of Timurids. Free time for shopping or relaxing.
Day 11 Tashkent Departure
You will be transferred to the Airport to take your flight to your home country