ARRIVALS IN ASHGABAT

Ashgabat International Airport

BY FLIGHT FROM ISTANBUL:
• Option 1 (Turkmenistan Airlines): Departure from Istanbul Airport by flight T5-986 at 17.40 local time. Arrival in Ashgabat International Airport at 23.30 local time.
• Option 2 (Turkish Airlines): Departure from Istanbul Airport by flight TK322 at 21.00 local time. Arrival in Ashgabat at 02.45 am local time (March 17)

BY FLIGHT FROM FRANKFURT:
Departure from Frankfurt International Airport by flight T5-464 at 15.50 Arrival in Ashgabat at 00.20 am local time (March 17)

BY FLIGHT FROM DUBAI:
Departure from Dubai International Airport by flight FZ731 at 23.55. Arrival in Ashgabat at 03.25 am local time (March 17)

• Transfer to Ashgabat - capital of Turkmenistan, often called as "White city". Ashgabat is built in the Karakum Desert and is located 25km north of the border with Iran from which it is separated by Kopet Dag mountain range. Since the independence from Soviet Union in 1991, the city has completely changed its look. An impressive architectural re-styling effort led by the government of Turkmenistan resulted in Guiness Book Record for world's highest density of white marble-clad buildings.
• Check-in at the Sport Hotel - very good 4* hotel in Ashgabat city center. The Berkarar shopping center is just across the street.The Sport hotel was completed in 2017 for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. From the restaurant on the top floor you can enjoy a fantastic city panorama.

Ashgabat - white city with perfect roads

• Breakfast
• ASHGABAT CITY TOUR:
• Aziada 2017 - is the impressive infrastructure built in a central area of Ashgabat for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017(Aziada). It includes Olympic Stadium, 30 sport facilities, the Athletes Village, various support and administrative buildings. Aziada 2017 became the first major multi-sport event hosted in Turkmenistan and attracted 5,500 athletes from 62 countries to participate across 21 sports.
• Tolkuchka Bazaar - is the Ashgabat's largest bazaar. It offers a huge range of goods from fruits and vegetables to Turkmen carpets, handicrafts, jewelry, silks and even camels.
• Pass by Presidential Palace - is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Turkmenistan, located on Independence Square. It is forbidden to take pictures of the Palace.
• Rukhiyet Palace - built by the French company Bouygues, it is a place for holding official meetings and events, forums and inaugurations.
• Wedding Palace - "palace of happiness" in Turkmen. This impressive building is crowned by a cube with a ball displaying the map of Turkmenistan. The palace consists of several halls for celebrations, banquet halls for weddings, dozens of shops, photo and beauty salons, etc
• Yyldyz Hotel - "star" in Turkmen. It is one of the best hotels in Turkmenistan offering a fantastic panorama of Ashgabat city. This hotel is also one of the few places with good wi-fi.
• Lunch
• Constitution Monument - a 91-meter high four-sided pillar decorated with Turkmen carpet ornaments on all sides and crowned with a spire with a gold crescent moon and five stars. This monument is associated with the proclamation of Turkmenistan's independence on October 27, 1991 and the Constitution's adoption om May 18, 1992
• Arch of Neutrality - built in 1998, it is a 75-meter-high rocket-shaped tower topped with a gold statue of the former Turkmenistan's president Niyazov (died in 2006). The statue was rotating throughout the day so that its face would be always in the sun. In 2010 the monument was removed from the city center and reassembled in the outskirts of Ashgabat.
• Independence Monument - inspired by traditional Turkmen tents, this impressive monument is one of the largest of its kind. Together with the surrounding park which is the place of numerous statues, water fountains and pools, it covers an area of more than 80,000 m².
• Ertugrul Gazi Mosque - named in honor of the father of Osman Empire first ruler, this building is a beautiful combination of Islamic and Byzantine architecture. It is also one of the first mosques built after the independence of Turkmenistan in the early 1990s
• Square of Revival (Galkynysh) - in the middle of this grandiose square there is a huge stele designed to embody the spirit of the new Turkmen statehood based on independence and permanent neutrality, peace and creativeness.
• Park of Inspiration - opened in 2010, it is located between two central avenues of the Turkmen capital. It is a series of four parks and each section is dedicated to famous Turkmen. More than forty statues are erected along the park tracks. The park is beautifully decorated by artificial river, bridges, fountains and flowerbeds.
• Lenin Monument - this first monument to Lenin in Central Asia dates from 1927. It stands atop three plinths, each one carrying traditional motifs of the Turkmen carpets. While most of the buildings in Ashgabat fell to the ground during the terrible 1948 Ashgabat earthquake, the monument survived it with virtually no damage.
• Dinner

Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque
• Breakfast
• Alabay statue - this 6 meters high golden statue representing the Turkmen shepherd dog Alabay is placed on the pedestal of 9 meters height in the middle of one of Ashgabat's roundabouts in the Western part of the Turkmen capital. The monument was unveiled in November 2020 by the Turkmen president in person.
• Drive to Gokdepe Fortress - a place of important battle for annexation of Turkmen land by Russian Emperor at the end of the XIX century.
• Gokdepe Mosque - built on the orders of the first President of Turkmenistan on the site of the former Gokdepe fortress, it commemorates Turkmen civilians and soldiers who lost their lives in the bloody battle against the Russian Empire in 1881
• Horse farm - unique chance to see beautiful Akhalteke horses. This horse breed exists since 5000 years ago and is the real proud of the Turkmens. Akhaltheke horse breed was never mixed with other breeds.
• Lunch and cooking class at the horse farm: we will be preparing the Turkmen National dish Tamdyrlama (lamb).
• Nissa fortress - the Sanctuary of Parthian Kings, UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. Nissa is described as one of the first capitals of the Parthians. It was founded by Arsaces I (reigned c. 250 BC – 211BC), and was reputedly the royal residence and necropolis. The ruins of the ancient settlement Nissa are located 18 km from Ashgabat at Bagyr village.
• Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque - located in 7 km from Ashgabat, this is one of the biggest mosques in Asia built in 2004 in the home town of the first president of Turkmenistan. Next to the mosque there is a mausoleum where the president was buried in 2006. His family rest here as well: his father who was killed in WWII, his mother and 2 brothers, all killed in the devastating Ashgabat earthquake in 1948
• Dinner

Remains of Kiz Kala fortress in Merv

• Breakfast
• Flight to Mary - the third largest city of Turkmenistan, located 370 km East from Ashgabat on an oasis in the Karakum desert. The city was founded in 1884 as a Russian military and administrative post and today it is a large industrial centre for the natural gas and cotton industries. The ruins of the ancient city of Merv are located in 30 km from Mary.
• Arrival in Mary, lunch
• Drive to Merv - located in 33 km from Mary, it is an ancient city on the Silk Road. The earliest references of Merv were found in the 8-6th centuries B.C. During the XII and XIII centuries it became one of the largest cities in the world with a population of about 500,000 and chroniclers described Merv as “the city that holds the universe." In 1221 Merv was invaded by Mongolian nomads and completely devastated. Even after being rebuilt after the Mongol destruction, the city could never regain its former prosperity.
• Sightseeing in ancient Merv - we will be driving through the State Historical and Cultural Park to see the many remains. They include Bronze Age (2500-1200 BC), Iron Age (1200-300 BC) and other historic urban centers, as well as the post-medieval city. The Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar and Kiz Kala fortress are one of the best preserved monuments of ancient Merv.
• Continue to Chashgyn village - local Turkmen village situated north of Merv, it is a place where we can see demonstration of differents crafts such as carpet making, felt rug making, dying yarns, weaving, broom making etc. Locals will show the milking of camel and demonstrate making traditional instruments.
• Drive back to Mary
• Dinner

Nowruz celebrations
• Breakfast
• Drive from Mary to Ashgabat (5 hrs)
• Lunch
Free time in Ashgabat. You can enjoy walking in the city on your own. A good idea might be visiting Berkarar shopping center - one of the best in Ashgabat. This huge modern mall features stores of all kinds, a hypermarket, nice cafés, restaurants etc. Berkarar is located just in front of your hotel, across the street.
• Dinner

Darwaza Gaz Crater
• Breakfast
• Drive to Turkmen Yayla to take part in Nowruz Holiday Celebration. Visit folk show of five Turkmen regions: Balkan, Ahal, Mary, Lebap and Dashoguz. See by your own eyes ancient traditions of celling carpets, making jewelry and clothes. Show of the woven of carpets, processing of wool. Cooking of traditional meals, watch Turkmen national wrestling. Enjoy an amazing performance of the Galkynysh group on Akhal-Teke horses, showing various tricks and horseback riding. Lunch on sight.
• Back to Ashgabat
• Lunch
• Drive to Darwaza Gas Crater - located in 3,5 hrs ride from Ashgabat, this place is dubbed by locals as "The Door to Hell". The Darwaza area is rich in natural gas. While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists discovered a cavern filled with natural gas. The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70 meters. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn it off. Geologists had hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days, but amazingly Darwaza is still burning today. In the evening, the view of the burning Darwaza is even more spectacular.
• Dinner with a view on the Gas Crater
• Overnight at Tents - every tent's capacity is 2 people, sleeping bags included

Mamun II Minaret in Kunya Urgench

• Breakfast with a view on the Gas Grater
• Drive to Kunya Urgench - located in the North-West of Turkmenistan, in the vicinity of the Uzbek border. It was the capital of Khorezm, part of the Achaemenid Empire. The town had a strategic location on one of the most important medieval paths: the Silk Road which was the crossroad of western and eastern civilisations.
• Sightseeing in Kunya Urgench - the old town contains a series of monuments mainly from the XI to XVI centuries, including a mosque, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a 60-m high minaret. In 2005 the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
• Lunch
• Transfer to the Kunya Urgench/Khodjeili border crossing point. The last kilometer before entering the building of the Turkmen customs must be done in a minibus along with other passengers. The fare is 1 USD, to be paid in cash (price subject to change).
• Arrival in Uzbekistan. 
• Transfer to Nukus - capital city of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan, it is located in a remote area of the country. However, there are at least 2 reasons to come here: Nukus is the gateway to the fast-disappearing Aral Sea and home to the remarkable Savitsky Museum hosting one of the best collections of Russian avant garde art in the world
• Check in at Jipek Joli Inn - a small but very nice medium level hotel located in Nukus city centre, in just 5 minutes walk from the famous Savitsky Museum
• Dinner

Ship cemetery on the bottom of the Dead Aral Sea

• Early breakfast
• Drive to Muynak - once this Karakalpak town was a major port on the shore of the Aral Sea and a center of industrial fishing. However, a massive irrigation project from 1960s aimed to produce large quantities of cotton has devastated the Aral Sea. As the Aral Sea has dried up, fisheries and the communities of Muinak collapsed. Today Muinak is located more than 100 kilometres from Aral Sea's remaining waters and is a symbol of ecological disaster caused by humans.
• Muynak Museum - on the ground floor you can see a small exhibition and watch a video about the Aral Sea disaster. Muynak Fish factory's products (canned fish) are also on display. On the second floor you can see photos of Muynak during its best times when the port was still there and had an annual average catch of 25,000 tons of valuable fish species.
• Explore the bottom of the Dead Aral Sea - today the former lakebed is taken by a new salt-sand desert Aralkum. The salty dust coming from this desert settles onto fields, degrading the soil.
• Discover Ship cemetery - rusting skeletons of abandoned fishing boats put together on the Dead Aral Sea bottom. In its best times the maritime and fishing industry had more than 500 ships on the Aral Sea. But since 1979 the maritime industry has not been functioning and starting from 1984 the Aral Sea has completely lost its industrial importance. From 1961 to 2010 the total area of the Aral Sea decreased from 66,1 to 12,1 thousand square kilometers and the sea's deepest point decreased from 69 to 24 meters.
• Lunch at the “Fisherman House”- real home of a fisherman's family. The house was built at the beginning of the XX century and preserved the original lifestyle and atmosphere of that time
• Drive back to Nukus
• Visit of Savitsky Museum -"pearl in the desert"- or, as the French magazine Télérama called it, "Le Louvre des steppes" is located in Nukus, the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. Opened in 1966, this museum is the life’s work of the Russian artist Igor Savitsky. Today the Savitsky Museum is widely known for its second largest collection of Russian avant garde art in the world (after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg). It hosts also a large collection of archeological objects and folk, applied and contemporary art originating from Central Asia.
• Dinner

Khiva by night
• Breakfast
• Drive to Khiva - called as "The Crown Jewel on the Silk Road", Khiva has a history that spans over two millennia. Once it was an important trading post on the Silk Road, mostly famous for its slave trade. Amazingly, the total area of the Itchan Kala, the inner fortress of Khiva with its defensive walls and surroundings has remained intact up to now. Khiva’s old town is extremely scenic and feels like a journey back in time.
• Arrival in Khiva, check-in at Arkanchi Hotel - cosy 4* hotel with an excellent location inside Itchan-Kala fortress
• Lunch in an old madrasa in the heart of the Itchan-Kala fortress.
• Sightseeing in Khiva - the Itchan Kala fortress is very compact so it is a perfect place for a walking tour. Enjoy several outstanding spots such as the Djuma Mosque, the mausoleums and the madrasas and the two magnificent palaces. Don't miss out Khiva at the sunset - you can enjoy the most spectacular view from the top of the 10-meter high outer wall
• Dinner

Mir-i-Arab madrasa in the Kalyan complex in Bukhara
• Breakfast
• Enjoy free time in Khiva
• Lunch
• Take train to Bukhara - another important stop on the Silk Road, the city has long served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. Bukhara represents the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia the 10th to 17th centuries, with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact. UNESCO has listed the historic center of Bukhara (which contains numerous mosques and madrasas) as a World Heritage Site. In the beginning of the XX century Bukhara was the last capital of the Emirate of Bukhara and was besieged by the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic existed from 1920 to 1925 when the city was integrated into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic.
• Dinner at the restaurant car (at your expense)
• In the evening arrival in Bukhara, transfer to Malika Bukhara Hotel - places you in the heart of the old Bukhara, steps from Kalyan Minaret and Maghaki-Attari Mosque. This is an excellent and well-designed 4*hotel offering a delicious breakfast.

Traditional marriage in Uzbekistan

• Breakfast
• Sightseeing in Bukhara - walking tour in the Bukhara's old town including the famous Po-I-Kalyan architectural complex with the city's highest minaret (46m), Mir-I-Arab madrasa, Samanid Mausoleum, Lyabi Hauz Ensemble, Bukhara's citadel, Bolo Hauz Mosque and many others.
• Lunch in the old city center
• Continue sightseeing in Bukhara
• Take high speed train to Samarkand - undoubtedly the main star of Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities and the biggest highlight of the Central Asia. The city was founded in the VII century B.C. under the name of Afrasiab. In the XIV century the conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), made Samarkand the capital of his Empire and it is during the Timurid period that Samarkand had its most significant development. Samarkand has managed to fire the imagination of travellers over the centuries and one of the main reasons to visit this city is to admire the stunning beauty of the Islamic architecture.
• Arrival in Samarkand, transfer Platan Hotel - this cosy boutique-style 4* hotel serving an excellent breakfast is located in a quiet area of Samarkand, 2,5 km from the Registan Square
• Dinner

Inside the Amir Timur Mausoleum

• Breakfast
• Amir Timur Mausoleum - the resting place of the conqueror Tamerlane who died in 1405. The Tamerlane' Tomb was open by Soviet anthropologists in June 1941. It is said that three elder men warned scientists that the tomb is cursed and something really bad might happen once it would be touched. Two days after the Soviets opened the Tomb, the Nazi Germany invaded Soviet Union without any formal war declaration. The tomb is also known for the largest piece of jade in the world.
• Registan Ensemble - composed of three madrasah (islamic schools) and a big public square in between. The Registan Square was the place where locals gathered to hear royal proclamations and also watch public executions. The Registan Square looks especially spectacular by night
• Lunch
• Ulugbek's Observatory - one of the most sophisticated observatories of the Middle Ages created in the XV century by Ulugbek, the grandson of Tamerlane. The Observatory's site was discovered in 1908 and became probably one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. When completed, the observatory was three stories high but only a small part of it is preserved up to now.
• Shahi Zinde - necropolis complex located in the North-East of Samarkand on slopes, it represents the most important Muslim shrine in the region. This amazing tomb complex contains about two dozen mausolea and a couple of connected small mosques, placed on either side
• Dinner

Siab Bazaar in Samarkand

• Breakfast
• Enjoy free time in Samarkand
• Lunch
• Bibi Khanum Mosque - Bibi Khanum was Tamerlane's favorite wife, her tomb is located in a madrasa complex. By the legend she ordered to build this mosque in honor of Tamerlane's return from India. The mosque was meant to be the tallest building in the city to symbolize Tamerlane's conquest of the world. But a technical error was made in the project which resulted in the gradual destruction of the building. Today some portions of the mosque are completely restored, meanwhile other parts remain in need of further restoration.
• Enjoy Siab Bazaar - one of the oldest bazaars in Samarkand, located close to Bibi Khanum Mosque. Here you can find absolutely everything: ripe fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, spices, traditional oriental sweets, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, as well as a big variety of tea.
• Take high-speed train to Tashkent - the capital city of Uzbekistan, located very close to the border with Kazakhstan. The name “Tashkent” means 'stone city,' and in the past it was a Silk Road hub brimming with aquamarine domes and buzzing bazaars. However, in 1966 a devastating earthquake almost destroyed the city leaving homeless more than 300 thousand people. After the reconstruction Tashkent became quite a typical Soviet city with very little remaining from its ancient past. Today's Tashkent is a mixture of modern new office buildings, hotels, parks and Soviet style apartment blocks. If you want to spend a day in Tashkent we recommend taking a Hop on Hop off bus departing daily from Uzbekistan Hotel located at Amir Timur Square. It is also definitely worth to visit Tashkent Metro - the most beautiful subway in Central Asia.
• Arrival in Tashkent, dinner
• Check-in at Uzbekistan Hotel - ideally located in the heart of Tashkent at Amir Timur Square. This 4*hotel is one of the biggest in the capital and is built in the classic Soviet style with oriental touch.

Tashkent South Railway Station

• Breakfast
• Free time in Tashkent, discover the Uzbek capital on your own
• Departure by flight or by train to any destination of your choice. Tashkent is connected by direct flights with some European cities such as Moscow, Riga, Frankfurt, Paris, London etc. If you want to fly to Asia you can do it with Turkish Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana, China Southern etc. Please contact us if you need help in finding a convenient flight option.