Silk Route Odyssey: Caravan across Uzbekistan

Silk Route Odyssey: Caravan across Uzbekistan
On this epic 15-day journey across the ancient country, guests discover an array of UNESCO Sites, explore the lush Fergana Valley, visit a silk master’s home, overnight in a yurt camp, ride camels in the desert, dine with a family in their traditional Samarkand home, and visit assortment of ancient sites and museums. For more information on this Silk Route Odyssey slated for September 8-22, 2017, visit https://www.mircorp.com/trip/silk-route-odyssey-caravan-across-uzbekistan/ or call MIR Corporation at 800-424-7289.

Days 1-4: Tashkent, Fergana Valley

From Tashkent, guests drive to the fertile Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan’s heartland. Bordered by the Tien Shan Mountains, the valley is an oasis of cotton fields and melon plantations, dotted with ancient villages distinguished for their silk production and ceramic tiles. Alexander the Great founded a city here in 329 BC.

Days 5-7: Samarkand, Shakhrisabze

The tour continues to Samarkand, the grand capital of the conqueror Tamerlane, where guests admire the grace of the blue-tiled Registan and visit Ulug Bek’s observatory. UNESCO-listed Shakhrisabze and White Palace are other highlights.

Day 8: Navoi, Nurata, Kyzyl Kum Desert

Explore the vast Kyzyl Kum Desert, whose red sands protect the remnants of Alexander the Great’s ancient well system. Spend the night in a yurt camp, relaxing around a campfire under a dome of stars with a Kazakh musician sweetening the mood even further.

Days 9-15: Bukhara, Khiva, Nukus, Tashkent

Visit Bukhara’s UNESCO-listed ancient city center, a maze of mud-walled homes, mosques and stone bazaars. Stop in Khiva, the last great oasis on the northern caravan route. Then drive to Nukus, capital of the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan, to admire the fabulous collection of avant-garde Russian art rescued from the Soviets. Fly from Nukus to Tashkent where the odyssey concludes.

MIR Corporation, whose name means "peace" and "world" in Russian, has specialized in Russia (and neighboring countries) since 1986. Offering scheduled and custom journeys to Russia, along the Trans-Siberian and across the Silk Route, MIR's Seattle-based experts design imaginative trips that take travelers far from the familiar, and work closely with local affiliates in Western Russia, Siberia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan to carry them out. MIR has twice been named one of National Geographic Adventure's "Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth," and is a preferred operator for museum, alumni and special interest organizations across the country. https://www.mircorp.com