L’Chaim Tour of Uzbekistan

Arrival in Tashkent. Our driver will meet you and take you to the hotel. Check-in is available from 14:00. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Your guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel in Tashkent. Your journey through Uzbekistan's Jewish heritage begins with a guided tour of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan and the largest city in Central Asia. Begin by exploring the Old City, home to the Khast-Imam complex. Next, visit the Chorsu Bazaar, and take a stroll through the bazaar itself, one of the oldest and liveliest markets in the city. Continue your tour with a ride on the Tashkent metro, recognised as one of the most beautiful metro systems in the world, to reach the city centre. You will then visit the Tashkent-Bukhara Sephardic Orthodox Jewish Synagogue, one of the oldest working synagogues in the city. Nearby is the Tashkent Jewish religious community "Beth Menachem" (European synagogue), the centre of the Ashkenazi Jewish community founded by European immigrants. This synagogue regularly hosts guided visits and community gatherings. This concludes the guided tour of Tashkent. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Early in the morning we transfer to the local airport in Tashkent for the flight to Urgench. On arrival in Urgench, we transfer to Khiva (30 km). After dropping off your luggage at the hotel, we begin our excursion. Today we discover the legendary city of "One Thousand and One Nights". We will admire the entrance of the Ota Darvoza gate of the citadel (Ichan Qala - the inner citadel), whose architectural monuments were built between the 10th and 18th centuries and remain well preserved to this day. We will see the truncated Kalta Minor minaret, the Mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud, the Madrasah (school of Koranic and social sciences) of Khan Mohammed Amin Khan and the ancient Kunya-Ark Palace. Continuing our tour, we will explore in depth the Madrasah of Mohammed Rahim Khan, the Djuma (Friday) Mosque, the Madrasah with the minaret of Islam Khodja, and the Tash Khauli Palace and the Khan's harem. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your guide at 09:00. Today we will visit the Museum of the German Mennonites of the 19th-20th centuries, which very few people know about, the Shergazi Khan Madrasah, and the Mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud. We will end the visit at the famous wood-carving workshop in Khiva. Free time in the afternoon. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel in Khiva. Then, transfer to Urgench airport to take the flight to Bukhara. On arrival, begin your city tour with visits to the Kalyan Minaret, the Kalyan Mosque, the Miri-Arab Madrasah, the Magoki-Attori Mosque, the Ulugbek Madrasah, the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah, and the trading domes and the Lyabi-Hauz ensemble. Afterwards, take a stroll through the old Jewish Mahalla (Jewish quarter), just a few minutes from Lyabi-Hauz. Visit the House Museum and a family Jewish synagogue, and walk through the narrow streets of the old town, where descendants of the Bukharan Jews still live today. After the visit, enjoy free time around Lyabi-Hauz. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Note: Depending on domestic flight availability, the flight may be replaced by the high-speed train or by car.

Breakfast at the hotel. Begin the day with a visit to the Bukhara Synagogue and the Fayzulla Khodjaev House Museum. Continue to the old Jewish cemetery, where you can see gravestones with Hebrew inscriptions and traditional Jewish symbols. Head to the Ark Fortress, then visit the Bolo-Hauz Mosque, the Mausoleum of Ismail Samani and the Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum. After touring the city, take a short drive to the Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace, the summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara, which perfectly blends Oriental and Russian decorative styles. Transfer to the train station to board the Afrosiyob high-speed train back to Samarkand. On arrival, transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your guide and driver at 09:00. Today we will visit the Mausoleum of Amir Temur (Tamerlane) and the Timurids - one of the most significant architectural complexes of the medieval East is the Gur-e Amir (Gur-Emir) building, located in the south-western part of Samarkand from the early 15th century; Registan Square in Samarkand, a symbol of Uzbekistan and the "eighth wonder of the world". It is a complex formed by three madrasahs: Ulugbek (15th century), Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori (17th century). We will then visit the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built in the 14th-15th centuries by order of Amir Temur and his favourite wife, Bibi-Khanym. We will stroll through the Siab Bazaar. Afterwards, we return to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Breakfast at the hotel. The tour begins with a visit to the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, a magnificent ensemble of mausoleums that once belonged to the nobility of Samarkand. Next, you will explore the Gumbaz Synagogue (Kanesoy Gumbaz), a still-active 19th-century synagogue that has preserved its original vaulted interior and remains an important spiritual centre for Samarkand's Jewish community. You will then visit the Tomb of St. Daniel, a venerated pilgrimage site associated with peace and blessing. You will continue on to the Bukhara Jewish cemetery, with historic gravestones bearing Hebrew inscriptions dating back to the 19th century. Next, visit the Wine-Making Museum at the Khovrenko Winery; its history is closely tied to the winery bearing the Khovrenko name, which is more than 150 years old. We will end the day's visits at the village of Konigil, where you will witness the traditional process of making Samarkand paper from mulberry bark. Transfer to the train station to board the Afrosiyob high-speed train to Tashkent. On arrival, transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast.

Transfer at the scheduled time to Tashkent International Airport. Departure on your return flight. End of our services.