Bukhara
- City-museum, with about 140 architectural monuments
- Located on the Silk Road, the city has long served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Itchan Kala
- Old town retains more than 50 historic monuments and 250 old houses, dating primarily from the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries
- Built in 10th century, some of which was rebuilt in 1788-1789
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Samarkand
- One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia
- Evidence shows human activity in the area from the late Paleolithic era
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Shah-i-zinda
- Includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings from as early as the 9th century
- Name of the necropolis is from a legend that the cousin of the prophet Muhammad was buried there. He was beheaded for his faith, but he took his head and went into the deep well (Garden of Paradise), where he’s still living now.
Registan
- Heart of the ancient city of Samarkand
- Was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, heralded by blasts on enormous copper pipes and a place of public executions.
- Framed by three madrasahs (Islamic schools) of distinctive Islamic architecture.
Gur-e-Amir
- Mausoleum of the Asian conqueror Timur
- Importance work of Persian-Mongolian Architecture
- Built originally in 1403
- Has been heavily restored
Kaylan Minaret
- Part of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex
- Built in 1127 to summon Muslims to to prayer 5 times a day
- In war, warriors used the minaret as a watchtower to lookout for enemies
- A hundred years after its construction, the tower so impressed Genghis Khan that he ordered it to be spared when all around was destroyed by his men
Costs
flight $1,177
food $15/day x 7 days = $180
hotel $38/day x 5 days = $190
TOTAL for whole itinerary $1,547
