Spring in the Stans

Departing 01-Apr-2010 to 14-Apr-2010

Spring is a beautiful season for visiting the 'Stans. It is the time when the ochre landscapes of the desert change to reveal their delicate blooms, when the fruit trees expose their soft blossoms, when the fields become green velvet and when the mountains display their snow caps and cloaks. This tour takes in stunning monuments and cities with UNESCO World Heritage listing as well providing opportunities to sample the rich cultural heritage of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

A coach, and not a camel, will take us along the golden road from Tashkent, the hub of Central Asia to the oasis city of Samarkand. With its monumental examples of Timurid architecture it has inspired lines of wonder from all those who have gazed upon it. It is in marked contrast to Bukhara where the majority of the sights are scattered around the old town and are thus most easily reached on foot. According to a traditional saying Samarkand is the beauty of the earth, but Bukhara is the beauty of the spirit.

Turkmenistan's Karakum desert is home to incredible desert plants as well as the ancient site of Merv and the secrets that are unfolding under the trowels of archaeologists. Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, is like a Las Vegas in the desert. Millions of dollars have transformed it into a white marble city set amongst gardens and trees. Not far from the city is the Sunday desert bazaar, the most colourful of Central Asian bazaars and such fun! Wonderful examples of the nomadic past of the Turkmen clans are to be found. Other storehouses of the richness of the past and present are the National Museum and the Hippodrome (home to the famous Turkmen horses).

After a short flight and a border crossing, the walled, museum city of Khiva provides opportunities for leisurely strolling down its narrow streets. It is tightly packed with minarets, madrassas and mosques. Then onto Nukus to visit the fabulous Savitsky Museum before flying onto the Uzbek capital Tashkent for our return flight to Australia.

 

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