The Silk Road

Day 1, Monday: Urumqi
Arrival at Urumqi Airport by 12:00 P.M.
At 2:00 P.M. we shall drive to the Heavenly Lake, hidden in the mountains above Urumqi. The lake gets its name from the blue color of the water, which reflects the glaciers on the mountains which surround it. In our travels around the lake we will meet nomads who live near the lake and make their livelihood from it. Later we will return to Urumqi.

Seen on the way to the Heavenly Lake

The Heavenly Lake

Day 2, Tuesday: Urumqi – Turpan
We leave Urumqi and travel to Turpan which is situated 155 meters below sea level, the lowest place in China and the second lowest in the world after the Dead Sea. The Turpan plain is the warmest place in all of China and maybe in the world. However an amazing engineering system transformed it into a desert paradise that gave rest and relaxation to travelers on the Silk Road and enabled it to become a center to raise grapes, watermelons, and melons. We will visit the Karez system that has brought water from snow capped mountains and we will visit the vineyards that are watered by it. We will also visit the Emin Minaret.

Day 3, Wednesday: Turpan- GaoChang
After breakfast, we will visit the ancient city of GaoChang that was established by the Eastern Han Dynasty. Located in the Gobi Desert, in the 14th century wars broke out between the warriors of Geghis Khan and the local inhabitants and the city was destroyed. In the evening, we will visit the night market.

Gao Chang Buddhist Temple

Day 4, Thursday: Turpan- Urumqi- Kashgar
Today we will make our way back to Urumqi and will fly from there to Kashgar. Kashgar, also known as Kashi, is the center of the Uyghur culture. At this famous crossroad, the merchant paths of Central Asia crossed those coming from China and with those traveling southward many through the Pamir Mountains- to the Indus Valley and the Indian sub-continent. The riches that flowed through the city enabled the city to become the center of Uyghur arts.

Day 5, Friday: Kashgar
Today we visit the city and the surrounding sites. We will wander in the alleys of the old city, with their colorful mix of homes, workshops, markets, and eateries. We will visit the impressive burial place of Abakh Hoja and the Idaka Mosque, the largest in all of China. Afterwards we return to our hotel to prepare for Shabbat.

Abakh Hoja Tomb

Day 6, Shabbat: Kashgar
In addition to tfillot and Shabbat meals we will take a walk in the vicinity of the hotel.

Day 7, Sunday: The Kashgar Market- Tashkent
This morning we will wander, take photos, and experience the Sunday market. The well-known market of Kashgar has been one of the largest and best known on the Silk Road for hundreds of years. People converge from the entire area to buy and sell sheep, donkeys, cows, rugs, cloth, knives, work implements, and more. Later we will fly to Tashkent.

At the Kashgar animal market

Day 8, Monday: Tashkent
After breakfast, we shall go out for a tour of Tashkent, “City of Stone.” We will see the modern city that was built in Russian style after the large earthquake in 1966. We shall see the impressive statue of Amir Timur, the monument that commemorates the earthquake, the Parliament buildings, Independence Square, and the Opera House. We will visit the Museum and Library of the Quran and the Museum of Fine Arts. We will see some of the railroad stations that themselves are like art museums made of marble and granite.

Mosque in Tashkent

Day 9, Tuesday: Samarkand
Today we will travel to Samarkand. When we arrive, we will see the city that is more than 2500 years old. Wide boulevards, but not too wide, blue domes on Madrassas and Mosques. More than anything, it is the city of Tamerlane or “Timur the Lame,” the king who established an empire that stretched as far as Delhi, Baghdad, Moscow, and Constantinople. We will visit “Guri Amir,” burial place of the ruler- the burial area of the Timurid Dynasty, and we will visit the well-known city market. At the end of the visit, we will travel to Samarkand. In the evening, we will go out to see the Samarkand Theater of Historical Costume.

At the Ulugbek Museum

Day 10, Wednesday: Samarkand
Today we continue our visit to Samarkand. We will visit the Ulugbek Observatory that was the most advanced in the middle ages and the nearby small museum. We will continue on to the Afrasiyab museum and to the complex of buildings of Shah-i-Zinda, which is an extensive mausoleum of historical figures of Samarkand. We shall end with a tour among the tombstones of the Jewish cemetery and with a visit to the home of the Jewish gentleman Abram Kalantarov that now serves as a museum.

At the former synagogue, now museum owned by Mr. Abram Kalantarov

Day 11, Thursday: Samarkand-Gijduvon-Bukhara
This morning we shall travel to Gijduvon which is about 50 kilometers from Bukhara, We will visit the Center for Ceramic Art of the Narzullayev family who are known worldwide. The center has become a point of interest where heads of state visit. We shall continue on to the city of Bukhara, built in a desert oasis and thought of as the most beautiful of the cities on the Silk Road. The sites of Bukhara attest to 1000 years of a rich history. We shall see the mausoleum of Ismail Samani one of the oldest Muslim buildings in the world and the Lyab-i Khauz which is the area around one of the last remaining ponds that was part of a many branched system of canals and reservoirs that have been central to the city of Bukhara.

Day 12, Friday: Bukhara
After breakfast we will go out to see beautiful Bukhara, one of the important stops on the Silk Road. We will visit the Ark Fortress that served as the winter palace of the Emir. We will continue on to visit the famous Poi Kalyan Minaret that was known in the past as the tallest structure in the world, and beside it, the Mira Raj Madrassa. We also will see the minaret from which Jews were thrown if they did not consent to convert to Islam. We will wander through the local markets and will visit the Jewish quarter: the synagogue and the school. We will view the city from the top of a fortress. We will return to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. Davening, and our Shabbat dinner.

Bukhara

Day 13, Saturday: Bukhara
Tfilot, Shabbat meal, and a walking tour in the area around the hotel.

Day 14, Sunday: Bukhara-Khiva
Today we will travel to Khiva, the youngest of the cities that sprung up on the Silk Road in Uzbekistan. The city is located at an oasis in Khorezm. The city is divided into two parts, one part is within the city walls which were built in the 18th century and inside one finds the ancient city. The other, the new city, is located outside the walls. Today we will walk through the old city. We will enter through the main gate and we will see the Madrassah of Muhammad Rahim-khan that today is a hotel. We will proceed to the Mausoleum of Pakhlavan Mahmoud.

Day 15, Monday: Khiva- Tashkent
Today we will continue our tour in Khiva. We will go to the central square and see the large Khan Palace. Before sunset, we will arrange a walk on the city walls and enjoy the colors of the sunset on the city. After dinner, we will drive to the airport in Urgench and take off for Tashkent.

Day 16, Tuesday: Tashkent
Today we will complete our tour of Tashkent. We will visit the Navoi Theater Square, home of the theater, the opera, and the ballet that were built during the second world war by the Japanese prisoners.

Day 17, Wednesday: Tashkent-home
Our special adventure has ended and we return home with fond memories!

More details are available at the Kesher web site