Route: Samarkand—Shakhrisabz—Samarkand
Overview
Avoid the hassle of renting a car to see a beautiful landscape and historical monuments beyond Samarkand with help from 7 hours a day tour which includes transport from Samarkand, local guide in Shakhrisabz and entrance tickets to the monuments.
Beyond Samarkand, the road to the south, through Zarafshan Range, a Pamiri spur, towards the Takhtakaracha Pass. Along this major Silk Road branch marched the armies of the Greats, Alexander and Amir Temur, en route to India. In 1395 Amir Temur ordered a palace and garden built here, between his imperial capital and his birthplace Shakhrisabz, 90 kilometers south. The road passes through villages, resting in the shade of white acacias, Persian walnut, pine and plane trees. The peak of the pass is more than 1620 meters in elevation and in a clear day after the peak of the pass there is a spot of fine panorama of the town Kitob of Kashkadarya province.
The sightseeing in Shakhrisabz city:
Ak Saray Palace (“a white palace” in Uzbek) built in 1380-1404. Amir Temur gathered its craftsmen to his hometown to build his greatest palace, similar in structure to Samarkand’s Bibi Khanum Mosque. The name Ak-Serai (White Palace) symbolizes his noble descent, not the dominant colour, for blue, green and gold patterned the vast mosaics.
Statue of Amir Temur— there are three huge statues of Temur: one is in Samarkand, one is in Tashkent and the third is in his hometown Shakhrisabz in standing position. The bronze statue weighs 20 tons and 9 meters high built after the Independence (1991).
Complex of Dor-us Siyadat (“place of sadness” in Uzbek) from XIV century. Itarose on the death of his eldest and favorite son Jahangir, killed in 1375 (aged only 22). When another son, Umar Sheikh, joined Jahangir in 1394, Temur even built himself a crypt.
Dor-ut Tilavat (“place of praying” In Uzbek) from XIV-XV centuries, contains the Kok Gumbaz Mosque (1435) built by grandson of Temur Mirzo Ulugbek, the mausoleum constructed by Amir Temur in 1373-1374 for Sheikh Shamseddin Kulyal, a Sufic leader and spiritual advisor of Temur’s father , Taraghay.
Tour starts at 09:00 (starting time can be change by request) from your hotel / airport / railway station in Samarkand. (Please contact us to let us know the exact pickup location for the tour)
Total duration of the tour is 7 hours which includes driving to Shakhrisabz and back, also lunch time.
