DAY 1 : Arrive in Tashkent
We arrive in Tashkent the capital of Uzbekistan. In order to give enough time for people with different flights to arrive, we will meet at 5.30 pm in the lobby of the hotel. We will then have an introduction meeting with our Journeys To the East Representative followed by a meeting with the spiritual leader. If most of the people arrive by lunch time (we will know it once we have all people flight schedule), we will gather for early meeting and then move to a first short sightseeing of the city (to be continued on day 9). Possible adjustments to the program to accommodate people's needs can be easily done on site.
If your flight arrives from Istanbul at 6.30 am, you can decide to leave your luggage at the lobby and wait for your check-in at 2 pm. If you don't want to wait you can decide to pay for an extra half day use room and breakfast (please let us know at the time of registration). If your flight arrives from Istanbul at 1.30 am you will need to purchase an extra night.
Day 2 : Tashkent – Urgench – Khiva
Morning sitting, as we will have every day. Transfer to the airport, flight to Urgench at 07:00, (1 hour 20 min). Arrive Urgench and transfer to Khiva (30 km). Kiva is the most intact and most remote of the Central Asian Silk Road cities. Here we go back in time to medieval Central Asia. It has perhaps the most homogenous collection of architecture in the Islamic world, immune to time with none of its romantic imagination lost. Khiva is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We will visit amongst many other things the Kunya - Ark, Sayeed Alauddin mausoleum, madrasah Arab–Mukhamadkhan, and the minaret Islom Khodja, the highest one in Uzbekistan. Overnight in the hotel.
Day 3 : Khiva – Bukhara (480 km, 8 hrs)
Today we travel the Silk Road. We depart Khiva and drive to Bukhara. The Great Silk Road routed through Bukhara and Khiva once ran through the Kyzylkum Desert, as the present road does today. En-route stop to enjoy views of the Amu Darya and the desert. Arrive in holy Bukhara, land of 7000 Pirs (teachers) late in the afternoon. Check in and overnight at the hotel. Free time to wander this miraculous city.
Day 4 : Bukhara
We spend the day in Bukhara. We tour some of the sacred sites of this extraordinary city; the center of Central Asian Sufism, the center and home to the Masters of Wisdom and the Naqusbandi path. We make Pilgrimage today to some of the most important places near this city. We visit the tomb of Abduholiq Gijduvaniy (1103–1179) located in the town of Gijduvan, 40 km from Bukhara, who is the Grandfather of the Naqushi order. On the way back to Bokhara we stop to meditate at the burial site of the great Shaykh Sufi Master Ubaidullah Ahrar, who was so influential in JG Bennett’s life. We spend the day visiting many other tombs and holy places in and around Bokhara. Overnight at hotel.
Day 5 : Bukhara
Today is one of the most important days of this journey. We spend a good deal of the day at one of the power points on the planet. We do a silent walking pilgrimage to the holiest ensemble of Bukhara, the burial place of Hazrati Bahouddin Naqshband, the founder of Naqshbandiya Order, located in the village of Qasri Orifon, 7 kilometers from Bukhara. Personal time for meditation at the site, transfer to Bukhara and rest of the day is free for personal meditation and hanging out in the fascinating markets of Bukhara. Overnight at hotel.
Day 6 : Bukhara
Today we tour the enchanting city of Bukhara itself, its many sites, architecture, history and markets. It is the cauldron of Central Asia and the Silk Road. We visit the Chor-Bakr necropolis, a complex located 6 kilometers from Bukhara city in Sumiton village. In the afternoon, sightseeing of Bukhara: Lyabi Hauz Complex, Kalon Mosque and Poi Kalon Minaret, and so much more. Free time in the city. Overnight at hotel.
Day 7 : Bukhara–Khartang–Samarkand (290 km)
Today we drive to Samarkand. En route we visit the memorial complex of Abu Abdullah Muhammad Al-Bukhari and continue to the burial place of Hazret Makhdumi A’zam Dahbediy (1461–1542), a Sufi philosopher, and descendent of Hazret Ali. Arrive Samarkand and check in to hotel. Free time in Samarkand. Overnight at hotel.
Day 8 : Samarkand
Today we visit Samarkand which has often been called the Garden of the Soul, the Jewel of the World, and the center of the universe. The Registan, the heart of Samarkand ranks first in Central Asia as one of the greatest and magnificent works in all the world. We visit the capital of Tamerlane. After breakfast in the hotel, we visit the heart of Samarkand: the complex Khoja Akhror Vali, Khoja al Mansoor al Matrudi, and the Bibi Khanum mosque. In the afternoon visit the magnificent Registan Square (XV–XVII cc), one of the noblest square in all the world; Observatory of Ulugbek, and Samarkand local bazaar. End sightseeing tour with visit to Gur Emir mausoleum, the graveyard of Tamerlane and the Timurids. Overnight at hotel.
Day 9 : Samarkand–Tashkent, (300 km, 2.5 hours)
Continue guided visit in Samarkand. Check-out from hotel at noon. Transfer by bus to Tashkent, to visit the old city: the Khast Imom Complex, where you will see Barakhan madrasah, the mausoleum of Abubakr Kaffal Shosh and the Museum of Koran where the original VII century Osman Qoran written on a deer skin is preserved. Overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 : Departure
Transfer to the airport. Departure to Jerusalem or flight home.
Optional post trip to Jerusalem
Extension to Jerusalem • 4 days/3 nights
Day 1: Meeting Jerusalem
Arrival and transfer to Jerusalem. Check in our hotel. Depending on the time of arrival in Jerusalem, visit to the Armenian quarter and Church. Meeting with the Armenian Patriarch for an Inter faith exchange. After dinner, optional night walk from the towers of the Wall of David around the old Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: The Jewish, Muslim and Christian Jerusalem
Today we visit, explore and do inner work at some of the holiest sites of the three Abrahamic religions. We go to the haunting Western Wall, magnificent ruins of the Temple of Herod. Time for personal meditation. We visit the excavations of the Temple to learn about the Jewish Temple and the life of the pilgrims at the time of Jesus. Visit Shalom Center Jerusalem: meet with the Gen. Director. In the afternoon we walk to the Arabic Quarter to visit, the Al Aqsa Mosque, the third most important mosque for Muslim pilgrimages and hopefully the Dome of the Rock. We move to the Christian tradition, visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which contains the tomb where Jesus was buried and for the faithful rose from the dead. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. One of the most fascinating parts of the trip is the optional night in prayers inside the Holy Sepulcher, which is close in the evening to all visitors.
Day 3: The Judah desert and the life of Jesus
We move on to St. George Monastery for an unforgettable desert walk to an ancient orthodox monastery hidden deep in Wadi Qelt. We visit the place where Jesus was tempted, and the city of Jericho, famous for the sycamore tree and the blind man, both mentioned in the Gospel. In the afternoon we focus on the life of Jesus, visiting visiting Mount of Olives, the Garden of the Gethsemane, the Basilica of Agony, the Chapel of the Pater Noster, the chapel of the Dominus Flevit, and the Virgin’s Tomb. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
Day 4: The Essenes, the Dead Sea and the Abraham hospitality
Breakfast and checkout from hotel unless we book the 4th night. We travel through the vast Valley of the River Jordan. Stop at Qumran, where the famous manuscripts of the Essenes (Dead Sea Scrolls) were found in 1947. The Qumran Monastery of the Essenes JGB spoke about so much in the last year of his life. We take a brief rest at the sparkling Dead Sea, the deepest geological depression of the earth .The plan for the evening will be finalized once the flights schedules are clear. One transportation to the airport is included in the program for possible early morning/morning flights back home.
Early morning flight home.
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