May 10 -Newport Beach, CA

                                                         May 10th
                                                Newport Beach, CA
                                                 Home Sweet Home




After such along journey it will be great to come home to the ocean and beautiful sun sets.
No matter where in the world you travel to, home is always the best!

May 8 - Why travel?

                                                 
                                                       May 8 - Why travel?

Well, it might not be fair to pick on poor Baltimore, but the comparisons of Istanbul or Xian to cities in the US are obvious. We will be seeing cities where there has been a continuous civilization for 3,ooo years.Comparing the chimney of a power plant to the Registan in Samarkand is fairly dramatic.  Of course the chimney is attached to the original John Hopkins medical school (circa 1910) and one can argue more lives were saved my modern medicine than religion but that is another debate..

May 7 Istanbul

                     
                                                           Tuesday May 7th
                                                                   Istanbul


                          

                  Today, we will have a chance to relax and maybe venture out for a tour of the old city.

May 6 Tashkent to Istanbul

Day 22

Monday, May 6

DEPART TASHKENT   Very early this morning you’ll be driven to the airport for Turkish Airlines flight TK0371 departing at 0305.  GeoEx arrangements conclude here. 

This is one of the places that the Silk Road ended.  The main terminals were through Aleppo in Syria ( whose bazaar is now being destroyed after 2000 years) and other ports in Anatolia.  The goal was to ship the goods across the Mediterrranian to Rome and other European destinations via the sea rather than continue by land through Istanbul ..

May 5 Buhara to Tashkent

Day 21

Sunday, May 5

BUKHARA ● FLY TO TASHKENT   Enjoy another full day of exploring this fascinating destination according to your interests.  Late this evening you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight to Tashkent where you’ll be driven to your hotel for a short night.

May 4 Bukhara

Day 20

Saturday, May 4

BUKHARA This morning’s visits include Bakhuddin's mausoleum, founder of the Nakshbandi Sufi order, one of the largest in the world.   You’ll also visit the nearby Sitorai Mokhi Hosa, the Palace of Moon and Stars, the summer residence of the former emir of Bukhara. Time permitting, you may also visit the fascinating Chor Bakr Necropolis before lunch in a local restaurant serving the best kebab in the country according to locals.

Return to town this afternoon and have time at leisure to walk about the ancient city. Bukhara was a major trading center on the Old Silk Road and even now it remains one of the best places to shop in the country. Three dome-covered bazaars remain, still occupied by carpet vendors and other merchants. Tim (market) Abdullah Khan, one of the city’s original shopping caravanserais is another traditional space where vendors today still sell crafts and souvenirs. Even if procuring is not an objective, the city is full of amazing artisans, crafts, and moving about you are certain to enjoy local interactions and further acquaint yourself with the city’s rich history. 

May 3 - Bukhara

Day 19

Friday, May 3

BUKHARA   Begin your explorations of Bukhara by walking a very short distance north of your hotel to Labi Hauz, a large pool lined with very old mulberry trees and a perfect spot to have some tea. On one end of the pool is a khanaqa and on the other is a madrasa—both named for Nadir Divanbegi, finance minister under Khan Abdul Aziz in the 17th century. Note the unusual images of herons and a sun with a human face on the madrasa’s portal; Abdul Aziz was a Shi’ite in a heavily dominant Sunni neighborhood and was less influenced by the usual interpretation of the Koranic injunction against portrayal of the human or animal form.

Continue walking to the Ulug Bek Madrasa, one of the oldest theological colleges in the country and one of three commissioned by Ulug Bek, Tamerlane's grandson, and Abdul Aziz Khan Madrasa, one of the last to be built in Bukhara. Continue to the Kalan Mosque, formerly the Congregational Mosque, and its nearby 12th-century Kalan Minaret, the most impressive minaret in Central Asia. Opposite is the 16th-century Mir-i-Arab Madrasa which was closed n 1920 in keeping with official Soviet policy but which like other religious institutions in the Soviet Union was opened by Stalin in 1941, when he needed to get the population behind him during WWII.

Following lunch this afternoon, visit the Arg which houses the 17th-century Friday Mosque. (Please note: in early 2012, a portion of the Arg’s massive outer wall collapsed, and at the time of writing, the area remains closed until they are able to accurately decipher the cause.) Just behind the Arg is a fantastic Zindon that remained in use until relatively recent times and still provides visitors with a fascinating glimpse of what life in a prison would have been like in the Middle Ages. From here, walk to the Bolo Hauz Mosque with its exquisitely renovated ceiling panels, formerly used by the Khans for Friday prayers. Continue on foot to the mausoleum of Ismail Samanidon—one of the best examples of Samanid architecture, and the nearby Chasma Ayub.