THE SILK ROAD was the greatest trading network in the ancient world connecting Asia to Europe. Along a vast network of land and sea routes, precious commodities like gold, spices, teas, and herbal medicines, new ideas, and artisanship were transported over 4,000 miles from Xian to Europe. Populations moved and mixed with these routes bringing new belief systems, languages, literature as well as arts and crafts and the specialized knowledge to create them.

Join Kathleen Fung and local experts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan along the Central Asian Silk Road. Follow in the footsteps of Tamerlane and early explorers to the legendary cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, where stunning domed mausoleums and magnificent mosques lie preserved in glory. Explore the resurrected city of Khiva, formerly the capital of the ruthless Khans, whose passion for building magnificent madrassas was overshadowed by their cruel and barbaric treatment of the people they ruled and the slaves they bought, sold, and tortured. Walk back in time at the archeological site of Nissa, the capital of the Parthian Empire mentioned in the Zend-Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrianism. Feel the vastness of the city, which included a royal fortress, treasury, sun temples, mausoleums, an underground karez, and a family residence of the kings.

Just like ancient explorers and tradesmen, we will meet diverse ethnic people as we travel through Central Asia starting with Kazakhstan’s long history of nomadic Turkic people from today’s Mongolia and Northern China. Its neighbor Kyrgyzstan is known for its wealth of nomadic traditions. We will learn about each country’s cuisine, which was influenced by so many different regions of the world from the Middle East, China, Arabia, Turkey, Africa and Russia, even nomadic people. From our encounters with the local people, we will learn about their everyday lives, the traditional clothes they wear, body adornments, and precious art and crafts unique to each culture.

Artisanship is one of the highlights of Kathleen’s journey. For this aspect of the trip, she asked long-standing friend Raisa Gareeva, the first woman to open an independent travel company in Uzbekistan after Russia decentralized in 1997, to arrange private meetings for our group with select master artisans of textiles, embroidery, pottery, paper, and other arts. For over twenty years, Raisa has organized and brought master artisans from Uzbekistan to the Sante Fe Folk Art Market, which attracts collectors from all over the world.

The trip is well balanced with a variety of experiences and longer stays in key cities along the Silk Road. For the comfort of our clients, Far Fung Places has included all four-star hotels and a comprehensive meal program.

Initially Kathleen Fung wanted her favorite national guide Azat to travel with her through all the Stans, but as the program expanded in length and price, Kathleen opted to include local experts in each country to minimize price increases. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, we will be accompanied by our Raisa’s very reliable partner Sergey Dubovik, who is an expert on both countries and has worked with Raisa for nearly two decades. In Turkmenistan, our group will be accompanied by Artyom Saribekov, Raisa’s partner in Turkmenistan, and ‘the’ expert on his country. Kathleen Fung knows and has worked with these country experts on previous trips to Central Asia.

Please inquire about our day-to-day itinerary for more details.

Land/Air Cost