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Donat took us to the old city, historical location. The memorable location was the Hazrati Imam complex and viewing one of the oldest Qurans. Thank you Donat for taking the time out to take us round.
Good introductory visit of Tashkent. Mirovohid is pleasant and professional. Gave us the confidence to go round ourselves and visit some of the locations.
I would like to start by thanking Fayoziddin for taking me and wife round in his car given the wet weather conditions in Samarkand. The Ancient City tour of Samarkand (previously known as Marakand) is a must for any history buff who wants to get a feel for the society, culture annd area prior to Islamic rule. The Afrosiab Museum is a must stop to see and Fayoziddin adds colour to the rich variety of artefacts that have been found in the surrounding area. According to archeological excavations undertaken by Russian, Italian and French archaeologists and scientists, Samarkand was founded much earlier than Greek-Macedonian conquest and already during the epoch of the Akhemenids State (6-4th centuries BC) it was quite developed city. Hence the “age” of Samarkand is assumed to over 2500 years, starting from the origin on the forest hill of Afrosiab, though it is far older than this even. We then moved onto the mausoleum of the Prophet Daniel and the fresh water spring. Finally, we finished our tour at the Ulugbek Observatory which was quite an interesting visit. Fayoziddin provided insights into the successful astronomical charting and the influence the research had on shaping western ideology about space and stars. A fantastic tour and one to book if you want to visit Samarkand for than just photo shots. Thank you again Fayoziddin - we really enjoyed the tour provided!
We had an interesting day with our tour of Samarkand with Fayoziddin. Weather was definitely not on our side as it remarkably wet due to the instantaneous down pours. Fayoziddin did not let this rain dampen are enthusiasm and interest in learning about the history, locations and key players shaped the Samarkand as we know it. His contagious smile, clear speech and humour made easy for the group engage well. Well done, Ilyas and Samim
Bukhara is an enchanting and historically relevant city that has contributed so much to today’s modern culture and society. A centre of spiritual and worldly knowledge (commerce, scientific, astronomical, medical, gastronomy, arts and craft) was brought to life by Hamza. We really enjoyed the tour and Hamza’s insights about the different places of interest gave us an interesting perspective. The tour pace was just right and Hamza allowed the group to split and view each location by themselves. Hamza’s spoken English was very good and the group could understand the key characters and influencers who shaped the location, their stories and relevance of each site in progressing human knowledge. We would like to thank Hamza for a memorable day out into the annals of Bukhara’s time capsule.