Land of Ancient Empires

Day 1: Arrival - Ashgabat

Your tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport and send to the hotel.

Meals: X / X / D

Accommodation: Sport Hotel or similar option.

Day 2: Ashgabat - Mary - Ashgabat

Breakfast in the hotel. Transfer to the airport, for a domestic flight to Mary. (~40 mins). Arrival. Meet with a driver & guide and move to Ancient Merv via Mary with an accompanying guide (UNESCO). Discover historical park with Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum, Mohammed bin Said Mausoleum, Medieval castles – “Kesk” fortresses (6-7 centuries) and others. Return to Mary. Visit the History Museum of the Merv region. Transfer back to the airport. Return to Ashgabat by the closest flight.

Meals: B / L / D

Accommodation: Sport Hotel or similar option.

Day 3: Ashgabat

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Ashgabat countryside for visit Navruz celebration near Ashgabat to observe Turkmen traditions and customs, cultural shows, visiting: Anau Mosque Ruins; Akhal Tekin horse stables. Transfer back to Ashgabat. Resting time in the evening.

Meals: B / L / D

Accommodation: Ashgabat Hotel or similar option.

Day 4: Ashgabat - Darwaza

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Darwaza with sightseeing en-route: Anau Mosque Ruins, Akhal-Teke horse stables and Sunday Bazaar; 2 small craters with mud and water. Continue to Darwaza crater and change from the asphalt road to the Karakum desert track, continue 10 km deep inside. In 1971 geologists accidentally found an underground cavern filled with natural gas. To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided to burn the gas. Geologists hoped the fire would go out in a few days but it has been burning ever since. Locals have named the cavern The Gate - Darwaza. The views are impressive, especially in sunset and night when the mild sunlight and burning crater evoke incredible and ambiguous feelings.

Meals: B / L / D

Accommodation: BBQ dinner and overnight in a Yurta.

Day 5: Darvaza - Kunya-Urgench - Ashgabat

Breakfast in the hotel. In the morning transfer to Kunya-Urgench. Start sightseeing tour with visiting: the founder mausoleum of Sufi sects: Najmuddin Kubro (Persian) - (Shaykh Ab al-Jann b Ahmad ibn 'Umar) was a 13th-century Persian Sufi from Khwarezmia, the founder of the Kubrawiyya or Kibruyeh Sufi order, influential in the Ilkhanid and Timurid. His method, exemplary of a "golden age" of sufi metaphysics, was related to the Illuminism of Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi as well as to Rumi's Shams Tabrizi; The mausoleum of Mongolian princess Torebeg-Hanym (XII-XIV centuries); Minaret Mamun (X-XI centuries); Minaret Kutlug-Timur (XII-XIV c, the highest minaret in Central Asia - 67m height); Mausoleum Kyrkmolla (II in BC - III A.D.) - The sacred hill Kyrk Molla, “40 mullahs” in Turkic, is found in Kunya-Urgench. According to a local legend, during the Mongol invasion, 40 scholars who lived in the library began to pray for the salvation of the priceless manuscripts, stored there. When the enemy approached, the library tipped over and went underground; Mausoleum Arslan II (the oldest building in the city - date of its bookmark is roughly estimated by XI century). Moving to Dashoguz. Transfer to the airport. Flight to Ashgabat.

Meals: B / L / D

Accommodation: Ashgabat Hotel or similar option.

Day 6: Ashgabat - Airport

Breakfast at the hotel. Meet with your guide & driver at the hotel's lobby and start excursion in Ashgabat: Ertogrul Gazy Mosque, Independence Park with Monument of Independence (it's a 118 m column that considers the highest building in the country), Neutrality Arch - a unique composition that rotates slowly after the sun. National Museum, where you can see more than 166 unique expositions from Ancient Merv and Nisa. A trip to ancient Nisa (18km from Ashgabat) that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit the ruins of the ancient city (the date of foundation of the I millennium BC - I millennium BC). Return to Ashgabat. Visit en-route Turkmenbashi Mosque-Mausoleum. It's considered the biggest in Central Asia (10 thousand people). There're beautiful gardens and fountains near the mosque.

Meals: B / L / X