Pottery in Uzbekistan

Day 01: Arrive Tashkent – Flt
meeting on arrival assistance and transfer to Hotel Wyndham
overnight

Day 02: Tashkent
morning we shall start our tour by visiting the Museum of Applied Arts – see the Uzbek pottery display. Later depart for Akbar’s Pottery House. We shall have the introduction to Father and son (Akbar & Alisher) we shall go through brief on the pottery designs and origins of pottery in Tashkent region. Later we shall visit the Museum of Akbar’s pottery house – once we have done the local pottery know how we shall be invited to the main workshop where we can take part in the local pottery techniques under the guidance of Akbar the senior. We shall get ourselves acquainted with types of pottery found in the region as Akbar has deep knowledge of pottery making from olden days
Later after the session we shall be served lunch – a traditional pilav cooked in the courtyard of the house
Dinner at local restaurant
Overnight

Day 03: Tashkent/Ferghana – Flt
morning flight to Ferghana – on arrival transfer to Hotel Asia Ferghana – later depart for Rishton. We shall visit the workshop of Master Rustam Usmanov – visit his pottery Museum
a later see his workshop to see his pottery techniques – we shall also see his excellent and exquisite tile which is becoming quite popular and now adorns some important buildings in Uzbekistan elsewhere.
Lunch at the workshop
Later visit Kokand to see the Fort residence of Khan Khodoyar, the last Khan fo Kokand
Khanate. 
Later return to Ferghana
Dinner and overnight

Day 04: Ferghana/Samarkand – Rd
Morning depart for Samarkand – we shall visit Margilan to see the Yodgarlik traditional Silk looms – see the old process of making silk. Later continue via Kamchik Pass enroute picnic lunch
arrive Samarkand in the late afternoon and transfer to Hotel Malika Prime
free time walk around the hotel
Dinner and overnight

Day 05: Samarkand
Full day sightseeing tour of Samarkand – we shall visit Registan Square to see the three
beautiful madrassahs, later proceed to Bibi Khanum mosque, Siyob the Silk Road bazaar
our special visit of Shahi Zinda royal necropolis - See the best of majolica and tile work in
Central Asia – here we see different kinds of tile and decoration on the tombs
Lunch at a local Uzbek House
Afternoon continue sightseeing tour visit Afrosiab Museum – see the beautiful murals, the pottery used in the oldest site of Samarkand, later proceed to Ulugbek’s Observatory and Gur Emir, the mausoleum of Tamerlane
Dinner at local restaurant
Overnight

Day 06: Samarkand/Gijduvan/Bukhara – Rd
morning depart for Bukhara – our first visiting stop will be Gijduvan. We shall have an exclusive visit of Alisher Nazullaev’s workshop with a meeting session with him. He will show us all his methods of pottery making and designing in the work shop. Also we shall be seeing his display and sales center which has been visited by many dignitaries in the past
The workshop is in a big area with a fire blast for firing his pottery
Lunch at his workshop and during this period we shall have an exclusive talk with Alisher
Later depart for Bukhara enroute visit Sirota-i-Mokhkhosa, the summer palace of the last emirs of Bukhara. On arrival transfer to Hotel Omar Khayyam or similar
Dinner at the house of miniaturist Davlat
Overnight

Day 07: Bukhara/Tashkent – Flt
Full day sightseeing tour of Bukhara – we shall visit Lyabikhauz, madrassah Nadirkhon Devanbegi, smaller cupola, the Mogaki Attari Mosque, Tilpak Frushan (hat sellers) madrassahs Aziz Khan and Ulugbek
Lunch at local restaurant
We shall then continue sightseeing visit – Arg Fortess, Balakhauz mosque, Ismail Samanid mausoleum and Chasma Ayub
Dinner at local restaurant
Afterwards transfer to airport for flight to Tasheknt – arrival and transfer to Hotel Wyndham
Overnight

Day 08: Tashkent/Depart – Flt
Full day sightseeing tour of Tashkent visit Hast Imam complex, Barak Khana, Tilla Shaikh Archives.
Later proceed to Chorsu Bazaar, Mustaqlik Maidoni, History Museum and Navoi Theatre
Lunch at local restaurant
Continue with visit of Amir Timur Museum and park and later some free time at shopping area
Dinner at local restaurant
Afterwards transfer to airport for flight to your destination
Assistance on departure

Tashkent:
Akbar’s Pottery House:  Akbar Rakhimov & Alisher Rakhimov is son and father team who are from potters generation of Mukhitdin Rakhimov. They run a workshop which imparts education to school children who come and take part in pottery making class. His workshop is a traditional Uzbek house set on the pattern of ancient Kushan houses with an open courtyard and a veranda. Akbar who is recipient of Uzbek awards in excellence in art is intelligently following in the footsteps of his father by studying the old pottery and ceramics unearthed from various archaeological sites. One of the famous design which he always project is ‘red pottery’ of Kushan period (1^st-7^th AD) he then picks up the famous and old designs on ‘suzzane’ embroidery with an excellent projection into glazed pottery works. He also follows the pottery of Timurid period which is significant with its three dots signifying ‘tiger’ as he was known at that time.
In his workshop we can have ample time to take part in pottery making class – see his sales and museum of pottery.

Ferghana:
Rishton – Rustam Usmanov’s workshop: Rishton is a small town in Ferghana valley and is famous for its potters. Lying not far from the perennial streams Rishton became an ideal spot for the potters as it was easy to procure rich clayey material from the water flow which is a readymade material for pottery making being fine and pure. Rustam Usmanov is a well known master potter – he studied the old traditional Ferghana valley pottery and later followed his own style keeping inview old traditional pottery styles. usually in blue. His works are displayed at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and he well acclaimed for his excellent and minute details on the pottery – he is also one of the leading potter who is excelling in local tile works with careful selection of coloration from traditional old tiles.

Gijduvan: 
Alisher Narzullaev: Gijduvan is a small town located 50 kms on the Royal Road from Bukhara. This traditional town is an old halting station for the Silk Road camel trains which was then a day’s march from Bukhara city. Gijduvan from centuries was an important place which continued down to the last days of Bukhara Khanate. It was here that some very interesting and traditional pots were made since ancient times which were known for its durability and style throughout the region and were prized as gift for far off lands. There is a network of water channels and perennial stream beds which are readymade source of clayey material with kaolin ingredients used for making the best of pottery. These pots were mainly produced as consumption utensils and later became decorative with the passage of time the adoption of metal ware started in the region. However the traditional folk still prefer to use old pottery designs. Alisher Narzullaev is the third generation of potters involved in making the best pottery of the region. He is known for his excellent style and coloration. He also supports a big workshop with all processes of pottery making carried out in the same place.