Deserts & Domes, Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan

Eight days tracing a stretch of the Silk Road through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, from blue-domed cities to desert ruins and marble monuments. It's a trip built around contrast — old trading cities, empty desert, and a capital that looks like nothing else in the region.

You'll spend time in Samarkand and Bukhara, walking through mosques and madrasahs that date back to the Silk Road's height, then cross into Turkmenistan for the long drive across the Karakum Desert to the ruins of Merv, once one of the largest cities in the world.

The trip ends in Ashgabat, known for its white marble buildings and outsized monuments rising out of the desert — a strange, striking close to the journey.

What you'll do

• Walk through the mosques and madrasahs of Samarkand and Bukhara
• Cross the Karakum Desert between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
• Explore the ancient ruins of Merv
• See the marble architecture and monuments of Ashgabat
• Travel through two countries rarely covered on a single trip