Itinerary

1. Day 1: Farap - Mary

   • Meet your tour guide upon arrival and start your guided tour.
   • Today, right after breakfast, say goodbye to Uzbekistan as you make your way to the Turkmenistan border Alat/Farap.
   • Upon arrival to the border point, go through customs procedures and continue to drive to Mary province for about 4 hrs. (270km).
   • Have lunch at 12 pm at the local restaurant in Turkmenabat.
   • In the afternoon, visit Ancient Merv. Merv was located at the road crossing of the Great Silk Road and quickly became one of the largest and biggest cities of the ancient world and was one of the most important capitals of Islam along with Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus.
   • Go on a guided tour with your Turkmenistan tour guide to Gyz Gala, Erk Gala, Soltan Gala, Soltan Sanjar Mausoleum, and Ibn Zeid Mausoleum.
   • Continue driving to Mary city, accommodate at the hotel and dinner at the local restaurant.

   Overnight at the hotel.

2. Day 2: Ancient Margush/Gonurdepe – Museum Of History

   • After breakfast, visit the 5th center of civilisation Margush/Gonurdepe. A remarkable Bronze Age civilisation existed here, known variously as Margush, meaning 'lowland', or by the Greek name of Margiana. It has been gradually uncovered since the early 1970s by belated Professor Viktor Sarianidi - the leader of the Margiana Archaeological Expedition. The Bronze Age sites are to be found at or beyond the northern edge of the present-day oasis, on land now desert. Climatic change and progressive desertification caused the abandonment of the area, with the result that the ruins of the Bronze Age settlements are well preserved beneath the desert soils. The Margiana sites seem to have had close ties with those at Bactria, in present-day northern Afghanistan. Sarianidi argues that the Bactria- Margiana complex was a major centre of ancient civilisation and has speculated that Margiana may even have been a birthplace of Zoroastrianism.
   • Have lunch at the local restaurant, then continue with the National History and Ethnology Museum.
   • Drive to Mary.

   Rest and eat dinner at a local restaurant.

   Overnight at the hotel.

3. Day 3: Mary – Sarakhs Border

   • After breakfast, check out of the hotel and transfer to Sarakhs to cross the border Turkmenistan-Iran.
   • Cross the border at 11:00 – 12:00 pm.