Trans-Asian 2021 – ON MOTORCYCLE ALONG THE ANCIENT SILK ROAD

Meeting of the participants at Anek Lines box, Maritime Station, Port of Ancona. Handling of port formalities and boarding on the M / N of the Anek Lines company. Accommodation on board in private cabins. Departure for Igoumenitsa. During navigation, it is possible to use all the facilities on the ship (restaurant, self-service, bar, games room with slot machines, TV room, disco, shops). Dinner and overnight stay on board.

Breakfast on board. Arrival at 09:30 am and beginning of the great adventure that will take you to the borders of the Chinese Empire, along the Great Silk Road.
Departure for Thessaloniki along the E 92. Arrival in the early afternoon and hotel accommodation.
Free dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Alexandroupolis, a city on the border with Turkey and the only port to the east of Thessaloniki lying on the Aegean Sea.
Arrival in the early afternoon. Hotel accommodation and free time for relaxation. Free dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Asia is getting closer and today it will welcome you upon our arrival at its door; reach the cosmopolitan and thousand-year-old Istanbul, a city of incredible charm and history, the gateway between the two continents, Europe and Asia. You will arrive at the hotel in the afternoon and after the accommodation in the rooms you will be able to savor the atmosphere of Ancient Constantinople.
Free dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Istanbul visit day. Departure from the hotel and visit of the Byzantine Hippodrome, where chariot races took place, the Church of Santa Sofia, a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture, commissioned by Justinian to affirm the greatness of the Roman empire and the Blue Mosque, famous for its blue majolica. Lunch in a tourist restaurant. Visit of the Topkapi Palace (the Harem section is optional), sumptuous residence of the Sultans for almost four centuries, whose architecture with magnificent decorations and furnishings testify to the power and majesty of the Ottoman Empire. Visit of the Grand Bazaar, the largest covered market in the world, characterized by a domed roof formed by a maze of alleys and streets. Return to the hotel. Free dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. You resume our motorcycles to leave for the south coast of the Black Sea, to arrive in Safranbolu, a city that takes its name from Saffron and a World Heritage Site for the excellent conservation of the architecture of the Ottoman Empire. Hotel accommodation. Free dinner. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. The crossing of Turkey begins with the first stop in Amasya, the Ancient Amasea where traces of the Ancient Roman Empire are still visible. Arrival and accommodation in the hotel. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer stage that brings us closer and closer to the border with Iran. You will arrive in Erzurum, the capital city of Eastern Anatolia almost on the border with Armenia. Arrival and accommodation in the hotel. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you are approaching the Iranian border to spend the last night in Turkey before crossing the border. Arrival in Dogubayazit and hotel accommodation. Overnight stay.

Asphalt road.
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for the Iranian border between the town of Gurbulak in Turkey and Bazarga in Iran. Meeting at the border with the Iranian assistant who will assist us in handling the formalities of entry into Iran and will continue with you by car to the Turkmen border. Arrival in Tabriz in the afternoon. Hotel accommodation. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay.

Asphalt road.
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to reach the Iranian capital, Tehran. Lunch in a restaurant along the way. Arrival in the late afternoon. Accommodation and dinner in the hotel. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the late morning you will visit the city starting from the National Museum (only the Archaeological part), rich of a vast collection of objects and testimonies of the Achaemenid, Sassanid and Islamic civilizations. Visit to the Golestan Palace, the historical residence of the Qajar royal dynasty located in Tehran. It is the oldest monument in the city, part of a complex of buildings once enclosed by the walls of the historic citadel. Lunch in a local restaurant.
Visit to the National Jewelry Museum which displays one of the most spectacular collections of treasures in the world. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Asphalt road.
Breakfast at the hotel. You leave the capital Tehran to head to the north of the country on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where the best caviar in the world is produced. You will arrive in Babolsar after crossing the mountains behind Tehran (with peaks over 5000 meters) in the afternoon. Lunch on the way. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay.

Asphalt road.
Breakfast at the hotel. You will cross Golestan National Park today for our final stop in Iran.
The park is one of the best preserved in the world with a very rich biodiversity and it is not uncommon to meet the Caucasian Leopard, the Brown Bear and other protected fauna species.
Arrival in Bojnurd in the afternoon. Hotel accommodation.
Lunch on the way. Dinner in hotel. Overnight stay.

Asphalt road.
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure at dawn to head towards Iran - Turkmenistan border. Beautiful and curvy road until you get to the two borders.
PIC NIC LUNCH AT THE IRANIAN BORDER. IT IS NECESSARY TO ARM YOURSELF OF PATIENCE FOR THE LONG WAIT IN THE DISPUTE OF THE FORMALITIES BETWEEN THE TWO BORDERS. IN THE LATE AFTERNOON YOU WILL EXCEED THE TURKMENA FRONTIER BEYOND THE GUIDE AND THE TURKMEN STAFF.
After the border, you will drive for few kilometers to enter Ashgabat, the Turkmen capital. Arrival and accommodation in the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Paved road in bad condition - Maximum attention

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning you will visit the capital. Free lunch. In the afternoon departure for the first of the two stages through which you will cross the Turkmen desert. Arrival at the famous "Gate of Hell" huge hole in the ground from which gas burns perpetually. Overnight stay in tent in the desert. Dinner at the camp and overnight stay.

Paved road in bad condition - Maximum attention

Breakfast at the hotel. The journey across the Turkmen desert continues north to Dasoguz, practically the border with Uzbekistan via Kounya Urgench (Turkmenistan). Also in this case the customs formalities will be long and you need to be very patient. Processing of the entry formalities and continuation to Khiva which you will reach shortly. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay at the hotel.

300 km of good paved road. 150 km of paved road in bad condition

Breakfast at the hotel. You resume our motorcycles to head towards the south of the country and reach Bukhara. Arrival and accommodation in the hotel. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay.
Bukhara was one of the most important cities of the Islamic Transoxiana for a long time, located east of Khorasan, in the desert of Kyzyl Kum (the Red Desert). During the Mongol invasion it was destroyed by Genghis Khan and then fell under the influence of Tamerlane. Thanks to its strategic position on the Silk Road, its economy developed considerably and it became an important religious center in Asia; numerous mosques were built and madrasas still bear witness to a splendid past. Day dedicated to the visit of the city, you can see: the Poi- Kalon complex, the square separates the Mir-I-Arab madrasa and the KalomJummi mosque. Visit of the Kalon minaret (in Taijk: large) and of the three covered bazaars: TaqiZargaron, TaqiTelpakFurushon and TaqiSarrafon, the Magok-I-Atori mosque, where you can admire in the same space the remains of a Buddhist monastery, a temple and a mosque, the Nadir Divanbegi madrasa, built in 1630 amd the Kukeldash madrasa, one of the largest Islamic schools in Central Asia. Lunch in a restaurant. Continuation of visits with the Ark fortress, a city in the city, as old as Bukhara, home of the rulers of Bukhara for a millennium, the Bolo Hauz mosque, the IsmoilSamani mausoleum, built in 905 is one of the most elegant buildings in all of Central Asia .

Asphalt road in medium good condition

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure early in the morning. Samarkand is the third largest city in Uzbekistan; it is one of the oldest cities in the world and was also the richest city in Central Asia for its location in the center of the Silk Road. For most of its history, Samarkand was part of the Persian Empire, later becoming a splendid main city of the Tranxoxiana under Tamerlane and capital of the country for 40 years under Ulugh Beg. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Day dedicated to the visit of the city: the Gur Emir (in tajik: tomb of the emir), a mausoleum dedicated to Timur and his descendants (15th century), the Registan square, the Khanym mosque (15th century) and the Siab market , the necropolis of the rulers and nobles of Samarkanda, ShakhiZinda (the living king), the Ulugbek observatory (1420). You can admire the remains of a large astrolabe for observing the position of the stars, and the Afrasiab ruins with the museum. Lunch in a restaurant and tasting of local wines. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Paved road in good condition.

Breakfast at the hotel. You will leave towards the east to cross the border near Panjakent to enter Taijikistan !!! Arrival in Dushambe the capital in the afternoon and hotel accommodation. Free time available. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Paved road in bad condition with easy dirt sections.

Breakfast at the hotel. THE ADVENTURE ALONG THE PAMIR HIGHWAY STARTS TODAY !!! Departure for the Pamir plateau following the Highway M41 via Tawildara and Khaburabad Pass ... a variety of languages, cultures and traditions will accompany us to China. Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay at the hotel.

Paved road in bad condition with easy dirt sections.

Breakfast at the hotel. Following the banks of the Panji River, today's road across the Pamir plateau runs along the Afghan border (the longest border in the world between Afghanistan and Taijikistan) and you will be able to perceive the enormous differences between the two countries. ... You will drive along the military zone called GBAO with a permit issued by Italy.
Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight stay at the hotel.

Paved road in bad condition with easy dirt sections.

Breakfast at the hotel. You turn east towards the Murghab valley, located at 3000m high, up to the city of Murghab, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan region, located at 3650m in elevation and surrounded by the highest peaks of Pamir. Dinner and overnight stay in Guesthouse.

Paved road in bad condition with easy dirt sections.

Breakfast in Guesthouse. Today's stage between the peaks and glaciers will simply leave us breathless and the road will take you through the White Horse Pass (4,655 m) to the spectacular Karakul lake, hidden among the arid plateaus of Pamir. Dinner and overnight stay in Guesthouse.

Paved road in medium-good conditions.

Breakfast in Guesthouse. The road becomes a little more demanding but you will be rewarded by the splendor of what surrounds us. Today you will pass the Taijiko border at the Kyzyl-Art pass and after 10 km you will cross the Kyrgyzo border to arrive at the village of Sary Tash where you will spend the night before tackling the Chinese border. Dinner and overnight stay in a local home.

Paved road in medium-good conditions with easy dirt sections.

Breakfast in Guesthouse. You leave for the north of the country, the ancient kingdom still inhabited mainly by nomads. The road takes you through the Taldyk Pass (3,620 m.) up to Osh, the ancient capital of Kirgyza where you will arrive in the early afternoon. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Paved road in good condition.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure towards North East to arrive on the shores of Lake Toktogul. Stop at the village of Uzgen, the ancient capital of the Karakhanid Kingdom. You will be able to admire the ancient Minaret and the remains of the caravanserais of the Ancient Silk Road. You will set off again through the central Tien Shan mountain range along the wonderful Chychkan Gorge Canyons. Arrival in the afternoon. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay.

Good paved road.

Breakfast at the hotel. Last stop of our incredible adventure along the dream of the Silk Road. Continuing along the roads of the central chain of Tien Shan you will reach the capital Bishkek.
After hotel accommodation, in the afternoon you will visit the capital. Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning you will go to the customs warehouse for the delivery of the motorcycles that will be sent back to Italy. (arrival in Italy 15 days after the return approx.). Rest of the day at leisure for relaxation and to savor the adventure ended.
Dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight stay.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport for the return flight to Italy.
Arrival in Italy in the evening. End of services.