When Tamerlane was born in 1336, it is said that fiery coals flew about in the air, and his hands were filled with blood. Although only a petty tribal princeling, he was determined to carve out a vast empire for himself, and as his power increased, so did his capital, Samarkand. Teeming with envoys, merchants and pilgrims, it became the centre of an empire, which at its peak covered one third of the known world.

This exciting tour along part of the ancient Silk Route from China to the Mediterranean was also followed, among others, by Alexander the Great and Marco Polo. We will stay in comfortable, well situated accommodation as we see the magnificent palaces, mosques, medreses and mausolea that remain as monuments to Tamerlane’s glory, as well as the earlier cities of Bukhara and Khiva in the Khorezm Oasis.