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Uzbekistan - A relaxing few hours painting ceramics . .

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Jan painting her design There were so many highlights on the 2 tours I recently took part in. Isha from Aahilya Holidays really knows how to put a very enjoyable holiday together. Sight seeing, learning about the history of textiles and fabulous workshops for the holiday guests to take part in.  On the first day of our tour, after a busy morning enjoying the sights of madrassahs and a market, we had a wonderful, relaxing few hours painting pre prepared plates at the working studio of Akbar Rahimov.  Alisher, the son of Akbar Rakhimov giving us a welcome talk and outlining the history of this fascinating working studio. Alisher took us through the various rooms of the studio, telling us about the generations of the same family working in this beautiful, airy studio.   A large table was laid up ready for our group with several thin paint brushes each, a pre prepared plate and many small bowls of different glazes. Both groups thoroughly enjoyed this quiet and very relaxing t...

Uzbekistan - let's start at the very beginning . .

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The first Heathrow group - Ruth, Chris, Trisha, Julie, Maggie, Jan and Carla.    So - to begin.  I traveled to, and toured Uzbekistan with Isha and Aahilya Holidays for a month. We traveled with 2 groups, one 23 March to 7th April and the next one 7th to 22nd April. So I had the privilege of visiting each venue and experience twice. There were 14 guest in each group. From the UK, Australia and New Zealand. They were fabulous groups, we had such a great time.  We traveled by coach, airplane, car and train. Each different type of transport offered us a different view of the country.   We all flew into Tashkent, with flights coming in from all over, it took a while for everyone to arrive. Everyone was met at the airport when they arrived and transferred to our very comfortable hotel. On the first night we ate in our hotel, a lot of the guests were tired from traveling. This dinner was important as we met our wonderful guide Khurshid. Little did we know when we firs...
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Me in Registan Square, Samarkand So! I have just got back from 2 x 2 week tours of Uzbekistan with Isha Sharma and Aahilya Holidays. Well, I have been back 2 weeks. It has taken me that long to settle back in after such a remarkable time with 2 fabulous groups. I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed . .  It is a weird feeling. I couldn't believe I was there, standing in front of those beautiful buildings. And when I got home I couldn't really believe I had been. To travel to a place you have always dreamed of visiting, but never, ever thought you would, it really was a dream come true. And it looks as though a few more dreams will be coming true - Isha (owner of Aahilya Holidays) and I have planned all my trips from November 2025 to November 2026. Having spent the last month traveling together, we managed to get everything finalised. Istanbul, India, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Turkey. You can find all the links to the itineraries for all the trips on my new 'Travel' webpage...