Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel in the morning, and we drive north-east to Gijduvan, about 45 km from Bukhara. The circuit traditionally begins here, with Abdulkhaliq Gijduvani. He was born in Gijduvan, studied with the Sufi master Yusuf Hamadani and died in 1179; the line of the Khwajagan, “the masters”, starts with him. Around his tomb stand a mosque, rebuilt in 2003, and a pool. Facing the shrine is the madrasa Ulugh Beg built in 1433, the third and last of his madrasas after Bukhara and Samarkand, with blue and turquoise glazed brick on its portal.

Gijduvan has its own school of ceramics, known for flower ornament set among geometric patterns. In the town’s best-known family workshop the sixth generation of potters is at work, and their museum holds ceramics from many centres of Central Asia. You see the whole process, from clay to the kiln. Lunch is in Gijduvan, a town known across the region for its fried fish and shashlik.

In the afternoon we drive to Shofirkon district, to Muhammad Arif Revgari. He was born in the village of Revgar in the 12th century, became a disciple of Gijduvani and led the Khwajagan after his teacher’s death. His complex holds the mausoleum, a mosque and rooms for visitors around a garden courtyard.

On the way back we stop in Anjirbog, the home village of Mahmud Anjir Faghnavi. Born near Vobkent, he worked as a carpenter before he became a teacher. His mausoleum stands with a mosque, a pool and a well whose water visitors regard as blessed, in a garden of fig trees: anjir means “fig”. In the evening we drive you back to your hotel.

Good to know: If you like, we stop at the Vobkent minaret, about 40 m tall and built in 1196–1198, on the road between Gijduvan and Bukhara.

Overnight in Bukhara

In the morning we drive to Romitan district, to the memorial complex of Ali Romitani. Born at the end of the 12th century, he was a weaver who kept working at his loom all his life, and he is honoured with the name Azizon, “the venerable”. His teaching passed to his student Muhammad Baba Samasi.

Baba Samasi rests nearby, in the village of Simas. He died in 1354 at the age of 95. Tradition says he foretold the birth of Bahauddin in the village of Qasri Hinduvon. His complex has a mausoleum, a mosque, a well and a garden.

Next comes Sukhar, today Yangi Hayot in Kogon district, the native village of Sayyid Amir Kulal. Kulol means “potter”, and he came from a family of potters. On Baba Samasi’s instruction he took the young Bahauddin as his student and taught him the basics of the Sufi path, the traditions of the Khwajagan and dhikr. He died in 1370 and was buried here. Potters still come to his grave, and after the Gijduvan workshop the day before, the link is easy to see.

In the afternoon we reach the last of the seven: Bahauddin Naqshband (1318–1389), in Qasri Orifon, about 10 km north-east of Bukhara. The complex grew around his grave over the centuries. The khanqah for Sufi gatherings was built under Abdulaziz Khan in 1544–1545, the small brick minaret in 1885; there are two mosques, a small madrasa and the Dahma-i-Shahon, the burial ground of Bukhara’s rulers, and since 2004 a museum has told the story of the order. Since 2023 the complex has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor. From here it is a short drive back to your hotel.

Good to know: On Friday the midday prayer fills the courtyards of Bahauddin Naqshband. If your second day falls on a Friday, we plan the order of the day around it.