September 3: Depart the U.S.
September 4: Yerevan
D,R
- Arrive in Yerevan and transfer to the Tufenkian Heritage Hotel.
- Armenia has always had an advantageous geographic location between the great powers of the planet. As an important center of the Hellenistic world, it had constant contact with areas of Asia Minor, the Mediterranean, Iran, Turkey, Russia and Europe.
- Join fellow travelers for a welcome reception and dinner this evening at the hotel.
September 5: Yerevan
B,L,D
- After breakfast meet with Christina Soloyan with the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation. As a freelance journalist she has worked with CivilNet, Online TV, OpenDemcracy, Caucasus Edition and other online media outlets.
- Spend the day exploring the beautiful city of Yerevan, starting with a guided tour of the Armenia History Museum. The present-day capital is Armenia's political, administrative, commercial, and financial as well as cultural and educational center.
- Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Matenadaran, a museum and repository of over 10,000 manuscripts and records dating back to 5th century BC.
- Before dinner meet with representatives from the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women, the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Yerevan,and the Women's Support Center.
- Dinner this evening is at Sherep Restaurant.
September 6: Yerevan
B,L,D
- Depart for a one hour drive to the pagan temple of Garni. Garni is one of the oldest centers of Armenian civilization and was once the summer residence for the Armenian royal family. The funds and many of the artisans came from Rome as payment from Emperor Nero for support against the Parthians.
- Continue to Geghard Monastery, a working monastery just a short distance away. The monastery probably dates back to the 4th century but its superb rock-carved churches were created in the 13th century. Enjoy a special choir performance here in a small chamber with marvelous acoustics.
- Enjoy lunch at Chez Yvette. Discover how the traditional Armenian flatbread, lavash, inscribed in 2014 on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is made.
- Visit the Genocide Museum, where a modern monument has been built in memorial to Armenians who died during the genocide of 1915.
- Meet with Martin Marashlyan, Co-founder and Executive Director of Repat Armenia, an NGO that assists with the resettlement of Armenia by diaspora Armenians. The organization claims about 50,000 have returned to Armenia since 1991.
- Early this evening drive to the Parajanov Museum, dedicated to the Tbilisi-born dissident filmmaker/artist. Explore the museum, which includes artwork that Parajanov did in prison (including fashioning coins from foil lids of food cans and designing stamps of fellow inmates).
- After the museum head to dinner at a local restaurant.
September 7: Yerevan
B,L
- This morning walk to the Blue Mosque, which is among the oldest structures in central Yerevan and the last one standing of the eight mosques that once graced the city.
- From here depart for a visit to the monastery complex of Khor Virap, where St. George was imprisoned in an underground cell for 12 years for preaching Christianity. The views of Mt. Ararat from the church are stunning and the church itself is only a few miles from the Turkish border.
- After lunch at a local restaurant, learn more about Armenia's long history of skilled craftsmanship. Meet with Ara Melkonyan and David Gabrielyan who founded Dalan Crafts Shop with a mission to show the work of Armenian craftspeople to the world.
- Dinner this evening is at leisure.
September 8: Alaverdi
B,L,D
- Depart early this morning for our journey to Georgia.
- Stop first at the Armenian Alphabet Monument—a field scattered with massive, metal letters memorializing the birth of the alphabet over 1600 years ago and located near the final resting place of the man who created the alphabet, Mesrop Mashtots. When Mashtots began working on an Armenian alphabet, it was under great pressure so that it could be used to create a bible for the newly Christian kingdom. To honor his work, Armenian architect J. Torosyan created the stone carvings. Set against the backdrop of Armenia’s Mt. Aragats.
- Stop at the Kurdish village of Reya Taza where most of the residents are Yazidis. The village is home to an ancient Yazidi cemetery with animal-shaped tombstones - unusual ancient stone carvings of horses and riders.
- Most of the 100,000 Yazidis from the former Soviet Union consider Armenia to be their homeland. But in Armenia itself, the community faces a crisis of survival as economic hardship and rural poverty drive them out of the country. Originally a religious minority from northern Iraq, Yazidis came to Armenia in the 19th and early 20th centuries and today they represent 1.2 per cent of the Armenian population. We will learn about the challenges facing the Armenian Yazidis from Said Avdalyan, President of the Association of Young Yezidis, who will meet the group.
- As we continue north pass through two Soviet-era urban constructs: Spitak, a small town rebuilt after an earthquake, and Vanadzor, a city home to several semi-abandoned industrial structures.
- Enjoy lunch in Vanadzor at Marina's Guesthouse.
- After a scenic drive along the Debed Canyon arrive at the copper-mining town of Alaverdi, a quintessentially Soviet mining town close to the Georgian border. Pass through Vanadzor which is surrounded by extensive pine forests and was the site of an ancient settlement in 200 BC.
- Overnight at the Tufenkian Avan Dzoraget Hotel. This simple hotel has been designed to evoke the historical romance and excitement associated with medieval Armenian castles.
- Dinner is at the hotel this evening.
September 9: Tbilisi
B,L,D
- This morning visit the Mikoyan Museum, which is dedicated to the designer of the first Russian fighter jet and his brother, who became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Artyom, the younger brother, co-created (along with his partner Mikhail Gurevich, hence the abbreviation) the generation of MiG fighter aircraft which served the Soviet Union and its allies from World War II until the Cold War.
- Just before crossing the Georgian border stop at the monastic complex at Haghpat, which was founded in 976 and offers some of the best-preserved examples of Armenian architecture. It stands on a high plateau, rising sharply against a backdrop of steep forested slopes with magnificent views of the surrounding landscape. Enjoy the beautiful frescoes here and the stone manuscripts.
- Drive 45 minutes to the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo border. After customs formalities, enter Georgia and continue on to Tbilisi.
- Tbilisi became Georgia's capital when it was moved from Mtskheta in 458. Since then it has always been the most important city in what is now Georgia, commanding the route between east and west Transcaucasia.
- After lunch at Kopala restaurant, visit the Museum of Georgia, which houses an outstanding collection of archaeological finds including gold artifacts and jewelry from pre-Christian Georgia. These pieces were discovered in burial chambers between the 3rd millennium and the 4th century AD. Most stunning are the fabulously worked gold ornaments from the Colchis (western Georgia) from the 8th to 3rd centuries BC.
- On the upper floor visit the Museum of the Soviet Occupation that brilliantly documents the seventy years of the Soviet rule in Georgia (1921–1991). The museum is dedicated to the anti-occupational, national-liberation movement of Georgia and to the victims of the Soviet political repressions of this time. Its most recent exhibits date to the five-day conflict of August 2008 when Georgian tanks attempted to seize back the rebel province of South Ossetia, prompting a punitive pan-Georgian Russian invasion with Russian troops getting as close to Tbilisi as Gori.
- Check-in to the Mercure Tbilisi Old Town.
- Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant near the hotel.
September 10: Tbilisi
B,L
- After breakfast begin the day in Old Tbilisi walking through the narrow streets. Stop in at Sioni Cathedral and Caravanserai. This is the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox Church and home to Georgia's holiest relic, a cross of vine stems and hair supposedly woven by St. Nino, a Roman general's daughter and the woman who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century.
- Stop at a traditional Georgian bakery which bakes the most delicious bread in open ovens.
- Take the cable car to the Narikala Fort area and enjoy magnificent views over the city.
- Enjoy lunch at Chef Saradjeff, where traditional Georgian dishes are prepared by Chef Saradjeff.
- Later today meet with Bryan Gigantino, a Tbilisi-based writer who focuses on Soviet history and post-Soviet politics. He is a co-host of the podcast Reimagining Soviet Georgia.
- Dinner tonight is at leisure.
September 11: Tbilisi
B,L
- Head north today from Tbilisi to visit the charming town of Mtskheta, Georgia’s former capital.
- Drive to Ananuri along the Georgian Military Highway. It is a spectacular journey as the road climbs, crosses and descends the Caucasus.
- Enjoy lunch and marvelous views at the Ananuri Restaurant.
- After lunch, visit the nearby fortress complex of Ananuri – a wonderful example of the architecture of the period. With its crenellated walls and defensive towers seen against the surrounding forested mountains, it is a memorable sight!
- Return to Tbilisi, a drive of about 75 minutes.
- Meet with Sopo Japardize, an American-educated workers' rights activist who is a researcher at the Institute for a Fair Economy and the Chair of Solidarity Network, an independent care workers union in Georgia.
- Dinner tonight is at leisure.
September 12: Tbilisi
B,L,D
- This morning depart the hotel for a 75 minute drive to Gori, Stalin's birthplace. Visit the amazing time capsule Stalin Museum built around the modest home he was born in. At first glance, the museum, with its paintings and statues of the man, might seem to glorify one of the 20th century’s most notorious tyrants. However, it becomes apparent from the mug shots from his early arrests for bank robbery; the recreation of a KGB interrogation room; and the map of Georgia with markers representing victims of his murderous reign, that this is not the case. From his first desk in the Kremlin to his railroad car, the museum uses authentic items to tell the story of a dark time in history.
- Drive 30 minutes to Ateni to enjoy lunch with a local family at a small winery owned by a former Minister of Culture for Georgia.
- Before returning to the hotel meet with Tamta Mikeladze, the Equality Policy Program Director at the Social Justice Center of Georgia (EMC). EMC is an organization working on human rights and social justice, which aims to identify the structural reasons for economic, social, and political inequality.
- Dinner is at Rigi this evening.
September 13: Sighnaghi
B,L,D
- After breakfast meet with journalist Joshua Kucera for a wrap-up discussion.
- Drive to Kakheti, which is one of the Georgian provinces richest in historic monuments. Georgia's economic decline during the 16th century did not affect Kakheti which, because of its proximity to the silk route at Astrakhan, was able to participate in trade of more international dimensions. During this period Jewish, Armenian, and Persian colonies sprang up in Kakheti and enlarged the market town. It is still possible to see this Persian influence in many of the buildings in Kakheti.
- Drive to Shilda winery for lunch. Kakheti is Georgia's chief grape-growing district with each village producing its own kind of wine.
- Continue to the nearby Tsinandali Estate – the estate of the 19th century poet, public figure and Kakhetian Prince, Alexander Chavchavadze. Wander through the grounds that are laid out as a magnificent English park and the family’s home has been beautifully preserved.
- Drive two hours to the famous fortified town of Sighnaghi. Enroute stop at the dramtic site of Gremi, which became the capital of Kakheti in the mid-15th century.
- Check-in to the Kabadoni Hotel and enjoy dinner at the hotel.
September 14: Sighnaghi
B,L
- After breakfast begin exploring Sighnaghi with its 29 towers along the city wall. An important trade route, the ruins date back to the 12th century. At customs houses tolls would be levied on the loads passing through and from these tolls towns along the route would accumulate their wealth and flourish.
- Visit the Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe, which is dedicated to St. Nino, who is buried here.
- Enjoy lunch in the tasting room of the Pheasant Tear’s Winery. This winery is run by the dynamic American artist and wine cultivator – John Wurdeman and his Georgian wife, Ketevan.
- The afternoon and evening is at your leisure.
September 15: Tbilisi
B,D
- After breakfast enjoy a leisurely morning before driving back to Tbilisi.
- Check-in the Mercure Tbilisi Old Tour and enjoy some free time this afternoon.
- Join fellow travelers for a celebratory farewell dinner this evening.
September 16: Depart
B
- Transfer to the Tbilisi airport for flights home.
Trip Price
Per person double occupancy: $7,995
Single supplement: $1,170
Included
- Accommodation in hotels as listed based on double occupancy
- Meals as listed in the program with wine at the welcome and farewell dinners
- Airport transfers in Yerevan on designated arrival day and in Tbilisi on designated departure day
- All sightseeing, activities and speakers (subject to their schedules) as listed with a private bus
- Water on the bus
- The services of local guides in Armenia and Georgia who will travel with the group
- The services of a tour manager who will travel with the group throughout
- Basic gratuity to guide, drivers and tour manager
Not Included
- International airfare to Armenia and from Tbilisi
- Airport transfers outside of designated arrival and departure dates
- Any meals not listed as included
- Drinks with meals other than bottled water
- Trip insurance
- Excess luggage charges
- Any item not listed as included