(EN) ARMENIAN SPLENDORS

Tour overview

عفوا، هذه المدخلة موجودة فقط في الإنجليزية الأمريكية.

(EN) Day 1/Arrival

(EN) Meet and greet at the airport. Transfer to the hotel. Check in formalities at the hotel. Overnight at a hotel in Yerevan. (-/-/-)

(EN) Day 2/Yerevan Sightseeing Tour (Ararat Brandy Factory, Megerian Carpet Factory)

(EN) After breakfast at the hotel, we will have a morning walk in the pink city of Yerevan. This ancient city is 29 years older than Rome. We will start walking in the most pleasant Republic Square with Government buildings, History Museum and Marriott Hotel surrounding it. In the evening, we can enjoy the colorful singing and dancing fountains. In case of desire we can visit a jewelry gallery, where we can buy exclusive jewelry. The jewels presented are executed in a single copy and are unique. Walking up one of the oldest streets in Yerevan – Abovyan Street – we will appear in the richest avenue in Yerevan – the Northern Avenue with many brand shops, luxurious cafes and restaurants. Our next stop – the Opera and Ballet House and the Swan Lake – face the Northern Avenue. We will enjoy our time in the fascinating weather of the sunny Yerevan while walking around Cascade Monument. If we walk up the “huge staircase” of 500 meters’ height and 50 meters’ width, we can enjoy the wonderful panorama of the city with the spectacular Opera House, Mount Ararat as well as the view to the whole city. Proceed to the Mother Armenia Complex opened in Victory Park, in 1950. The statue is of Armenian three-nave Basilica church shape and has a height of 52 meters. Continue the tour visiting Ararat Brandy Factory to taste delicate Armenian high-quality cognac and learn about the techniques of cognac making. An undocumented anecdote claims that during the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill was so impressed with the Armenian brandy Dvin given to him by Joseph Stalin that he asked for several boxes of it to be sent to him each year. Reportedly 400 bottles of Dvin were shipped to Churchill annually. This brandy was named in honor of the ancient capital Dvin, and was first produced in 1943. Visit Megerian Carpet Factory where we can see hundreds of antique and new handmade rugs and carpets and learn the process of carpet-making. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/-/-)

(EN) Day 3/Yerevan – Geghard Monastery – Garni Temple – Miracle Cave – Yerevan

(EN) After breakfast at the hotel we will explore the top tourist attraction of Armenia: the magnificent monastic complex of Geghard, inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The monastery was first recorded in a document of 1250. Geghard is famous due to the relics, among which the most important one is the spear which had wounded Christ on the Cross presumably brought there by the Apostle Thaddeus. Proceed to Garni Temple. Here we will enjoy the astonishing view to the gorges all around. Garni is a pagan temple built in 1st century, the only survival of the Hellenic epoch in the whole territory of the Caucasus. Set out on an off-road adventure to see the natural beauty of the Geghama Mountains and “Symphony of Stones” in the gorge. During the lunch we can also watch the process of “lavash” baking in the traditional underground oven “tonir”, and (optional*) enjoy the medieval vocal concert. We will drive back to Yerevan with a stop at the Miracle Cave, a miraculous subterranean cave of 21 meters’ depth. After descending 80 stairs we find ourselves in a round hall, in a pavilion decorated with candles. Each person should enter here individually and making a wish he/she should light a candle. As the master used to say, a candle lit here by all means serves its purpose and the wish comes true. It took more than two decades to the Master to build this cave-shrine. This cave is often compared with the Noah’s Ark and considered to be the second ark which is to save the humanity not from flood but from fire. Overnight at a hotel in Yerevan. (B/-/-)

(EN) Day 4/Yerevan – Zvartnots Temple – Armenian Genocide Complex – Vernissage Souvenir Market – Wine and Grape Spa (optional*) – Yerevan

(EN) After breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to the ruins of Zvartnots (7th c.). The latter is also included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A masterpiece of Middle Ages constructed between 643-652 A.D., this temple was an important example of Armenian architecture. It had unique design and architecture techniques employed in its construction that had global influence on architecture. Return to Yerevan to visit Tsitsernakaberd Hill and the Genocide Museum, devoted to the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. During these mass killings more than a 1.5 million Armenians were killed and even more were spread around the world forming a huge Armenian Diaspora. Proceed to Vernissage open air art and craft market, where we can buy a souvenir as a sweet memory from Armenia. After shopping we can go to relax at a unique spa in Armenia (optional*). The grape and wine SPA will give us an opportunity to feel the magic strength of the Ararat valley sweet grape. After sinking into the wine made of these fruit, we will feel the magic properties of the Armenian drink, feel hale and hearty, strong and young. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan. (B/-/-)