etnoarmenia - Ferien

ETNOARMENIA
TOURS, TRAVEL, INCENTIVES
WONDERFUL АRMENIA
8 days / 7 nights tour package
Etnoarmenia Tours
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EtnoArmenia Tours
www.etnoarmenia.com
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ETNOARMENIA
TOURS, TRAVEL, INCENTIVES
TRAVEL PROGRAMME
Day 1: Yerevan arrival – Transfer to hotel
Late arrival at Zvartnots International Airport where, after customs
formalities, you will meet the guide for the transfer to the hotel.
Overnight in Yerevan.
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EtnoArmenia Tours
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ETNOARMENIA
TOURS, TRAVEL, INCENTIVES
Day 2: Yerevan (B/-/D)
After breakfast, the tour of the city of Yerevan starts with a visit of
the State Museum of Armenian History, one of the best museums in
the former Soviet Union, which will give an idea about the history
and culture of Armenia, through an exhibition of more than 400,000
items, covering a period starting in 3-2 millennium BC to the
present day, with a collection of cuneiform inscriptions, frescoes,
pottery and figurines, from the Armenian civilization of Urartu
through the Greek-Macedonian, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman,
Sasanian, Byzantine, Arab and Seljuk civilizations to modern
Armenia. The tour goes on with a visit of the Armenian Opera
Theatre and with the huge complex of Cascade, a giant staircase
still under construction, whose construction began in 1970 on a art
nouveau style project of the beginning of XX cen. by Alexander
Tamanyan, the architect who planned the urbanization of the city of
Yerevan. In the year 2000, Gerard Cafesjian, an art collector of
Armenian diaspora, financially contributed to finish works and
donated several sculptures by contemporary artists among which
stands the sculpture of “The cat” by Botero. Continuation of visits with Victory Park, home to the huge
statue of Mayr Hayastan (Mother Armenia), from where you can admire the best view of the city. Visit of
Matenadaran, the museum of ancient manuscripts, where you will admire the exhibition of thousands of
finely drawn manuscripts. Visit of the memorial to the Armenian
Genocide on the hill of Tzitzenakaberd (Fortress of the Swallows) a
moving complex dedicated to the one and half million Armenians
died at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1915. After the visit the
tour goes on with the largest distillery of Armenia, where is still
distilled the brandy which used to be the favorite of Sir Winston
Churchill. Return to the hotel and time to relax or to explore the
city at will. Dinner at a local restaurant and overnight.
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ETNOARMENIA
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Day 3: Yerevan – Garni – Geghard – Echmiadzin – Zvartnots – Yerevan (B/-L/-/)
After breakfast, departure towards Kotayk Region to visit the
temple of Garni, a pagan Hellenistic temple of the first century AD
and the only one to survive after the Christianization of Armenia in
the fourth century AD. After the visit, a short trip leads to the
monastery (UNESCO World Heritage) of Geghard, probably the
most beautiful of all Armenia, beautifully situated in a narrow
gorge and partially dug out from rock. Lunch in Garni where you
will have the opportunity to assist to the preparation of Lavash, the
traditional Armenian bread. Continuation to Vagharshapat where
lies the Cathedral of Echmiadzin, the oldest in the world, home of the "Catholicos" of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. Visits go on with the church of St. Gayane, the
most venerated Saint by Armenians together with St. Hripsime.
Along the return trip to Yerevan, visit of the ruins of the Cathedral
of Zvartnots, built in the seventh century and destroyed in the tenth
century due to an earthquake, once one of the most powerful and
beautiful examples of Armenian religious architecture and today a
World Heritage Site. Return and overnight in Yerevan.
Day 4: Yerevan – Khor Virap – Areni – Noravank – Tatev – Goris
(B/-/D)
Breakfast at hotel and departure towards the Ararat Region,
where, in a spectacular location just below the imposing Mount
Ararat, lies the monastery of Khor Virap: here, from its terrace, you
can enjoy the fantastic views of the two peaks of this magnificent
extinct volcano. Inside the courtyard of the monastery there is a
deep well (hence the name of the
Monastery, whose name in Armenian
means just "Deep Well"): inside it, St.
Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned by King Tiridates in because of his
preaching of Christianity. Continuation towards the village of Areni, famous for
its wines, where you will have time for a wine tasting at a local winery. Continue
to Noravank monastery, situated in a narrow canyon of red rocks, which, because
of its location and its architecture, is one of the most beautiful monasteries of
Armenia. Lunch time and continuation of the trip, along a road passing through
beautiful landscapes, and arrival in Halidzor, where you’ll board "Wings of
Tatev", the longest cable car in the world (5.7 km, 11 minutes), to reach another
masterpiece of Armenian architecture: Tatev Monastery, a fortified monastery of
the ninth century, once famous for its University. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Goris.
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ETNOARMENIA
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Day 5: Goris – Karahunj – Selim – Noratus – Sevan – Dilijan (B/-/D)
After breakfast, visit the city of Goris and its karst formations.
Departure to the ancient astronomical observatory of Qarahunj, the
"Armenian Stonehenge", a series of megaliths set in a circle whose
construction is dated by some scholars about 3000 years before its
English counterpart. Drive to Lake Sevan, along the road connecting
southern Armenia to its northern part crossing the Selim Pass: here
lies the old Orbelian Caravanserai, a major station along the Silk
Road. Arrival at Lake Sevan, the second highest freshwater lake in
the world after Lake Titicaca, and visit the cemetery of Noratus famous for its many khatchkars, the finely
carved stone crosses that dot the area of the cemetery. Lunch time
and then visit the Sevan peninsula with its monastery Sevanavank.
Continue to the region of Tavush to visit Dilijan, a small town and
one of the greenest cities in Armenia, with its old town centre made
of recently restored traditional wooden houses where you’ll have
the opportunity to see master craftsmen at work working wood, clay
etc. Dinner and overnight in Dilijan.
Day 6: Dilijan – Akhtala – Haghpat – Sanahin –Yerevan (B/L/-)
After breakfast, departure towards Lori Region to visit Akhtala, one
of the few churches in Armenia with its inner walls covered with
frescoes, painted between 1205 and 1216, and among the best
examples of Byzantine art outside of the Empire of Byzantium.
Visits go on with the monasteries protected by UNESCO of Sanahin
and Haghpat (both built in the tenth century), considered the most
important examples of
medieval
Armenian
architecture. These were
the places where manuscripts used to be written, copied and
decorated with miniatures. Lunch in Haghpat and departure to
Yerevan with a stop along the way in the village of Aparan to an
ancient Yezidi cemetery, Kurdish shepherds whose worship derives
from Zoroastrianism. Arrival in Yerevan and overnight.
Day 7: Yerevan – Amberd – Hovhannavank – Saghmosavank – Yerevan (B/-/D)
After breakfast visit of the Vernissage Market (open Saturday and
Sunday), with plenty of opprotunities for shopping for Armenian
Etnoarmenia Tours
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ETNOARMENIA
TOURS, TRAVEL, INCENTIVES
crafts. Departure towards Amberd, a 7th century fortress, located on the slopes of Mount Aragats at 2300 m
above sea level. This fortress was repeatedly attacked over the centuries but only the hordes of Tamerlane’s
Army managed to conquer it. Continuation to Ashtarak Region to visit to the beautiful monasteries of
Saghmosavank (XIII sec.), whose name means the Monastery of Psalms, and Hovhannavank (VII sec.) where
some splendid khatchkars can be admired; Both monasteries are spectacularly situated on the edge of the
Kasagh Canyon. Return to Yerevan. Farewell dinner at a local restaurant and overnight in Yerevan.
Day 8: Yerevan – Transfer to airport – Departure
Early morning transfer to the airport. End of services.
Etnoarmenia Tours
Travel with us in the Caucasus!
EtnoArmenia Tours
www.etnoarmenia.com
info@etnoarmenia.com