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Christian Armenia Tour

Christian Armenia   9 Days/8 Nights

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. (GENESIS 8:1-5)

Places of Visit: Dilijan, Haghartsin, Sanahin, Yerevan Khor Virap, Noravank, Areni village, Etchmiatsin, Zvartnots, Garni, Gueghard, Vernissage andArmenian Market, Gueghard.


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Tour Program:

Day 1 Yerevan
Meeting at Zvartnots airport, transfer, accommodation at the hotel(rooms booked beforehand). City tour in the evening which includes a visit to National Art Gallery and to St. Grigor Lusavorich church. City tour around Yerevan. A visit to Matenadaran where are kept the depository of over 13.000 ancient manuscripts. The or is considered to be one of the world's richest depositories of manuscripts and handmade books . This collection dates back to the 5 th century, when Saint Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.



Day 2 Sevan lake
Breakfast at the hotel. An excursion tour to Lake Sevan the Gem of Armenia. A visit to the Sevan monastery. Continue tour to Goshavank. Goshavank was erected in place of an older monastery, Ghetik, which had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1188. Parz lake. Overnight at the hotel in Dilijan.



Day 3 Tavush
Breakfast at the hotel. A visit to Dilijan which is a lush, green city located in the northern Armenian province of Tavush. It is one of the most important resorts and national parks in Armenia. The forested and reclusive city is home to numerous Armenian artists, composers, and filmmakers and features some traditional Armenian architecture. Sharambeyan street, which is near the city's bus stop, has been preserved and maintained as an "old town," complete with craftsman's workshops, a gallery and a museum. Hiking, mountain biking, and picnicking are popular recreational activities. The city's population is steadily declining from the 23,700 reported in the 1989 census, to 14,846 in the 2001 census, to an estimated 13,752 by 2008. Dilijan's most popular religious site is the Haghartsin Monastery, which is located several kilometers east of the city and consists of three churches and a dining hall. An excursion tour to Haghartsin Monastery. Haghartsin is a 13th century monastery. St. Astvatsatsin Church in Haghardzin (1281) is the largest building and the dominant artistic feature. The sixteen-faced dome is decorated with arches, the bases of whose columns are connected by triangular ledges and spheres, with a band around the drum's bottom. This adds to the optical height of the dome and creates the impression that its drum is weightless. The platband of the southern portal's architrave is framed with rows of trefoils. Continue tour to Haghpat Monastery. Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavanq, is a medieval Armenian monastery complex in Haghpat. Described as a "masterpiece of religious architecture and a major center of learning in the Middle Ages", this venerable institution of the Armenian Apostolic Church was placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996 The monastery was founded by Saint Nishan (Sourb Nshan) in the 10th century during the reign of King Abas I. The nearby monastery at Sanahin was built around the same time Then drive to Sanahin. The Monastery of Sanahin is situated on the wooded mountain slope of Mt. Tchantinler above the village of Sanahin, in the region of Alaverdi, Republic of Armenia (approx. coord. 41-42 / 44-02). The monastery is also 2 km southeast of the town of Alaverdi. The oldest references to the monastery were found in early 10th century Armenian manuscripts and relate that the monastery was constructed over the ruins of a 4th or 5th century church. The complex consists of several buildings which date from different periods: the larger church of S.Amenaprkitch (Holy Redeemer), the smaller, adjacent church of S.Astvatsatsin and its gavit, the round chapel of S.Gregory, an academy, a bell tower and a library. In Sanahin, humanitarian sciences and medicine were studied, scientific treatises written and paintings, most miniatures, created. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.



Day 4 Yerevan
Free day.



Day 5 Yerevan
Free day.



Day 6 Yerevan
Breakfast at the hotel. Excursion tour to Khor Virap monastery where you can have the best view of Biblical mountain Ararat. Khor Virap is one of the most popular destinations in Armenia where Grigor Luisavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator)-the first Catholics of all Armenians- was imprisoned for 13 years. This caused the conversion of Armenia into the first official Christian nation in the world in 301. Continue tour to Noravank monastery. is a 13th century Armenian Apostolic Church monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan in a narrow gorge made by the Darichay river. The gorge is known for its tall, sheer, brick-red cliffs, directly across from the monastery. The monastery is best known for its two-storey S. Astvatsatsin church.Return to Yerevan with a stop at “Areni”Wine Factory for wine degustation. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.



Day 7 Ejmiatsin
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Ejmiatsin. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiatsin is the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the worldwide Armenian Church. Holy Etchmiatsin is a cathedral built in the years 302 to 303 AD, soon after Christianity was established as the official state religion of Armenia. It is said that St Gregory, known also as the Holy Illuminator as he enlightened King Tridat and led him to Christianity in 301, had a vision of Christ coming down from the clouds and striking the ground at Etchmiatsin with a golden hammer, thus designating the location of the new church. It is spiritual place for the people who first adopted Christianity and The residence of Patriarch (called "Catholikos")of the world's 7 million Armenian Orthodox Return to Yerevan with stop at the ruins of Zvartnots temple - the pearl of the 7 c. architecture. Both are listed as aWorld Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.In the evening there is possibility to organize cultural program at the National Opera and Ballet theatre or at the National Chamber Music hall.Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.



Day 8 Yerevan
Breakfast at the hotel. An excursion tour to Garni Pagan temple. It was built in the first century A.D. by the Armenian King Tiridates and was dedicated to Mihr Armenian God of Sun. is a village in the Armenian province of Kotayk, situated approx. 32 km southeast from Yerevan, notable for its fortress complex. As it lies on the road to the well known monastery of Gueghard receives a large number of visitors. The first traces of human occupation date back to the 3 millennium BC and are concentrated in an easily defensible terrain at one of the bends of the Azat river. In the 8 century BC the area was conquered by the Urartian king Argishti I. The first literary testimony to the existence of a fortress on the spur crowning the site of Garni comes from the Roman historian Tacitus and dates from the middle of the 1st century AD. Excavation of the existing remains was conducted for a brief period in 1909-1910. The fortress of Garni became the last refuge of king Mithridates of Armenia, where he and his family were assassinated by his son in law and nephew Rhadamistus.Several constructions and buildings have been identified within the enclosed area, including a two-storey royal summer palace, a bath complex, a church built in AD 897 a cemetery and the site's most famous and best preserved edifice, a peristyle Greco-roman temple built in the Ionic order. Of particular interest is the bathhouse located in the northern part of the site. It as a well preserved hypocaust and one of its floors is decorated with a mosaic reproducing a well known late Hellenistic iconographic type. A visit to Gueghard Cave Monastery which is 7km South-East from Garni Temple. Gueghard is another incredible ancient Armenian monastery, partly carved out of a mountain. Though the monastery has been around since before the 4th century, the main cathedral was built in 1215. The monastery is located literally at the end of the road. From here you walk up a path which has a few vendors of souvenirs and snacks. (try the sweet "sujukh", sweet lavash and gata if you have never tasted them before). You then reach the entrance to the compound which is surrounded by high walls on three sides and the mountain on the fourth. Inside, you can enter the churches which are interconnected. There is some water in a small pond/stream in one chamber carved into the mountain, and the acoustics are great throughout. If you climb up stone stairs located on the left side of the church, you will pass some very finely carved khatchkars. A Walk along Vernissage (this market is open on Saturday and Sunday) the market where you can buy souvenirs and jewelers silver handicrafts made by Armenian masters. Overnight at the hotel in Yerevan.



Day 9 Yerevan
Departure.




Standard Tour price
Includes:
  1. Accommodation
  2. Transportation
  3. Full board
  4. Entrance fees
  5. English speaking guide


Does not include:
  1. Personal insurance;
  2. Photo and Camera fees;
  3. Visa and consular fees;
  4. Tips for guide and driver;
  5. International/local Flight Tickets;
  6. Items not mentioned above.
  7. Visa to Armenia



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