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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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:
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Full board
- Entrance fees
- English speaking guide
Does not include:
- Personal insurance;
- Photo and Camera fees;
- Visa and consular fees;
- Tips for guide and driver;
- International/local Flight Tickets;
- Items not mentioned above.
- Visa to Armenia
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