South Caucasus Odyssey: Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia

Arrive in Baku this evening and transfer to your hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Begin the day with an orientation meeting outlining the structure of the trip and introducing educational themes. Explore Baku’s Old City, Icheri Sheher. Once the whole city, this is the best place to get a sense of Baku's history. It is completely encircled by the old city walls with their medieval gates. The winding streets and alleyways are home to private residences, mosques and madrassahs, carpet merchants and tiny shops. Pass by the UNESCO listed Maiden’s Tower and Shirvan Shah Palace.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

The vivid colors and bold designs of Azeri, Caucasian and Iranian carpets are on display at the State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpets and Applied Folk Art. The museum collection was begun in the late 1960s, but the carpets in the museum today date as far back as the 16th century. Regional differences and stylistic details are highlighted, revealing how traditional carpets marry practical value, artistic merit, historical significance and beauty. Tour the interior of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, a landmark of modern Baku. Opened in 2012, the center houses an innovative performing arts auditorium and spaces for major art exhibitions. The 619,000-square-foot building was designed by famed Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, one of the most influential architects of the 20th and 21st century and the award-winning master behind such buildings as the London Aquatics Center, the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. Inside the center you will learn about the history and culture of Azerbaijan and enjoy some free time to independently browse the exhibitions.

Welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Over dinner meet a local expert and enjoy a lecture on current affairs.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Depart by coach to Sheki making several stops along the way. Stop at Bibi-Heybat Mosque, originally constructed in the 13th century and completely destroyed in 1934 by Stalin’s decree. Local legends say that a white-robed woman was seen disappearing into the sea the day after the mosque’s destruction. Reconstructed from plans and photographs, the new mosque was dedicated in 1998. Today it sits near one of Azerbaijan’s first oil fields, developed during the first oil boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tour Gobustan, an important site of ancient petroglyphs, added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007. Quarry workers discovered the rock carvings here by accident in the 1930s. Since then, the carvings depicting men, women, animals and artifacts have been the focus of much study and speculation. An excellent modern museum adds to the experience. Continue to Shemakha, former capital of the once-powerful Shirvan Khanate from the 6th to the 15th centuries. Explore the town, passing by the 10th century Djuma Mosque, the oldest mosque in the Caucuses.

Lunch at a local restaurant in Shemakha.

Continue to Sheki after lunch, arriving in the evening.

Dinner this evening at the hotel restaurant with traditional Azeri musical entertainment. Musical history in Azerbaijan dates from before 3000 BC. Its most well-known form is mugham, a fusion of Persian and Turkic traditions honored as a World Cultural Masterpiece by UNESCO. This mesmerizing music is usually sung, accompanied by traditional instruments. Ancient and modern poems, in the Azeri, Persian and Arabic languages are set to music, using a subtle scale of 84 micro-intervals and no time signature. The resulting unwritten pieces are passed by ear through generations to provide the improvisational bases for the songs.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Take a morning walking excursion of charming Sheki. Founded some 2,700 years ago, Sheki is among the oldest settlements in Azerbaijan. Exploration of Sheki includes a visit to the mosaic-covered Khan's Palace with its brilliant stained glass work, the fortress that surrounds the palace, the History and Crafts Museums, and a walking tour of local craft shops and bakeries.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Free time to explore Sheki on your own.

Dinner this evening is at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today depart by coach for Georgia. After the border crossing formalities, meet your Georgian guide and change to a local coach. Travel through the Kakheti region, the most important wine-grape-growing area of the country. Georgian wine is well regarded throughout the world and some of the country's best comes from Kakheti. Stop for a walking tour of the beautiful hill town of Signagi known for its cobbled old town square, the nearby Bodbe Nunnery, and the remnants of an impressive 18th century defensive wall that still surrounds part of the city. The wall’s towers were named for the nearby villages, and the townspeople were meant to gather at their tower in times of trouble. Wander the narrow streets and admire the richly carved balconies and the green Alazani valley below.

Take a tour of the Pheasant’s Tears Winery, producing organic wines from varietal grapes that grow well in the Kakhetian micro-region. The name of the winery comes from a Georgian legend in which the hero claims that it takes a “wine beyond measure” to make a pheasant cry tears of joy. The owner is an American man. Sample wines from Georgia’s famous wine region at a tasting and perhaps purchase a bottle of a new favorite to share with friends and family back home. Enjoy lunch at the winery.

Meet with women from the Nukriani Community Organization, who make chewy Georgian sweets called churchkhela, and also sell natural jams, nuts, and handmade local natural products. Nukriani is a small town located near Signagi. Enjoy a class on making felt.

Taste Georgian craft beers and local snacks at Lost Ridge Brewing, where you will have a demonstration in making of Georgian snacks.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit Tsinandali village, best known for the family estate of Alexander Chachavadze, located here. A 19th century Georgian aristocrat and poet, Chachavadze managed to serve admirably in the Imperial Russian army during the times he wasn’t fighting Russia for Georgian independence. His estate was a center of the intellectual life of the time. Here he and his father founded the first and foremost winery in the country, which still produces the dry white Tsinindali wine. His mansion has been transformed into a museum in honor of the poet and hero. Continue to Alaverdi Cathedral, one of the tallest churches in Georgia and, in its simplicity, one of the most striking. One of the 13 Syrian Fathers, Joseph of Alaverdi, established the first church here.

Drive to the village of Alvani, gateway to the Tusheti highlands of Georgia, and enjoy a traditional Georgian Table in a private home – an unforgettable opportunity to taste authentic Georgian dishes and local wines while regional performers entertain. Also see a demonstration of traditional bread baking, vodka distilling and Georgian churchkela making, the wonderful Georgian sweet.

Stop in at the workshop of a ceramicist who makes qvevri, the 200 to 900-gallon earthenware vessels used for fermenting and storing Georgian wines. Because of the increasing interest in natural traditional-made wines, the demand for qvevri has increased greatly in recent years. The ceramicist will demonstrate and explain the qvevri-making process and present the resulting vessels.

Dinner at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Drive by private coach to Tbilisi.

Lunch at a local restaurant upon arrival in Tbilisi.

Spend the rest of the day getting to know Tbilisi, Georgia’s gorgeous capital city, on a combination walking and driving tour. Georgia’s strip of central lowlands has long been an important link between East and West. Tbilisi is set at the mouth of this passageway, in the Mtkvari River valley, and has changed hands many times. Most notably, the Arabs ruled the city for 400 years before King David the Builder defeated them in 1121 and moved his capital here from Kutaisi. The Georgian king fostered tolerance for Tbilisi’s Arab population, and the city still has a multiethnic atmosphere. The red-roofed old town, its houses sporting carved wooden balconies, sits beneath the Narikala Fortress on the hill above. Tbilisi was last razed in 1795 by Aga Khan, and most of the current buildings date from that time. The domed sulfur baths and the stone Anchiskhati Church where all that survived. View the 13th century Metekhi Church of the Virgin, constructed on an outcropping above the river on the site of David the Builder’s former palace. See Tbilisi’s earliest sulfur baths, probably built during Arab rule in the 7th or 8th centuries, when hot springs were discovered just under the surface of the old part of Tbilisi. In the 13th century there may have been up to 68 baths in Tbilisi; now there are six or seven. Most of the baths in use today were built in the 17th century. Pedestrians can see steam issuing from the dome-shaped underground baths as they pass by. Pause at Sioni Cathedral, sheltering the Cross of St. Nino, the woman who brought Christianity to Georgia, and the 19th century caravanserai built to house traveling merchants. Take time to briefly stroll Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main street. Notice the numerous elaborately carved wooden balconies attached to the houses in the Old Town, a feature of the city's architectural landscape that often appears in paintings. Stop in to visit a working bakery.

Dinner this evening is at a local restaurant in Tbilisi with with musical entertainment.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Start the morning with a guest lecture from a local Tbilisi resident. Following the lecture, visit some of Tbilisi’s best museums: the Georgian National Museum with one of the largest collections of ancient gold decorative arts as well as very well-preserved medieval cloisonné; the Museum of Soviet Occupation, which was created to commemorate the almost 900,000 Georgians who were killed or deported during the Soviet years of 1921 to 1991; and the Georgian National Art Gallery.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

The afternoon is at leisure to explore Tbilisi independently.

Dinner this evening has been excluded from the program to allow an opportunity for rest and independent discovery.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Begin the day with an expert-led lecture. Travel to Mtskheta, the capital of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia from the 3rd century BC until the 5th century AD. Because of its location at the confluence of the Kura and Aragvi rivers, it was an important market town. As the center of the Iberian civilization, Mtskheta was also significant spiritually and culturally. Georgia's conversion to Christianity took place here in 337 AD, and the Orthodox churches built during this period are considered among the finest in the country. Mtskheta is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visits in Mtskheta include the 11th century Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, its interior decorated in murals, and the 6th century Jvari Monastery, containing one of the first Christian churches in Georgia. The cross-shaped church at the Holy Cross Monastery of Jvari was built over the spot where St. Nino erected the first wooden cross in Georgia.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Enjoy the afternoon at leisure, or join the optional walking tour of the Dry Bridge Market. Browse the Dry Bridge Market, where vendors sell wares that run the gamut from jewelry, tchotchkes, carpets and tableware to car parts and tools. Paintings and handicrafts are exhibited in a small park nearby.

Dinner this evening has been excluded from the program to allow an opportunity for rest and independent discovery.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Say goodbye to Georgia and continue to Armenia. Meet the Armenian guide and change to the local coach at the border and drive to the small mountain resort town of Dilijan where we will stop for lunch.

Lunch at a local restaurant in Dilijan.

Along the way to Yerevan, make a stop at Sevanavank Monastery located on stunning blue-green Lake Sevan, at over 6,200 feet above sea level, one of the largest alpine lakes in the world. Filling two inter-mountain depressions, the brilliant lake is a favorite resort for citizens of Yerevan, about 45 miles away. Located on a peninsula that was once an island in Lake Sevan, the Sevanavank Monastery is made up of two remaining churches – the Church of Saint Astvatsatsin and the Church of Saint Arakelots – though it was a much large compound at one time and ruins of other buildings can be seen. The monastery was founded in the year 874 AD and was an important center of pilgrimage for Armenian Christians throughout the Middle Ages. Some of the artifacts from the monastery, such as its 12th century carved wooden doors, are preserved in the State History Museum in Yerevan, but visitors to the site should note the carved green khachkars.

Dinner at a local restaurant upon arrival in Yerevan.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Begin the day with a lecture by a local expert about Armenia's current affairs. Afterwards, depart on guided exploration of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, a city older than Rome. Begin at the weekend Art Park, Vernisage, the best opportunity for shopping and people watching. Here one can find a wide assortment of woodcarvings, ceramics, jewelry, paintings and other high-quality souvenirs. Located in Republic Square, the State History Museum features ancient models of Yerevan, archaeological collections from the Stone Age, and the statues of Catherine the Great and a beheaded Lenin tucked into its back courtyard. It also contains 10,000 original photographs and 5,000 historical documents that chronicle Armenia’s story. The museum recently acquired its current home following a ten-year stint in an obscure building, a period of homelessness and the repossession of the mosque it once occupied. The giant "Cascade" stairway links central Yerevan to the Mother Armenia Statue in Victory Park. The top of the Cascade and along the stairway offer fantastic views of Yerevan and Mt. Ararat on a clear day. Modern sculptures dot the outside of the structure, including signature pieces by Colombian sculptor Fernando Botero and Barry Flanagan. The Cafesjian Museum of Modern Art, built on the extensive collection of Gerard Cafesjian, is located inside and focuses on sculpture, glass, and paintings from contemporary artists. Ride the escalators towards the top of the stairway and walk the rest of the way up until you reach the Mother Armenia statue. Designed so that its interior resembles the iconic St. Hripsemeh Church at Echmiadzin, the base of this 167-foot monument was first used as a museum dedicated to WWII. In 1995, it was renamed the Military Museum of Mother Armenia and also includes exhibits pertaining to the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial in a park at the top of Tsitsernakeberd, or “Swallow Castle.” According to scholarly estimates, over one million Armenians perished as a result of policies of the last Ottoman government between 1914 and 1918. Thousands were deported to Syria and faced consequent starvation, while others were methodically massacred. Many of the remaining Armenians fled to other countries in what is now called the Armenian diaspora. The Genocide Memorial Museum provides a historical background to the monument.

Dinner is independent this evening.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Learn about Armenia’s spiritual history through a day trip the religious centers of Garni and Geghard. Carved into the side of a mountain, Geghard Monastery is one of the most fascinating monuments in Armenia. Beside the river at the foot of the rock, the church dates from 1215. It provides access to another building that has a roof formed by stalactites. The convent is in a cave adjoining this building; the only way in is through a narrow opening in the roof. The compound includes monastic cells, churches, tombs and khachkar, all hewn from solid rock. The churches are still functioning and for special events, such as baptisms, sacrifices of lambs sometimes take place. Appreciate a concert of sacred music performed a capella. Visit the Temple of Garni, standing on a cliff near the Azat River valley with walls of huge basalt blocks; the temple was once the summer palace of King Trdat I who built it in the first century AD. Destroyed by an earthquake in 1679, the monument has been restored by Armenian architects in recent years, and skilled work continues on the third century royal baths and their striking mosaics. Armenia is famous for the intricately carved stone crosses known as khachkar. These masterpieces can be found in various parts of the country. They are a unique art form, distinct to Armenia, which originally appeared in both pagan and Christian periods. Initially wooden, the first stone crosses appeared in the 4th-7th centuries.

Visit a private home for a lavash-making demonstration, then taste the fresh bread during lunch here.

Return to central Yerevan this afternoon and pay a visit to a local fruit and vegetable market.

Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit Echmiadzin, founded as Vargarsapat in 117 AD and once the capital of Armenia, known as the spiritual center of Armenia and the seat of its Catholicos, or Patriarch. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, it is also an important place of pilgrimage for Christian Armenians from the world over. It was here that St. Gregory the Illuminator had a vision of Christ descending to earth, and the Cathedral at Echmiadzin was built on the spot in the 4th century. Today’s version dates from the 7th century and features an intricately carved stone entryway and a fabulous treasury, including a piece of wood from Mt. Ararat said to be from Noah's Ark. The UNESCO Site also includes the ruins of the 7th century Zvartnots Cathedral, although it is miles away from Echmiadzin. In its day, Zvartnots was the largest round church in the world. It was sacked in the 10th century by Arab invaders, possibly because they wanted no building higher than their own mosque. Nearby Hripsimeh Church sits on the foundations of the 4th century mausoleum of martyred St. Hripsimeh and was completed in the 7th century. Its complex architecture, unusual for its time, has enabled it to withstand earthquakes. Highlights are the beautifully carved wooden door and the 18th century mother-of-pearl altarpiece.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

In central Yerevan, visit the studio of master craftsman Karen Hakobyan, one of the finest makers of the traditional Armenian reed instrument, the duduk. With a sound somewhat like a clarinet, the duduk's roots go back several thousand years. The duduk and its music were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Learn about Armenian instruments and enjoy tea or coffee and cake with the master. Return to the hotel for the free evening to finish preparations for early morning departure.

Dinner is independent to allow time for rest before early departing flights.

Breakfast at the hotel, flight time permitting.

Transfer to the airport for flights home.