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Caucasus Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan CAUCASUS GEORGIA, ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN May 15 - 29, 2021 | 15 Days | Overland Adventure Expedition Highlights Kazbegi GEORGIA AZERBAIJAN Mtskheta Tsinandali • Discover the cultural treasures of these Tbilisi lesser-traveled countries. Sheki Lake Sevan • Visit six amazing UNESCO World Yerevan Baku Heritage Sites—Haghpat Monastery, Echmaidzin Cathedral, Geghard, ARMENIA CASPIAN SEA Monastery, Baku, Gobustan, and Mtskheta—on this comprehensive tour. MAP NOT TO SCALE • Explore Georgia’s famous cave city, MTSKHETA GARNI TEMPLE Uplistsikhe, continuously inhabited from the 6th century BC until the 13th century, and wander through a labyrinth of cavernous halls and narrow passages. • Savor a variety of Georgian vintages during several wine tastings. • Enjoy stays at some of the region’s finest hotels. • Itinerary ................................................. page 2 > • Flight Information ..................................... page 3 > • Meet Your Leader .................................. page 4 > • Rates ..................................................... page 4 > • Know Before You Go .............................. page 4 > ECHMIADZIN UPLISHTSIKHE CATHEDRAL for its important St. Astvatsatsin Church. Arrive in Tbilisi, and Itinerary check in to your Club Deluxe room at The Biltmore Hotel Based on the expeditionary nature of our trips, there may be Tbilisi. This evening, enjoy a Georgian folk show and dinner at ongoing enhancements to this itinerary. a local restaurant. Saturday, May 15, 2021 Thursday, May 20 DEPART USA TBILISI Board your independent overnight flight to Armenia. Today, tour Georgia’s capital city, once an important stop on the Silk Road. Despite a number of wars and fires, the old part of the city still retains much of its original layout. Its spider’s Sunday, May 16 YEREVAN, ARMENIA web of winding streets and narrow back lanes leads you to Upon arrival, transfer to the Grand Hotel Yerevan for the Abanotubani, or “bath district,” the 13th-century Metekhi overnight. Temple, the 5th-century Sioni Cathedral, and the 6th-century Anchiskhati Basilica. Walk along central Rustaveli Avenue to Freedom Square, then browse the treasures housed in the Monday & Tuesday, May 17 & 18 National Museum of Georgia. YEREVAN The capital of Armenia, Yerevan has been continuously occupied since 6,000 BC. After an orientation tour of the Friday, May 21 city center, continue to the 1st-century Temple of Garni, the TBILISI / MTSKHETA / KAZBEGI only pagan temple to survive in Armenia. The remains include This morning, visit Mtskheta, the capital of Georgia from 500 an ancient fortress, palace, and baths. After lunch at a local BC - 500 AD. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a treasure- home, visit the medieval Geghard Monastery; set at the head trove of ancient monuments. Nearby, Gori was founded in the of the Azat Valley, many of its numerous churches and tombs 7th century AD, and is the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. Visit are cut into the surrounding cliffs. This evening, gather at the the small house where he lived as well as the huge, palace- hotel for a welcome cocktails reception and dinner. like Stalin Museum. Continue on to the famous cave city of Uplistsikhe; carved into a rocky plateau, it dates from the The next day, visit the 4th-century Echmiadzin Cathedral, 6th century BC. Explore the huge echoing halls, meandering Armenia’s first and oldest cathedral. Continue to the ruins corridor-streets, theater, and 9th-century church. Then take a of Zvartnots Temple, a splendid example of 7th-century drive into the Caucasus Mountains along the historic Georgian architecture. Enjoy fantastic views of Mt. Ararat and the Military Highway, enjoying dramatic views of the Aragvi River surrounding pastures and vineyards from Khor Virap and Jvari Pass. Arrive in Kazbegi and check in to your Front Monastery. Return to Yerevan for a tasting at the Ararat View room at the Hotel Kazbegi for dinner and overnight. Brandy Factory. Saturday, May 22 Wednesday, May 19 KAZBEGI YEREVAN / LAKE SEVAN / TBILISI, GEORGIA After breakfast, take a hike up to Gergeti Trinity Church, En route to Georgia, make a stop at stunning Lake Sevan, located on an isolated hilltop with gorgeous views of the valley one of three “seas of Armenia.” Continue to the Monastery and Mount Kazbek. After lunch with a local family, take 4x4 of Haghpat, built between the 10th and 14th centuries. The vehicles through the beautiful Sno Valley to the tiny village monastery’s beautiful location, set on a verdant promontory of Juta. A short hike reveals stunning vistas of the Chaukhi above the Debed River, creates an atmospheric backdrop Mountains. Return to Kazbegi with the afternoon at leisure. ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | CAUCASUS: ARMENIA, GEORGIA & AZERBAIJAN < 2 > ANANURI FORTRESS KAZBEGI Sunday, May 23 Wednesday, May 26 KAZBEGI / TBILISI SHEKI / BAKU Today, return to Tbilisi, with a stop en route at the Today’s drive takes you over the Muganly Pass where you spectacular Ananuri Fortress. Continue to the historic will make several photo stops for stunning mountain vistas. estate of a Georgian prince, Chateau Mukhrani. Take a Visit the Diri Baba mausoleum, historic Juma mosque, and tour of the castle and wine cellar before joining our chef Yeddi Gumbez, or Mausoleum of Seven Domes. Arrive in for a demonstration of how to prepare several Georgian Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, this evening and check in to your delicacies. Enjoy your lunch accompanied by Georgian wines Deluxe Caspian room at the Four Seasons Hotel for dinner and that are produced on site. Upon arrival in Tblisi, ride the overnight. funicular to the stunning Mtatsminda Plateau overlooking the city. Enjoy dinner at the Restaurant Funicular before checking Thursday & Friday, May 27 & 28 in to The Bitlmore Hotel Tbilisi for overnight. BAKU Baku lies on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Visit the fortress of Icheri-Shekher and the 90-foot tower of Kyz-Kalasy, Monday, May 24 dating from the 12th century. Stroll the old town’s maze of TBILISI / TSINANDALI narrow alleys to view the 11th-century Palace of the Shirvan- After breakfast, set out to discover some of the splendid Shahs, now a museum. Other notable historic architecture churches set in the lush vineyards just outside of Tbilisi. First, includes the Law Court (Divan-Khan), the Dzhuma-Mechet visit the St. Nina Monastery, then continue to Sighnaghi, a Minaret, and the mausoleum of the astronomer Seida Bakuvi. beautiful hill-town with panoramic views of the Alazani Valley Close to Baku is the Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape, and Eastern Caucasus Mountains. Enjoy a delicious lunch where 4,000 rock drawings of people and animals were in town, before heading to a wine cellar to sample local found. In the afternoon, take a cruise on the Caspian Sea, with vintages. Then take a tour of Alaverdi Cathedral and embark free time to explore Baku on your own. on a short walking tour of the tiny town of Telavi. Check in to your view room at the Radisson Collection Hotel Tsinandali The next day, visit the Apsheron Peninsula, including the Estate Georgia for dinner and overnight. Temple of the Fire Worshippers—Ateshgah. Continue to the Yanardag Mud Volcaonos and Gala Village. Return to Baku with time at leisure before a farewell cocktail party and dinner. Tuesday, May 25 TSINANDALI / SHEKI, AZERBAIJAN This morning, depart overland for the Azerbaijan border. Saturday, May 29 Make a stop en route at the Gremi architectural complex, BAKU / USA a church and castle dating from the 16th century. Cross Transfer to the airport this morning for your independent flight, the border and enjoy your first meal in Azerbaijan. Arrive in arriving home the same day. Sheki, an important stop on the Silk Road and a center for silk production. Visit the 18th-century summer palace of the Sheki Khans, the Museum of History, and a local handicrafts Flight Information workshop, ending at a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the You will need to purchase air fare from your home city/Yerevan and town. Check in to the Marxal Hotel & Resort for dinner and Baku/home city. Please contact our in-house Air Department for overnight. fare quotes, reservations, or other air-related questions. ZEGRAHM EXPEDITIONS | CAUCASUS: ARMENIA, GEORGIA & AZERBAIJAN < 3 > Meet Your Expedition Leader TESE NEIGHBOR – After receiving her BA in Journalism and Political Science from Indiana University, Tese worked in Beijing in the early 1980s as the English editor for China Pictorial magazine and taught English at Beijing University. She then moved to Hong Kong where she organized some of the first bicycle tours across China and worked as a freelance writer/photographer for publications such as the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. She received her M.A. in China Regional Studies from the Henry Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington in 1987 and Seattle is now her home-base. Since her first trip to China in early 1979, she has returned to Asia more than fifty times leading educational tours in China/Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India/Sikkim, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Mongolia. She has also traveled to Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Mongolia, Indonesia/Bali, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Morocco, and all over Europe. In the Pacific Northwest, she has worked as an Asian history instructor at Seattle-area colleges, served as the Senior Director of Professional Development
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