2019 HARVARD ALUMNI TRAVELS DISCOVER • LEARN • CONNECT • EXPLORE

Journey Through the South Caucasus: An In-Depth Look at , and May 8-22, 2019 with Alexandra Vacroux, executive director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University

Red-roofed homes in Old Town Tbilisi. Study Leader Traverse the three culturally diverse Caucasus Alexandra Vacroux countries of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, next-door holds a PhD in neighbors on a mountainous strip of land between the Caspian Government from Harvard University and the Black Seas. With their important place in history at the where she is currently crossroads of trade, religion, and the arts, these countries host executive director fascinating modern cultures, as well as some of the earth’s of the Davis Center for Russian and most ancient and ageless architecture. Discover the bold Eurasian Studies. Her scholarly designs of Azerbaijan’s carpets, and trace its relationship with work addresses many Russian and an underground treasure of oil and gas that dates back to the Eurasian policy issues and she teaches time of Zarathustra. In exuberant Georgia, savor the country’s popular courses on the comparative politics of Eurasia and post-Soviet deep red wines, rich cuisine, and incredible museums and conflict. She is an active member of archaeological sites, and explore UNESCO-listed Mtskheta, the bilateral Working Group on the capital of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Iberia beginning Future of U.S.– Relations, and in the third century BC. In Armenia, the world’s first Christian co-chairs the Davis Center’s long- country, visit powerful little stone churches from the first running Comparative Politics Seminar. millennium, and admire the country’s oldest art form, the While living in Moscow for more sculpted stone khachkar crosses that dot the green hillsides. than a decade in the 1990s, she was consultant to the Russian Privatization Agency, president of the American brokerage for the Brunswick Warburg Activity Level 4: investment bank, and member of the UP FOR A CHALLENGE board of United Way Moscow. She This trip is moderately active due to the substantial distances covered, also served as research associate the length of some bus rides, the extensive walking and stair climbing at the Center for Economic and required, and the overall shortcomings of the tourism infrastructure. The Financial Research (CEFIR), a Russian itinerary features a significant amount of touring on foot. Some attrac- think tank associated with the New tions are only accessible via steep staircases with tall, uneven steps, Economic School. As a commentator, and some of the monastery visits involve steep steps inside narrow she has been praised as “refreshing,” passageways with limited light. To fully enjoy this adventure, travelers “straightforward,” and “quick and to the must be able to walk at least a mile a day; flexibility and a willingness point.” She has appeared on stations to accept local standards of amenities and services are highly recom- ranging from WBUR, Fox News Radio, mended as well. China Central TV, Hromadske TV (), and speaks regularly at community forums at home TO BOOK A TRIP, CALL 800-422-1636 OR VISIT and abroad. ALUMNI.HARVARD.EDU/TRAVEL Trip Sampling

LAND & RAIL CRUISES RIVERS & LAKES

Tanzania Migration Safari A Cruise Of The Panama Canal & Cruising The Mekong River: Vietnam MAR 10–20, 2019 Costa Rica On Le Champlain & Cambodia On Mekong Princess Bence Ölveczky FEB 2–10, 2019 JAN 14–27, 2019 Don Pfister Susan Suleiman Private Homes & Gardens Of Bermuda Cuba By Land & Sea On Le Ponant The Pride Of South Africa, Namibia, APR 1–5, 2019 FEB 3–12, 2019 Botswana & Zimbabwe Michael Weishan Lizabeth Cohen & Herrick Chapman MAR 14–30, 2019 Suzanne Blier HMSC Silk Road In Arctic Expedition: Spitsbergen Central Asia & And Svalbard On L’austral Normandy To : Commemorating APR 6–23, 2019 JUN 14–24, 2019 The 75th Anniversary Of D-Day Lisa Randall JUN 4–13, 2019 HBS Morocco Explorer Charles Maier APR 24–MAY 5, 2019 Cruising Alaska’s Glaciers & Kay Shelemay The Inside Passage On Le Soleal JUL 6–13, 2019 FAMILY ADVENTURES HMSC Uganda Safari & James Engell Primate Trekking Greece: A Family Odyssey MAY 31–JUN 13, 2019 Circumnavigation Of Iceland On Running On Waves Elizabeth Ross & Richard Wrangham On Le Champlain JUN 19–28, 2019 JUL 31–AUG 8, 2019 Gateway To Authentic Ireland Jonathan Walton Fran Ulmer JUN 7–17, 2019 China Family Tour: Imperial Gran- Catherine Mckenna Cruising The Adriatic: deur, Terracotta Warriors, Giant The Best Of Slovenia & Croatia Scotland’s Orkney & Shetland Pandas On Queen Eleganza Islands Hiking Adventure JUN 21–JUL 3, 2019 SEP 8–19, 2019 AUG 23–SEP 2, 2019 R. Nicholas Burns Daniel Smail Sicily By Sail: Valletta To HMSC Galápagos Family Adventure Catania On Sea Cloud Ii Azores Getaway On La Pinta OCT 3–11, 2019 OCT 11–14, 2019 JUN 23–JUL 2, 2019 Leo Damrosch & Joyce Van Dyke Jeremiah Trimble Brian Farrell

Alumni Travels Savory specialties at a Georgian Table feast. ’s UNESCO-listed Old Town, or Icheri Sheher.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, MAY 8-9 SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 11-12 and experience a traditional USA/Baku, Azerbaijan Gobustan • Shemakha • “Georgian Table” lunch, enjoy- ing the wonderful local food and Depart USA on flights bound for Sheki drink and learning more about Baku, Azerbaijan. In flight Before setting out for Sheki, Georgian culinary traditions. make a stop in Gobustan, an Stroll the charming, cobble- FRIDAY, MAY 10 important site of ancient petro- stoned streets of the fortress Baku glyphs added to the UNESCO town of Signagi, and visit the World Heritage list in 2007, as 9th-century Bodbe Nunnery, Take a walk through Baku’s well as the town of Shemakha, once used as a coronation venue UNESCO-listed , the the former capital of the once by the kings of Kakheti. best place to get a sense of its powerful Shirvan Khanate. Sheki history. Completely encircled Explore beautiful Tbilisi, includ- is one of the oldest towns in by old city walls and medieval ing the 4th century Narikala Azerbaijan, said to have been gates, the winding streets and Fortress, the Mother Georgia founded some 2,700 years ago. alleyways here are home to monument, the city’s oldest Embark on a walking tour of the private residences, mosques and church — Anchiskhati Basilica town, exploring the local crafts madrassahs, carpet merchants, — Sioni Cathedral, and the market where old-fashioned and tiny shops. Visit the State 19th-century caravanserai. Stroll manufacturing is alive and Museum of Azerbaijani Carpets lively Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s well, and stopping in at a local and Applied Folk Art, displaying main thoroughfare, making bakery to sample baklava or the vivid colors and bold designs stops along the way at a working halvah. Visit the -covered of Azeri, Caucasian, and Iranian bakery and a craft studio. Admire Khan’s Summer Palace with its textiles, then tour the interior one of the largest collections brilliant stained glasswork called of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural of gold decorative arts at the shebeke, as well as the fortress Center, the swooping building Georgian National Museum, that surrounds the palace with designed by famed Iraqi-British and honor the almost 900,000 its history and crafts museums. architect Zaha Hadid that Georgians who were killed or Enjoy dinner in an authentic has become a landmark of deported during the Soviet years 18th-century caravanserai. Sheki modern Baku. Stop at the Nobel between 1921 and 1991 at the Saray Hotel (2B, 2L, 2D) Brothers’ Museum/Villa Petrolea Museum of Soviet Occupation. for a private reception. Enjoy Gather for a private reception a welcome dinner this evening MONDAY-TUESDAY, MAY 13-14 and tour at the house museum of with authentic Azeri dishes Gurjaani, Georgia • influential Georgian artist Elene and traditional mugham music. Signagi • Tbilisi Akhvlediani, then enjoy dinner at Hilton Hotel Baku (B, L, D) one of Tbilisi’s many restaurants, Drive to the Georgian border accompanied by a performance and discover the heart of of traditional Georgian music Georgia’s wine country, Kakheti. and dance. Tbilisi Marriott Hotel Make a stop in Gurjaani, a town (2B, 2L, 1D) renowned for its white wine,

FOR DETAILED ITINERARIES, VISIT ALUMNI.HARVARD.EDU/TRAVEL GEORGIA Ananuri Black Sea Uplistsikhe Gori Mtskheta Signagi Bolnisi Dmanisi Tbilisi Sakdrisi Sheki Haghbat ARMENIA Baku

Echmiadzin Garni AZERBAIJAN Gobustan

MAP AREA

Caspian Sea

WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY, MAY 15-17 leader spent his childhood, then MONDAY-TUESDAY, MAY 20-21 Tbilisi with day trips continue to the nearby cave town with day trips of Uplistsikhe, where people may Drive out of town to Mtskheta, have populated the naturally Explore Echmiadzin, a UNESCO the UNESCO-listed capital of occurring caves here since site and the spiritual center of the early kingdom of Iberia, before 1000 BC. Enjoy a stirring Armenia, as well as the fabulous and survey the stunning performance of traditional treasury at Hripsimeh Martyria Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, a prime polyphonic singing over a dinner Church and the 7th century example of Georgia’s medi- of delicious Georgian specialties. Zvartnots Cathedral. Enjoy eval architecture and a sacred Tbilisi Marriott Hotel (3B, 3L, 2D) an opportunity to meet with pilgrimage destination. Continue a specially invited local guest to the Ananuri fortress complex, for dinner and a presentation SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 18-19 built by the 17th century dukes about Armenia’s current affairs of the Aragvi Valley in one of Haghbat, Armenia • and issues facing the country. Georgia’s most beautiful places. Yerevan (Armenia) Admire the Monastery of Khor Virap, with fantastic views of Explore the archeological sites On the way to Armenia, visit the Mt. Ararat, and hear a private a of Dmanisi, where some of the UNESCO-listed monasteries of cappella concert at pagan Garni earliest hominids found outside Haghbat and Sanahin, an introduc- Temple. Visit the UNESCO-listed, of Africa were discovered, and tion to Armenia’s rich and ancient 12th-century cave monastery Sakdrisi, which shows evidence spiritual history. Arrive in Yerevan, of Geghard, carved into the side of human gold mining from the the capital of Armenia, older even of a mountain, and one of the 3rd century BC. Meet with local than Rome. Discover the charming most fascinating monuments in archaeologists at both sites to lanes of the Old Town and Republic Armenia. Enjoy a festive farewell learn more about these remark- Square, and pay your respects at dinner. Marriott Yerevan Hotel able excavations and their the sobering Genocide Memorial, (2B, 2L, 2D) importance in understanding the commemorating the lives of path of human evolution. over one million Armenians that WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 On the way to Gori, Stalin’s perished as a result of policies hometown, stop in the tempo- of the last Ottoman government Depart Yerevan rary refugee village of Tserovani, between 1914 and 1918. Browse The journey concludes with where thousands of displaced among some of the oldest books transfers to the airport. individuals live in small, private in the world at the Matenadaran (B, in flight) cottages. Meet with people Museum, and tour the Yerevan who live in the village, visit the Brandy Factory, sampling some local school, and tour the small of the wares at the tasting bar. businesses set up with the Marriott Yerevan Hotel (2B, 2L, 1D) help of USAID to support the population. Visit the Stalin House Museum, located in the original wooden hut where the infamous Program Highlights • Enjoy a performance of Azerbaijani mugham, a musical fusion of Persian and Turkic traditions honored as a World Cultural Masterpiece by UNESCO. • Experience an authentic “Georgian Table,” a traditional celebration of food and wine. • Meet with locals in the temporary refugee village of Tserovani, where the Georgian government set up 2200 individual cottages to support thou- sands of internally displaced individuals.

• Explore Echmiadzin, the UNESCO site known as Dried fruits and nuts for sale at a Yerevan market. the spiritual center of Armenia. • Enjoy a private concert of sacred music at the Garni Temple.

Cost • $8,595 per person double occupancy • $10,020 single occupancy

• GROUP SIZE: 10-30

AIR ARRANGEMENTS International airfare is not included in the cost of the program. The tour operator can assist you with your air arrangements. Neither Harvard Alumni Travels nor the tour operator accepts the liability for any airline cancellation penalty incurred by the pur- chase of a non-refundable airline ticket. The air ticket when issued shall constitute the sole contract between the passenger and the airline concerned.

Autumn at Armenia’s Lake Sevan, one of the largest alpine lakes in the world.

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