HMSC Membership
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SOUTH CAUCASUS SILK ROAD ODYSSEY THROUGH AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA & ARMENIA RESERVATION FORM June 5–20, 2016 Name Date of Birth Name Date of Birth Address City State Zip Phone: Home Office Fax E-mail If possible, please assign a roommate. Smoker Non-smoker I understand if a roommate is not secured for me by final payment date, I will be charged the single supplement amount. I wish to pay the additional $1,595 for a single supplement. Enclosed is a check for ______ $1,000 deposit per person payable to “Harvard University” to hold ____ place(s) on the “Trans-Caucasus Silk Road Odyssey” program. OR Please charge my deposit of $______________ to Visa MasterCard AMEX Account # Expiration Date Name as it appears on card CVV We confirm that I/we have carefully read the information on refunds, general conditions and the responsibility clause specified in the tour conditions. Signature____________________________________________________ Date________________________ Signature____________________________________________________ Date________________________ Please return this form with deposit check to: Harvard Alumni Travels, 124 Mount Auburn Street, 6th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138 or fax it to (617) 496-4011. QUESTIONS? Please call us at (617) 495-2463 OR e-mail [email protected] HMSC Membership The museums’ exhibitions draw on Harvard’s historic collections, and its educational programs for children and adults provide public access to the expertise of the university’s research scholars. A forum for thoughtful and informed exchange of ideas, the museums depends on membership to support their activities and outreach to communities in Cambridge and beyond. I would like to become a member at the following level: $35 Senior/Student $50 Individual $85 Family $125 Supporting $250 Sustaining $500 Patron Please enclose a separate check made out to the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture for membership. Thank you. Harvard Alumni Travels 124 Mount Auburn Street, 6th Floor Cambridge, MA 02138 SOUTH CAUCASUS SILK ROAD ODYSSEY THROUGH AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA & ARMENIA June 5–20, 2016 The millennium-long route of the Silk Road began in China and continued to Europe, passing through countries such as Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Experience the vibrant cities, arts, Harvard Alumni Travels monuments, and natural wonders along these ancient trade routes, where many historic 124 Mount Auburn Street buildings, caravanserais, ports, and cities still stand. Yet the ongoing legacy of this remarkable 6th Floor network remains visible today in the many distinct and interconnected cultures, languages, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 495-2463 phone customs, arts, and religions that developed in these three nations wedged between the Black and (617) 496-4011 fax Caspian seas and at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. www.travel.hmsc.harvard.edu Join us as we experience stunning mountain landscapes, ancient history, and the modern wave of change washing over the diverse cultures of the Trans-Caucasus. Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan each shares a border with the other two, yet they could hardly be more different. Three unrelated languages are spoken here, and two different religions hold sway. Each succeeding valley seems to have its own traditional songs, dances, and style of dress. But the Muslim people of Azerbaijan and the Christians of Armenia and Georgia all have robust pagan roots, a love of life, and strong cultures of hospitality, home, and hearth. In Azerbaijan, with its rich Zoroastrian history, we witness ancient petroglyphs, wander the narrow, winding streets and colorful bazaars of Baku, visit a carpet museum, and tour the archaeological excavations of Sheki, which date back as far as 3,000 BCE. In Georgia, we explore the cave town of Vardzia, the ‘‘cradle of Georgian culture,’’ where 3,000 caves, with frescoes still intact, were carved at 10,200 feet above sea level. Enjoy Georgia’s famed food and wine, tour fortresses, historic churches, and monasteries cut into cliffs. Finally, in Armenia, see the treasures of the 5th century Matenadaran Institute, one of the world’s oldest book depositories. Wander Erbuni Fortress, built in 782 BCE and home to a far- reaching kingdom that arose concurrent with Athens, Sparta, Babylon, and Egypt. Experience Armenia’s religious and spiritual center at Echmiadzin, founded in 117 CE. Enjoy a concert of sacred music at the pagan Temple of Garni, carved into the side of a mountain. Finally, it is important that we visit the Memorial and Museum of Genocide. STUDY LEADER: Simon Payaslian is holder of the Charles K. and Elizabeth M. Kenosian Chair in Modern Armenian History and Literature at Boston University and associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard. He has a Ph.D. in Armenian History (UCLA, 2003) and a Ph.D. in Political Science (Wayne State University, 1992). Professor Payaslian has taught courses on the Caucasus, Armenian history, Byzantine Empire, world history, nationalism, revolutions, and Diaspora studies. GROUP SIZE: 10 to 24 guests PRICING: $8,295 per person double occupancy / $1,595 single supplement SOUTH CAUCASUS SILK ROAD ODYSSEY THROUGH AZERBAIJAN, GEORGIA & ARMENIA June 5–20, 2016 ITINERARY (B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner) Break for lunch in Shemakha, the former capital of the once powerful Shirvan Khanate (6th–15th centuries). A renowned winemaking district, Shemakha is also known for its finely woven Sunday, June 5 carpets and the 10th century Djuma Mosque, one of the oldest Depart U.S. mosques in the Caucasus. Arrive in Sheki in time for dinner. Depart the U.S. on flights bound for Baku, Azerbaijan. Overnight: Sheki Saray Hotel (B, L, D) (Meals aloft) Thursday, June 9 Monday, June 6 Sheki Baku, Azerbaijan Visit the local history museum and the Khan’s Palace, decorated Arrive late evening in Azerbaijan on the shores of the Caspian Sea with striking frescoes. At nearby archaeological excavations on the and at the foothills of the majestic Caucasus Mountains. Transfer bank of the River Kish, we see little Kish Village, all that remains to the hotel. of original Sheki, which was devastated by a mudslide in the 18th Overnight: Hilton Hotel Baku (Meals aloft) century. The oldest discoveries are ceramics here date to the Early Bronze Age of the Kur-Araz culture, about 3,000 BCE. Enjoy dinner at Sheki’s fascinating stone Caravanserai. Once Tuesday, June 7 serving as the inns of the Silk Road, Caravanserais in Sheki still Baku accommodate travelers today. Explore historic Baku. From a hill above Baku’s harbor, walk Overnight: Sheki Saray Hotel (B, L, D) Martyrs’ Lane, which pays homage to those killed during Black January 1990, when Soviets tanks fired on Azerbaijani civilians, a turning point in Azerbaijan’s drive toward independence. Stroll Friday, June 10 through narrow, curving streets enclosed by a 12th-century rock Sheki / Kakheti Region / Signagi wall as we investigate the city’s oldest quarter, stopping at bazaars and shops along the way. Depart for the Georgian border. Geographically, Georgia belongs neither to Europe nor to Asia; and culturally, Georgia’s language, Visit the Carpet Museum, where the vivid colors and bold designs customs, and traditions are uniquely its own. Accordingly, of Azeri, Caucasian, and Iranian carpets are on display. At the Georgians call their country Sakartvelo, meaning “the Georgian's Nobel Oil Club tour the Nobel Brothers’ Museum Villa Petrolea, place.” learn about the importance of Azerbaijan’s oil industry, and enjoy a private reception. Travel through the Kakheti region, Georgia’s wine country. Here, village houses back up against each other, with one family's roof Dinner features authentic Azeri dishes and traditional mugham serving as another's terrace. This region historically suffered from music. foreign invasions, and this architecture allowed defenders to retreat Overnight: Hilton Hotel Baku (B, L, D) through the maze of interconnected houses. Tour the striking Alaverdi Monastery Complex and Cathedral, and Gremi Fortress, once an ancient and beautiful city of gardens, markets, and Wednesday, June 8 palaces. Baku / Gobustan / Sheki Arrive in the hill town of Signagi, with its 18th-century defensive Azerbaijan boasts evidence of human habitation from the Stone wall and towers. Wander the narrow streets and admire the green Age. On the drive to Sheki, stop in Gobustan to see a collection of valleys below. ancient petroglyphs accidentally discovered by quarry workers in Overnight: Kabadoni Hotel (B, L, D) the 1930s. The carvings depict men, women, animals, and artifacts, and have been the focus of much study and speculation. Saturday, June 11 the notched fortress walls containing two churches, a 12th-century Signagi / Tbilisi watchtower, frescos, and vibrant carvings. Visit the 9th-century Bodbe Nunnery, burial place of St. Nino Return to Tbilisi this evening. who lived as a hermit in the Bodbe Gorge. This working convent Overnight: Marriott Tbilisi (B, L, D) overlooks the Alazani valley and was used as a coronation venue by the kings of Kakheti. Continue to Tbilisi. Long an important link between East and Tuesday, June 14 West, Tbilisi is set along the Mtkvari River and has changed hands Tbilisi / Tserovani / Gori / Tbilisi many times. Most notably, the Arabs ruled the city for 400 years Drive to Gori, the birthplace of Georgia’s most infamous son, before King David the Builder defeated them in 1121 CE and Joseph Stalin. The family’s original wooden hut on Stalin Prospekt moved his capital here from Kutaisi. The Georgian king fostered is today the Stalin House Museum. Explore the fascinating cave tolerance for Tbilisi’s Arab population, and the city retains a town of Uplistsikhe; once one of the most important stops along multiethnic atmosphere. the trade route linking Byzantium with India and China, it was At tonight’s dinner, experience a traditional “Georgian Table” primarily inhabited by artisans and merchants. Some of the caves with wonderful local food and drink, and learn about Georgian were used to celebrate early pagan rituals prior to the adoption of culinary traditions.