CLASSIC: Return to Lost Homeland (7 days)

leave for the Georgian-Turkish border. From here we will enter the Ardahan region and pass the beautiful mountains and forests of the Arsian mountain range. We will arrive in Kars, check in the hotel, and go out for a city tour. We will walk its narrow streets where many 19th century buildings of Russian and Armenian architecture can still be found. We will see the medieval stone bridge of “Vardan”, the remnants of the house, where Yeghishe Charents, a celebrated Armenian writer lived, and the imposing Church of Apostles (10th century). We will ascend to the royal fortress of Kars, once the stronghold of the Armenian capital, the seat of Bagratouni kings, and the witness to numerous wars in this region. For the night we will stay in Sarikamis/Kars.

(southern) side. In old Bayazed we will see the unassailable fortress of Daroinq, the Arshakouni kings’ (1-5th centuries AD) treasury and stronghold. We will explore the magnificent 17th-century palace of Ishak Pasha, a fortress-palace-mosque complex where Persian, Arabic, Ottoman and Armenian architectural styles are intertwined in peculiar harem rooms, deep dungeons and cozy courtyards. From here our route lies to the city of Van, historical Vaspourakan princedom. On our way we will stop and rest by the beautiful waterfall of Berkri (Muradiye). In the evening we will arrive in the city of Van and stay there for the night.

Lake Van and take the boat to Aghtamar Island. The latter hosts the unique Sourb Khach cathedral (10th century) that is considered to be the most beautiful monument of the Armenian (as well as universal) religious architecture, all covered with magnificent Biblical relieves outside and frescoes inside. We will taste the famous “Vana tarekh” fish, the only fish specie found in Lake Van, and enjoy swimming and resting on the beach. We will return to Van for overnight accommodations.

by the beautiful and crystal clear crater lake we will drive down to the town of Bitlis. It is nestled in a gorge in Taurus Mountains and used to be the center of medieval Aghdzniq princedom and later of a Kurdish Emirate of 13-19th centuries. We will see the impregnable fortress here, the founding of which is ascribed to Alexander the Great. From Bitlis we will enter the fascinating Moush valley, Taron county in historical Tourouberan princedom, through which Eastern Euphrates (Aratsani) flows. Arrival and accommodations in Moush.

Sourb Karapet cathedral, once the second important (after Ejmiatsin) religious center of the Armenian Church with wonderful architecture. Now it is all in ruins inside a Kurdish village, the houses of which are built from the fine-cut cathedral stones. We will return to Mush to tour the old town, see the remnants of old churches, and walk up to the “castle park” for the picturesque view of the town and the Mush valley. Overnight accommodations in Mush.

that was several times conquered by the Russian army and Armenian volunteers in the wars of the 19-20th centuries, the renowned medieval medreses (theology schools) of Yakutiye founded by Mongols and Chifte Minare. We will see the 19th-century building of the Sanasarian Armenian College. Leaving Erzurum we will drive toward Kars. By the road to Kars we will observe the medieval fortress of Basen (Hassan-Kala), passing which we will make a stop by the old “Shepherd’s Bridge” (“Hovvi Kamurj”) at the confluence of the Araks River tributaries. In the evening we will arrive and stop overnight in Sarikamis.