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Classic Caucasus: Georgia and Armenia

 
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Dates: 5/22/10 to 6/3/10    No. of people registered: 3     Seats available: 23
Cost: $5995 p/person, double occupancy; optional Istanbul pre-tour $1395 p/person, double occupancy
Trip Description: The ancient countries of Georgia and Armenia have been known in myth and legend since antiquity. Georgia is the place where Jason sought the Golden Fleece, and Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, is older than Rome. Georgia claims that the wine grape was first cultivated here, and Armenia was the first country on earth to proclaim Christianity as its official religion. The steep hills and green valleys of the Caucasus, though inhabited for millennia, are still relatively unfamiliar to international travelers. The fabulous cuisine, rich dark wines, old stacked stone architecture and numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites (of which this journey surveys five) are some of the reasons that Georgia and Armenia will not remain unfamiliar for long.

You can also take this golden opportunity to visit Istanbul, the capitol city that unites Europe and Asia by participating in optional pre-tour.
First named Byzantium, Istanbul was renamed Constantinople by Roman Emperor Constantine in 330 AD and renamed yet again by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Itinerary: Optional Istanbul Pre-Tour, May 20-May 23
Day 1:Arrive in Istanbul
Day 2: Tour of Classic Istanbul: Blue Mosque • Basilica Cister • Basilica of/ Hagia St. Sophia • Topkapi Palace
Day 3: Ferry ride on the Boshporus • visit village of Sariyer • the Kariye Museum • Church of St. Saviour of Chora
Day 4: Fly from Istanbul to Tbilisi

MAIN TOUR
Day 1, Sat, May 22 Depart USA
Day 2, Sun, May 23 Arrive Tbilisi
Day 3, Mon, May 24 Tbilisi
Day 4, Tue, May 25 Tbilisi
Day 5, Wed, May 26 Tbilisi • drive to Gudauri via Mtskheta and Ananuri
Day 6, Thu, May 27 Gudauri • day trip to Kazbegi
Day 7, Fri, May 28 Gudauri • drive to Tbilisi via Gori and UplisTsikhe
Day 8, Sat, May 29 Tbilisi • day trip to Kakheti region
Day 9, Sun, May 30 Tbilisi • drive to Yerevan, Armenia via Haghbat
Day 10, Mon, May 31 Yerevan
Day 11, Tue, Jun 1 Yerevan • day trip to Echmiadzin
Day 12, Wed, Jun 2 Yerevan • day trip to Khor Virap, Garni, Geghard
Day 13, Thu, Jun 3 Depart Yerevan
Trip Partners: A Dartmouth Exclusive Departure!
Activity Level: This trip involves full days of sightseeing and significant amount of walking. You should be in relatively good physical condition to enjoy the tour to its fullest.
 
FACULTY INFORMATION
Name: Kenneth Yalowitz
Bio: Your Dartmouth trip will be further enhanced by the academic presence of Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz, the Norman E. McCulloch, Jr. Director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth. Ambassador Yalowitz retired from the US Department of State after 36 years as career diplomat and member of the Senior Foreign Service. He served twice as a U.S. ambassador: to the Republic of Belarus and Georgia. His other foreign assignments included two tours of duty in Moscow, The Hague and the US Mission to NATO in Brussels. His domestic assignments included country director for Australia-New Zealand Affairs, deputy director for economics of the Office of Soviet Union Affairs, and Congressional Foreign Affairs Fellow. Ambassador Yalowitz previously taught political science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and served as the Area Studies Chair on the former Soviet Union and Dean of the Senior Seminar (1997-98) at the Foreign Service Institute. He has been an adjunct professor of government at Georgetown University, a visiting fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation and diplomat-in-residence at American University. Ambassador Yalowitz is also a member of the Institutional Review Board of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and played a leading role in organizing the Dartmouth Global Health Initiative.
Lectures:
Reading:
 
This trip is operated by: MIR Corporation