Four-Day Art Tour In Armenia

ARMENIAN ORNAMENTS TOUR

When we hear the name of a country, a city or a region, we automatically experience emotional series of associations in form of ornaments, flowers, tastes, and sights.

What do you imagine by saying "Armenia”? For many, these are chaotic flashes of images of Mount Ararat, khachkars, Saryan`s paintings, vibrant colourful food, carpet patterns and so many others.

We offer to look at Armenia from an interesting perspective, with a focus on the Armenian ornament.

The Armenian ornament is everywhere: in amazing old carpets, in the workshops of the khachkars, in the paintings of great Armenian artists with lush landscapes and still lifes, in traditional Taraz clothes, in grapevines, in the form of serving national dishes, in architecture.

We offer you a unique interactive tour of Armenia "Ornaments of Armenia”, where you can visit a number of important museums and galleries, see paintings by great masters, discuss them with an art critic, participate in a painting workshop in the workshop of a talented artist, make a photo session in traditional Armenian outfits, visit famous wineries and much more! While living in a hotel with a national touch!

Day 1:

1. Meeting with the guide at the hotel. Walking tour to Republic Square with a focus on the unique architectural features of the city: a characteristic building stone of pink tuff, preserved parts of the old city, decorative floral elements and national symbols on buildings, futuristic buildings of the Soviet era, features of modern buildings, "Armenian approach” of house improvements, etc. During the walk, you will see such key sights of the city as the Opera and Ballet building, Cascade complex, North avenue, and Republic Square (1.30 hours).

2. National Art Gallery of Armenia. Excursion to the exposition, where the works of outstanding Armenian masters (Saryan, Minas, Sureniants, Aivazovsky Terlemezyanti many others), representing the colours, shapes, and patterns of Armenian fine art, are presented (1.30 hours).

3. A trip to the factory museum/carpet shop Megerian carpet.

A tour of the exhibition space, where you will see incredible colourful carpets with specific Armenian ornaments, among which there are both old and modern exhibits of products.

There is also a workshop in the museum, where directly in front of you the craftswomen create carpets with special equipment. After the end of the tour, guests will be offered lunch in an atmospheric restaurant serving national cuisine at the museum, made in the ethnic style (2 hours).

4. A trip to the workshop of a young talented artist, teacher of the Art Academy of Armenia, where you can relax and try yourself in painting or drawing under the strict guidance of the master. During the master class, guests will be offered Armenian wine and cheese as a wonderful end to the day. A self-made work will remain as a memory of the journey (3 hours).

Day 2:

1. A trip to the cultural capital of Armenia Gyumri (3 hours), without it is difficult to imagine an art tour in Armenia.

A walk around the city (2 hours) will be helpful to create a more complete impression of Armenian architecture because there are preserved samples of houses of the last century, churches, and an ancient fortress. The ornaments are in the balconies of old houses, in the beautiful massive doors on the buildings, and in the silhouettes of ancient churches.

2. Visiting the gallery of the Aslamazyan sisters. The gallery of sisters Mariam and Eranui Aslamazyan is one of the unique galleries of the Republic of Armenia, where the full collection of paintings, graphics, and ceramic works are located. Juicy bright and life-affirming painting of artists with an abundance in the canvases of symbols of Armenian fertility (pomegranates, grapes) is one of the manifestations of "Armenianness”. Along with Martiros Saryan, the sisters embodied in their paintings the whole palette, colouring and plasticity of Armenian fine art (1 hour).

3. Lunch at the famous Cherkessi Dzor fish tavern located in a picturesque gorge (1 hour).

4. A visit to the house museum of another key figure of Armenian fine art - Minas Avetisyan, who depicted genre scenes in the Armenian village, landscapes, still lifes, and portraits with his usual dynamics, expressiveness and contras (2 hours).

5. Dinner and a performance at the local drama theatre (seasonally dependent).

Day 3:

1. Departure to Yerevan.

2. Visiting several ancient monuments of Armenian architecture along the Gyumri-Yerevan road: Yereruyk Basilica (Yereruyk is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is considered one of the oldest examples of Armenian architecture dating back to the Paleochristian era of the 4th-6th centuries.) And the medieval fortress Dashtadem. Here your guide will reveal some secrets of Armenian architecture and history (2 hours).

3. Arrival in Yerevan (From Gyumri, 290 km, 3 hours).

4. Lunch and check-in at the hotel (1 hour).

5. A visit to the house museum of the artist and director Sergei Parajanov, where collages and assemblies of an outstanding author are collected. He, like no other, managed to convey the Armenian ornament (1 hour) in all manifestations of his work.

6. Excursion to the famous Ararat Brandy Factory. Cognac tasting (1 hour). Duration 8-9 hours.

Day 4:

1. Excursion to the research centre and one of the world's largest repositories of ancient manuscripts Matenadaran. Valuable artefacts of centuries ago (1 hour) are stored here.

2. Visit the house museum of the famous artist and ethnographer Lasik Aguletsi. The house contains a large collection of authentic Armenian household items, national costumes and jewellery (1 hour).

3. Lunch at the Museum’s Art Cafe, where guests will be invited to taste unique dishes prepared according to receipts from the Aguleci family (1 hour).

4. Excursion to the Karas winery. Tasting of the most popular and one of the best wine brands in Armenia (5 hours).

5. A photo session in traditional Armenian Garments (Taraz) outfits in a specialized photoshop, where male and female costumes of all regions of ancient Armenia with their specifics are presented. Each guest will select an outfit and related attributes to his/ her look (2 hours).

6. The evening of jazz music at the legendary Jazz Club Malkhas.

Pricing:

Price for one person - 1860€

A group of 2-5 travellers – pp. 1465€

A group of 6-7 travellers – pp. 1192€

A group of 8-15 travellers – pp. 1105€

The program price includes:

_ Professional guide,

_ Full transport service,

_ 4 breakfasts and 4 dinners,

_ Soft drinks and sweets when travelling,

_ Entrance fees to historical and cultural sites,