Armenian Study Trip 2 – 5 October 2017

So this is Paradise Lost! Noah’s Ark landed on Mt. Ararat, the holy mountain of the Armenians. Here, in the city of Yerevan, many important caravan routes intersect: the country of Armenia is a geographic, cultural and political crossroads between Europe and Asia, between Christianity and the world of Islam.
One of the oldest cities in the world, Yerevan is probably represents Armenia’s path between renewal and conservation. In the “pink city”, thousands of historical buildings are to be seen next to many little galleries: the Cafesjian Museum Foundation presents contemporary art in a modernist building; the “Hay-Art” continuously hosts exhibitions on the interactions of Eastern and Western art; an entire museum dedicated to the painter Martiros Saryan; the Erebuni Museum in the city’s fortress; the Museum of Popular Arts; an international film festival … the city is highly interesting in many respects.

Get your tickets here: Booking

Prizes include

Busrides and transfers
Entrance fees
Guided tours
Lunch on Monday, Tueday, Wednesday and Thursday
Reception and dinner on Day I
BBQ dinner on Day II

Complete booking – DAY I to DAY IV – 250 EUR

DAY I (Half Day Trip — 90 EUR)

Monday, 2 October 2017 – 12:00 until after dinner | Hovhannavank and Sagmovasavank Monastery and Oshakan

Lunch at Restaurant Tumanyan Pandok
General introduction in the Study Trip, mutual introduction of participants
Introduction in the history of Armenia
45 min busdrive to Ohanavan
Short stop in town, drinking coffee
Hovhannavank Monastery and Kasagh river canyon
Hovhannavank is a medieval monastery located in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia.
The monastery stands on the edge of the Kasagh River canyon, and its territory is adjacent to the village of Ohanavan.
The deep gorge is carved by the Kasagh River.
20 min busdrive to Saghmosavank Monastery
The Saghmosavank (lit. "monastery of the Psalms") is a 13th-century Armenian monastic complex.
The Church of Zion in Saghmosavank (1215) and the Church of Karapet in Hovhannavank (1216-1221) belong to the same type of cross-winged domed structure with two-floor annexes in all the corners of the building. Subcupola space predominates in the interiors of both churches, which is reflected in the exterior shapes of these structures.
30 min busdrive to Oshakan
Oshakan with Saint Mesrop Mashtots Cathedral and Khachkar (Armenian cross-stone)
Saint Mesrop Mashtots Cathedral is a 19th-century church in the Oshakan village of Aragatsotn Province.
The church is famous for being the burial place of Saint Mesrop Mashtots; the creator of the Armenian alphabet.
During the recent years, the entrance to the church was decorated with 36 Khachkars (cross-stones), depicting the 36 original letters of the Armenian alphabet created by Saint Mesrop.
Introduction in the Armenien Alphabet (1 hour) and visit of Garden of Letter Sculptures
Edik Ghabuzyan explains the development and the principle behind the Armenian alphabet
Returnride to Yerevan: Reception and dinner with Armenian Designers Association

DAY II (Full Day Trip — 110 EUR)

Tuesday, 3 October 2017 – 9:30 until approx. 21:30 | Haghartsin Monastery and Sevan Island and BBQ

Visit Graphic Department of the Academy of Arts in Yerevan
Introduction, afterwards discussion with teachers and students
Visit National Politechnic University of Armenia
Introduction, afterwards discussion with teachers and students
75 min busdrive to Sevan Lake | Lunch
Sevan Island with Sevanavank
Sevan Island, now Sevan Peninsula was an island in the northwestern part of Lake Sevan in Armenia.
After the artificial draining of Lake Sevan, which started in the Joseph Stalin era, the water level fell about 20 metres, and the island transformed into a peninsula.
Sevan Island is home to a ninth-century Armenian Cathedral church, known as Sevanavank, which is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Armenia.
60 min busdrive to Haghartsin Monastery
Haghartsin monastery is nestled in a temperate rainforest on a mountainside. It is one of those spots in Armenia that feels like you are walking through a huge, unreal movie set.
Traditionally, an eagle was soaring over the dome of the main building at its dedication and thus it became commonly known as the monastery of the soaring or playing eagle (»Hagh« means a game while »Artsin« is a form of »Artsiv« that means eagle in Armenian).
BBQ at a scienic spot
Returnride to Yerevan

DAY III choose (Full Day Trip — 80 EUR) or (Half Day Trip — 40 EUR)

Wednesday, 4 October 2017 – 10:00 until after lunch or until approx. 19:00 | Museums in Yerevan / Monastery of Geghard & Greek

Museum of Architecture
National Museum-Institute of Architecture was established in 1990.
It is a unique cultural establishment where materials related to the history of architecture, urban development and construction art are collected.
Within the last decade the Museum collected over 120,000 diverse exhibits.
National Gallery
An extensive guided tour through the National Gallery of Armenia provides us with a geographical and historical overview. The state of Armenia as of today is just a small fraction of the original settlement area. Even the rivers Euphrates and Tigris were part of it. Here is a map from the Soviet period.
Sergej Paradjanov Museum
The museum is stuffed with odd collages, montages and assemblages, private mythologies, which also may read as a kind of defence against the pressure exerted by the Soviet system. Even while imprisoned, Paradjanov has collected all kinds of materials, even refuse like the tiny aluminium toppings of milk bottles, to tell his stories and create his relief thaler: poetic realism in dialogue with Tarkovsky, Fellini, Guerra and Pasolini.
Lunch
Fresh Lavash
Lavash is a traditional thin bread that forms an integral part of Armenian cuisine. Its preparation is typically undertaken by a small group of women, and requires great effort, coordination, experience and special skills. Taste Lavash fresh from the oven deep down in the earth.
60 min busdrive to Geghard Monastery
Geghard (Armenian: Գեղարդ, meaning "spear") is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs.
It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the churches within the monastery complex are entirely dug out of the cliff rocks, others are little more than caves, while others are elaborate structures, with both architecturally complex walled sections and rooms deep inside the cliff.
Garni Temple
The Temple of Garni (Armenian: Գառնու տաճար, Gaṙnu tačar)[a] is an Ionic temple in Garni, Armenia. It is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. It is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union.
Returnride to Yerevan

Alternative afternoon: there will be held a workshop of Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer and Georg Seifert from Glyphsapp in the afternoon at TUMO Center:

Introduction to Glyphs with special focus on Armenian
Get started in digital type design with Glyphs, and learn some useful tricks for Armenian. No prior experience required. Bring your MacBook (macOS 10.9 or later).

DAY IV (Half Day Trip — 25 EUR)

Thursday, 5 October 2017 – 10:00 until after lunch | Matenadaran

Matenadaran
The Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient (commonly Matenadaran) is the repository of ancient manuscripts, research institute and museum in Yerevan. It holds one of the world's richest depositories of medieval manuscripts and books which span a broad range of subjects, including history, philosophy, medicine, literature, art history and cosmography in Armenian and many other languages.

2,5 hours in the museum with a 1,0 hours guided tour
The director allows access to the library and the color lab.
And will present selected treasures from the archive.
Lunch at Dalan Art Gallery and Cafe at 12:30