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TRIP PLANING RESOURCES
From St. Vartan Bookstore Online
 By Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian
A must for anyone traveling to the area, this is the insider's guide to Armenia and Karabagh. Each author is an expert, who has spent a decade traveling through the region. The comprehensive book features practical tips and up-to-date information. Its 304 pages are packed with all the travel information you might need.
 Armenia-A Rugged Land, Enduring People
Lucine Kasbarian Through insiteful writing and numerous color photographs, this book is more than a travel guide to Armenia. It is also a look at the Armenian people in the world today. Travelers will find this book a valuable source of information on the people and sites of the Republic of Armenia. This is the perfect book for Armenians thinking of making their first pilgrimage to their beloved homeland. HOLY LAND TRIP FOR EDUCATORS The Diocesan Department of Youth and Education and the ACYOA invite college students, young adults, and Sunday School and Armenian School teachers to join a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this August. The pilgrimage will include places where Jesus lived and taught, on-site Bible studies, visits with the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, interaction with the local Armenian community, and celebration of the Divine Liturgy at holy sites.
An important part of this pilgrimage will be attending lectures to be held at local universities and colleges. It is being led by Fr. Mardiros Chevian, dean of the St. Vartan Cathedral, with DYE and ACYOA staff. Click here to download a PDF with all the details. TRAVEL TO ARMENIA THIS YEAR Your first trip to Armenia is a powerfully moving experience which will change your life forever. Connecting with your motherland, interacting with the industrious Armenian people, seeing the efforts being made to modernize and rebuild the small republic -- a trip to Armenia is deeply personal. If you've already been, chances are things have changed from your first trip. New hotels and businesses have sprung up, guides and buses have improved, there's more to see and do. Below are just a few of the ways you can travel to Armenia.
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) Young Professionals Trip
From June 9 to 22, 2007, this program affords young Armenian-American professionals between the ages of 23 and 40 the opportunity to travel to Armenia as a group. Participants will do more than simply learn about the country: they will also meet and dialogue with important leaders, acquaint themselves with Armenia's place in the world—and with her religious, artistic, political and economic achievements. Visit major religious and historic sites and national shrines Dialogue with religious, political, artistic and business leaders Encounter Armenian life, culture, history and our tradition of faith Visit FAR-sponsored projects Worship at Holy Etchmiadzin and churches throughout the country Attend performances of the arts and music. Cost is $2,650, and includes roundtrip airfare to and from Armenia (departing from New York, NY), double-occupancy hotel accommodations (Golden Tulip in Yerevan, superior accommodations outside of Yerevan), all taxes, two meals per day in Yerevan, three meals per day outside of Yerevan, entrance fees, and guided daily sightseeing.
Make your reservations by April 27, 2007. For more information visit the FAR website: www.farusa.org. You can also extend your trip with Birthright Armenia and get reimbursed for your airfare. For details, click here
His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II Building Project
You are also invited to join the "His Holiness Karekin II Work Project," a joint effort by Habitat for Humanity and Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. This year's trip, led by Archbishop Vicken Aykazian and Rev. Dr. Ken Bensen, runs from August 11 to 21, 2007. Along with touring the nation, participants will work for five days on a Habitat site located near Yerevan. The cost is $2,150, based on double occupancy) and does not include airfare, visa, or exit fee. Accomodations will be at the Ararat Hotel. There is a group airfare discount available from SIMA Tours, if you contact them by May 5, 2007. The tour package includes a private meeting with His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, all transportation in Armenia, three meals daily, hotel accommodations, tours, guides, entrance fees, donation to Habitat for Humanity Armenia and travel medical insurance.
Itinerary:
For additional information and registration, e-mail kbarmenia@gmail.com or call Ken Bensen at (800) 467-5430 ext. 17. St. Mary Livingston Pilgrimage
St. Mary Armenian Church of Livingston, New Jersey, will hold a pilgrimage to Armenia from August 24 to September 2. The cost is $2,200 per person, double occupancy. For more, click here. Church of the Holy Translators Pilgrimage
The Church of the Holy Translators of Framingham, Massachusetts, is organizing a pilgrimage to Armenia this summer, from June 17 to 2, 2007. The trip includes two nights in Karabagh, two nights at the Tufenkian resort on Lake Sevan, and stays in the Hotel Congress in Yerevan. The cost is roughly $2,800.00 per person and includes roundtrip airfare, hotels, transportation in Armenia, breakfast and lunch, entrance fees, and tour guides. A $275 per person deposit is required by March 1, 2007, to secure a space on the trip. Contact Mark Kashgegian at (617) 256-5358 with any questions.
Participants in the Fund for Armenian Relief's Young Professionals Trip gather at the 10th century ruins of the city of Ani on the border between Armenia and Turkey.
At Lake Sevan, participants in the FAR Young Professionals Trip get their feet wet.
Catholicos Karekin II welcomes the members of the FAR trip at Etchmiadzin.
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