Identity and Conflict in the Post-Soviet Space

Trip to Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia and cultural center of the South Caucasus. You will be amazed by the beautiful architecture and stunning views that characterize the city.

The name Tbilisi derives from the old Georgian word "Tpili", meaning "warm", referring to the area's numerous sulphuric hot springs. Archaeological studies of the region have indicated human settlement in the territory of Tbilisi as early as the 4th millennium BCE. Sulphuric baths still exist, and the oldest ones date from the XVI century.

Out of the city's historic landmarks, the most notable are the Narikala fortress (4th–17th century), Anchiskhati Church (6th century, built up in the 16th century), Sioni Cathedral (8th century, later rebuilt), Church of Metekhi (13th century), etc.We will also see places connected to Georgia’s recent history, such as Liberty Square.

We will also visit the first capital of Georgia, Mzkheta, a small town 20 km from Tbilisi. There we will see the famous Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedral in the country.

Yerevan is a capital of Armenia and its largest city. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC. While here, we will visit the Armenian Genocide museum. The documents on display indicate that, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Turks planned and carried out a genocide against the Armenians.

We will visit the World War Two Museum to see the Armenian perspective on the conflict.

And of course we will visit the world-famous Matenadaran, a library-museum that holds 17,000 ancient manuscripts and several bibles from the Middle Ages. Its archives hold a rich collection of ancient Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Hebrew, Roman and Persian manuscripts.

We will finish the excursion at the Ararat brandy factory. Winston Churchill claimed that Armenian brandy was better than French… and we will have the opportunity to judge for ourselves whether he was right!

Echmiadzin Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Mother Church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is located in the city of Vagharshapat, Armenia. It is the religious center of Armenia. The first cathedral in ancient Armenia stands here, and it is considered the oldest cathedral in the world. The original church was built in the early 4th century by Armenia's patron saint Gregory the Illuminator, following the adoption of Christianity as a state religion by King Tiridates III.

Saint Hripsime church named after Hripsime, one of the 35 Armenian virgins who dedicated themselves to God. Saint Hripsime church is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia. It was erected by Catholicos Komitas in 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsime. Saint Gayane church is a 7th-century Armenian church in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin). It is located within walking distance from the Etchmiadzin Cathedral. St. Gayane was built by Catholicos Ezra I in the year of 630. Its design has remained unchanged despite partial renovations in 1652.

Geghard Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is a unique structure partially carved out of the mountain and surrounded by cliffs. The monastery is located in Kotayk province. It was founded in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator at the site of a sacred spring located inside a cave. The name commonly used for the monastery today, Geghard (or more fully Geghardavank, meaning "the Monastery of the Spear"), originates from the spear, which had wounded Jesus at the Crucifixion, allegedly brought to Armenia by Apostle Jude, and stored amongst many other relics. Now it is displayed in the Echmiadzin treasury.

Temple of Garni (also situated in Kotayk province)is a reconstructed classical Hellenistic temple. It is the only Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. It is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. It was probably built by king Tiridates I in the first century AD as a temple to the sun god Mihr.

Khor Virap is an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery located in the Ararat valley in Armenia, near the border with Turkey. Khor Virap's place in history as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Grigor Lusavorich, who later became Saint Gregory the Illuminator in recognition for having introduced Christianity in Armenia, was initially imprisoned here for 14 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia.

The ancient city Old Orhei offers visitors a natural and historical complex in the open air. Located 60 kilometres north-east of Chisinau, on the Raut River, it combines beautiful natural landscape and vestiges of ancient civilizations. Archeological excavations discovered here the cultural layers of different epochs such as the Paleolithic, Eneolithic, and Iron Age. Old Orhei contains traces of different civilizations, including the earthen and wooden fortresses (6th-1st centuries BC), a Golden Horde fort (14th century), a Moldavian fort (14th-16th centuries), and Orthodox monasteries (14th century).

There is a well maintained and still active Orthodox cave monastery and an archeological museum that we will visit. There is also a church built in neo-Russian style (neo-Russian style means it is somewhat old and not really Russian). We will also visit a traditional 19th century peasant household, where we will see traditional handicrafts and agricultural implements of that era. We will see the remains of the Tatar baths. (The Tatars came from afar to kill and rob the Moldovans. Apparently, they wanted to wash off afterwards!)

And then we are ready to relish Moldovan cheese pies.

Bucharest, in southern Romania, is the country's capital and commercial center. There is so much to see that we discuss the options with participants and see what they want to see.

The most iconic structure of the city is the massive, communist-era Palace of Parliament, which has 1,100 rooms and is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Nearby, the historic Lipscani district is home to an energetic nightlife scene as well as tiny Eastern Orthodox Stavropoleos Church and 15th-century Curtea Veche palace, where Prince Vlad III (“The Impaler”) once ruled.

Calea Victoriei is Bucharest's oldest and arguably most charming street. Built in 1692 to link the Old Princely Court to Mogosoaia Palace, it was initially paved with oak beams. The street became Calea Victoriei (Victory Street) in 1878, after the Romanian War of Independence victory. Between the two world wars, Calea Victoriei developed into one of the most fashionable streets in the city.

Stroll along this street from Piata Victoriei to Piata Natiunilor Unite to discover some of the most stunning buildings in the city, including the Cantacuzino Palace, the historical Revolution Square, the Military Club, and the National History Museum.