1. ISBN13: 9781741044775
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Editorial Review :

Discover Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan

Find out which Georgian king wanted the world to walk on his grave
Clamber down to the snake pit once occupied by St Gregory the illuminator
Watch the clouds lift above Xinaliq to reveal 360-degree views of the Caucasus mountains
Discover why you should never toast a Georgian with beer

In This Guide:

Expert authors: three. Days of research: 143. Spontaneous on-the-road toasts: lost count
Expanded coverage of nature reserves, day walks and challenging mountain hikes

Customer Review :

GEORGIA REVIEW - Good guide

There are not a lot of guides for these countries, though perhaps one guide per country would give you more detail on each, and/or be more compact. It's not clear to me that anyone going to one of these countries would probably go to all three, especially since most Westerners go for business, or to live in one of these countries in the long-term.

Nonetheless, given the paucity of travel guides for the region and the less than developed tourism industry in Georgia (the only country I have visited out of the three), the Lonely Planet guide was invaluable. Lonely Planet has a lot of problems - few photos, difficult to read black and white maps, and a lot of worthless practical information (post offices, laundromats, etc), the descriptions and histories of the sites and neighborhoods was better than anything I would have gotten within Tbilisi, in English.

Georgia is a country in transition, so certain information was a bit out of date, particularly any area in or near the conflict zones. Can't blame Lonely Planet for unexpected wars. I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit in Georgia in the course of a week or so, with Georgians. Four out of five sites were well covered in LP, with good history and descriptions.

So, if you happen to be going to Georgian and don't speak Russian or Georgian, this LP will make your trip much better.

On another note, Tbilisi is a very lovely city surrounded by high hills and a large ruined fortress looking down into the city, with some of the nicest people I have ever met. I have had problems in many cities, "Western" and developing, where people were either rude, con-artists, outright thieves, or harassing. In Tbilisi people were welcoming and honest - even the taxi drivers! And if you are American, and afterwards an EU citizen, they tend to love you because of the events in August 2008. It's just sad that such a nice city is so far off the beaten path.

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Very Useful ...

The Caucasian countries probably constitute the last bastion of the enigmatic destinations in the world and are shrouded in rumors & unclear doubts. The time trusted Lonely Planet is your only hope and probably the only guide that'll help you plan and execute your trip. I recently came back from a short trip to Georgia and found the information remarkably accurate and undoubtedly useful. It'll serve as your lifeline whilst in the Caucasus.
I've seen some dismal review comments and whilst I respect other people's opinions, I cannot help wonder what (else) were travelers expecting? A street-by-street guide with illustrated pictures will take away all the enigmatic charm and adventure that the Caucasian countries have to offer. A trip that is planned to perfection is usually not much fun. However, the hospitality of the wonderful people and the overwhelming beauty of the country will supersede your dependence on the guide.


Rating :

Not perfect, but as good as it gets

Writing a guide book for these countries is not an easy job. In this book, information is good and extensive, but don't rely on it as your bible. Maps are not up-to-date, and this might be its biggest weakness; however, you might not find other maps anywhere in the Caucasus which are better, so get this book and use it on the way. You might want to notice that this book is ILLEGAL in Azerbaijan because of pro-Armenia information about Karabakh. At least when crossing by land, the custom control at the border will ask you which books you are bringing in. This is how I lost my book before I even got to use it in the country. But then again, don't blame Lonely Planet, blame the dictatorship.

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use it as a very general guide

I only used this book for Georgia, but it got so much wrong---including maps!--that it was almost useless.

It was good, however, for a general overview of the history and culture, and what's where. It was also used frequently to try to find the right 'mashtruka' when traveling, since routes are written in Georgian, and I could show the Georgian name to drivers to see if I was in the right van going to the right place.

Let's hope that this book is either updated soon, or a competitor decides to publish a guide to this intriguing part of the planet.

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Review of

I've never seen this edition, but I hope this edition is better than the previous one.
That wouldn't be that hard - the last one was pretty much useless




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Editorial Review :

This two-sided, folded map covers the Caucasus region of Asia in excellent detail at a scale of 1:1,000,000 (1" to 16 miles). The fully indexed map covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, southern section of Russia, and northern sections of Turkey and Iran. With beautifully detailed cartography this map uses color tinting to indicate relief and also displays numerous elevation point indicators. The map shows roads and railways, rivers and lakes, parks, beaches, distances, airports, ferries, state and local administrative boundaries, monuments, archaeological sites, and tourist sites. Legend in English, German, French, Italian and Russian. Index on the reverse side of map.

Customer Review :

Spectacular

This map is a stunning value and a real beauty. The description truly does not do it justice: in addition to the nations listed in the title (and well defined borders for the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia), the map features much of Turkey's Black Sea coast (down to Lake Van), Russia from Novorossiysk to the Caspian Sea (including contentious provinces like Dagestan and Chechnya), and the north-western tip of Iran.

Rating :

Excellent Map for Planning and Travel

Just returned from extensive visit to the country of Georgia and am pleased to report that this map was an excellent tool for familiarization and planning, as well as being an immense help getting around while there. I also had a larger scale map of Georgia alone, but this map proved more useful since it shows more of the small villages and uses the same Latin spellings as the Georgians do (major cities are also labeled in Georgian).

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Editorial Review :

Customer Review :

Has to be something better available

This book is seriously out of date and is geared strictly to the person willing to rent a car to visit the sites described. All information is based on this premise with little information given about other means of transportation, tours, etc. I agree with a previous reviewer that the photos were pretty grim and the author's description of Gyumri (where I spent two weeks as a volunteer) left me wondering why I had decided to go there. Contrary to this, I found the people to be some of the most generous, pleasant and hospitable people I have the privilege of meeting. So much for Mr Holding's description of how he found the country and the people.

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A good guide for a first time visitor

This is a good book to have if you are visiting Armenia for the first time, so, you get a sense of what everything is and where to go. Compared to some guides about Europe, it lacks the picture/entertaining part. Usually, people see pictures, are attracted to what they see, and therefore decide to visit that particular location. However, lack of pictures only gives history and people may miss out on some great location, city, monument or achitecture because they may not feel moved by only its history. Overall a good book to have, it can be better though.

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Total false

First of all, Nagorno Karabakh is a territory of Azerbaijan and listing it as territory of Armenia is totally inappropriate. Armenia itself as well as any country in the World never admitted that above referenced area belongs to republic of Armenia.
What to expect from the book if its author don't even know geography and ignores all the ethical rules. This book is a total misrepresentation of facts.


Rating :

Top notch guide for in-country travel

I recently moved to Armenia and purchased this book right before leaving the USA. My interest was mainly to use it to find neat places to go in the countryside, and this book definitely fills that purpose. We live in Yerevan, the capital, which is fairly well documented by the book.
Our second weekend in the country we decided to travel up one of the nearby mountains - wife and three young children - to go sledding in April - and not speaking ANY Armenian yet. All we had to go on was the region map on page 106 and the narative description on the authors travels. We made it to our destination (and two meter deep snow) easily.
Just this past weekend we used the book again to visit an old (1000AD) castle ruins and some monestaries hidden in the forests of the Lori region. The narative in the book was once again precise in all details - our only issue was when we encountered a newly paved road that was described as being in poor condition in the book (time has passed since the writting).
I specially commend the book for those interested in getting out and around to the more remote areas.
The book would be considerably better with maps of every town that the main roads turn in and color pictures mixed in with the text (right now the pictures are all at the center of the book). Yerevan itself is changing rapidly and may not be quite as described, but the countryside is almost identical to when the author visited.

Rating :

good effort

I agree with the other reviewer - it's a good effort and fairly well written. My main issues with this book are 1) that the photographs are incredibly bleak. If I had not visited Armenia last year, I definitely would not have based on the pictures. 2) The Nagorno Karabagh section was very light. It basically seemed like an after thought that was tacked on the last minute.

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1. ISBN13: 9780967212098
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
4. Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Editorial Review :

This book from Stone Garden Guides is unique as the largest and most colorful guidebook available for Armenia and Karabagh. Its 304 pages are filled with 75 vibrant color photographs, and 25 detailed color maps.

This is also the only travel book on Armenia that is truly an "insider’s guide." This is because its authors, Matthew Karanian and Robert Kurkjian, have each lived, worked, and traveled throughout the region for a decade. The text—which is written in a conversational tone that’s easy to read—is also comprehensive and filled with the wisdom of travelers who are as comfortable in Armenia as they are when traveling back home in the US.

Visitors will find that this book is essential gear when traveling throughout Armenia and Karabagh, in the villages as well as in the cities. This guide will help travelers make the best choices when deciding where to go, what to see, and where to eat and sleep.

Short term visitors who don’t speak Armenian will be able to communicate with the assistance of the glossary of phrases. Travelers who have never been to Armenia, and also those who have made a dozen trips, will find the information about the country’s historic sites to be equally fascinating and readable. Nature and conservation are also featured prominently.

The book’s beautiful photography and intriguing background information makes this a book for armchair travelers, too. In addition to being a valuable field guide for seasoned travelers it is also an ideal introduction to the region with lots of intriguing facts and interesting anecdotes about the land and people.

This quality paperback has a durable binding and is a standard 5 x 8 inches to easily fit into your backpack while you’re traveling. Detailed and full color maps, prepared by the American University of Armenia, cover every region of Armenia. Accurate street maps are included for every major city and town. Color tabs make it easy to locate information in any of the book’s ten chapters.

Customer Review :

Armenia - Our Heart, Soul & Passion Rediscovered

Our annual family summer trip was a trip down memory lane but Armenia had changed so much. My last visit 1978, my mother 1938, my father 1991. Now we are a family of 10 introducing our children to their homeland. I am so happy, out of all the tour guides we choose The Stone Garden guide. Having traveled by back pack in my younger days I really enjoyed simple, honest, down to earth opinions and practical suggestions to out of the ordinary destinations. The conversational style of writing was easy to follow and filled with great reflections upon the current enviromental issues, regarding waterways, birds, flowers and especially the delicate aspects of the unprotected churches, caves and historical stone crosses. Each section is filled with travel neccesities along with historical, references to biblical events. Our planning was so smooth, we bought 4 books one for each family and clearly mapped out our day trips with great accuracy and alot of happy, energy contagious from the writers.

As we read out loud to our parents, my dad proclaimed," This book is so good, why do we need a tour guide, just read it as we are driving."
Thank you, Matthew & Robert for your years of research, great photographs but mostly for helping us recapture the ancient soul of Armenia

Rating :

Lacking in Important Information

I got this book for our recent trip to Armenia, based on the reviews I saw here. I am extremely disappointed with the book. One of the main problems is that the authors repeatedly left out important information on the sites listed. For instance, many of the historical churches are given one line of text in the book such as "9th century church with domed frame". But, once at the church and grounds, we read the signs around and realized there was much history at the church included saints martyred and other important events.

As a guide to Armenia, the christian culture and shrines and some of the area's best highlights. This guide does a very poor job at highlighting the best this country has to offer.

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A compact, informative, and accessible guidebook

This is an excellent guidebook. It is helpful and informative without being boring or dry. There are plenty of richly colored pictures, ranging from shots of ancient monasteries and cross stones, to buildings, monuments, and statues erected during the Soviet period, to the faces of ordinary people. The Nagorno-Karabakh section is quite extensive, politics and ethnocentrism aside. If you are planning to visit Armenia/Karabakh, and are looking for a good guidebook, then the Stone Garden Guide is the one to get.

Rating :

Armenian Travel Guide - Excellent!

I was planning a ten day trip to Aremenia and wanted a travel guide. I shopped around and this one seemed to be the best. I was very pleased with it when it arrived and I was even more pleased as I had it in hand while I traveled in Armenia. The book seems to capture the real Armenia in all its beauty. It is now a treasured souvenir of my trip. I recommend buying this book even if you will only be there for a few days.

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Necessary but flawed

If you're planning on travelling through Armenia and Karabagh, you must get this book. It's far and away the most comprehensive guide available to the region. The authors leave practically no corner uncovered, and the listings are excellent.

A few serious caveats, though.

1) It is assumed that you will either drive or take taxis practically EVERYWHERE. There is very little information on public transport, either within the cities or between.

2) There is absolutely NOTHING about vegetarian food. I don't think I've seen a guidebook this size in 20 years that so thoroughly ignores the subject.

3) It is inappropriately political in spots. For example, the authors mention that it is not possible to cross the border into Nakhichevan. That's useful news. They then go on to tell us what horrible things the Azeris are doing to heritage sites in Nakhichevan. That's irrelevant for the purposes of this book. At another point they advise us that "Azerbaijan is thought to harbour terrorist cells." Again, what on earth does that have to do with travelling through Armenia and Karabagh? The aim is obviously to impress on the reader what a bad bunch of people the Azeris are, but the end result for this reader was to think that I had better not rely on any of the history in this book because it is obviously completely one-sided. (The book's whitewashing of what happened in Aghdam is particularly notable in this regard.) The authors' bias is understandable given their own backgrounds, but they really should have done better to keep it out of the text.

If these problems can be corrected for future editions I will happily revise my rating upward.

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More reviews...

1. ISBN13: 9781857334937
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Editorial Review :

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships.

Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include:

* customs, values, and traditions
* historical, religious, and political background
* life at home
* leisure, social, and cultural life
* eating and drinking
* do's, don'ts, and taboos
* business practices
* communication, spoken and unspoken

"Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel

"... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel

"...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer

"...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine

"...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Customer Review :

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