‘Stone Garden Guide:
Armenia and Karabagh’

The following book reviews are from customers of the online bookseller Amazon.com. These reviews are unsolicited testimonials from actual readers and users of the book.

A compact, informative, and accessible guidebook, Oct. 31, 2007
Reviewer: Jack Kalayjian (Los Angeles, California)

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.

The essential guide to 'Armenia and Karabagh', Sept. 15, 2007
Reviewer: Armenian Traveller (London, England)

I have just returned from Armenia and Karabagh, and found this the better of the two guidebooks I took.

Although this book was written for the American market, the detail provided is superb. There are many maps in colour covering both districts and town centres. Descriptions of hotels (hostel to 5-star), cafes, museums, etc. included for each town. The authors also estimate the journey time between towns and include their personal opinions. There are also numerous coloured photographs.

One small fault is that a few of the locations referenced in the narrative could not be found on the related map, but I feel sure that this fault would be corrected in a later edition.

[Note: This review originated on Amazon’s British site, www.amazon.co.uk]

Armenia - Our Heart, Soul & Passion Rediscovered, July 18, 2007
Reviewer: Denise Hagopian “Folklorist & Traveler” (Montebello, CA USA)

Our annual family summer trip was a trip down memory lane but Armenia had changed so much. I am so happy, out of all the tour guides we chose The Stone Garden guide. Having traveled by backpack in my younger days I really enjoyed the 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 environmental 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 necessities along with historical, references to biblical events.

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

Armenian Travel Guide-- Excellent!, April 14, 2007
Reviewer: R. K. Miller (Louisville, KY United States)

I was planning a ten-day trip to Armenia 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.

The Definitive Guide to Armenia & Karabagh, November 9, 2006
Reviewer: Mihran Boyadjian (Larnaca, Cyprus)

Having just come back from a months stay in Armenia including a short visit to Karabagh, I am amazed at the amount of up to date and useful information contained in this book. You feel that the authors were there the day before your visit and give you all the tips and advice that can make your trip a memorable one. The color photographs as well as the glossy pages are of the highest quality, ensuring it a permanent place on any bookshelf or coffee table.

What a great book!, November 4, 2006
Reviewer: Davit Zargarian “The barbarian” (Ottawa, Canada)

I haven't finished reading all sections of this travel guide yet, but I can say confidently that this is a very helpful, succinct, and insightful guide. (I think that an excellent travel guide should be very enjoyable to read cover to cover, but one sign of an expertly written guide is that it delivers meaningful info even when read in snippets only.)

The writing is very straight-forward, jargon-free, and easy-to-understand. I've been also impressed with all the detailed info such as how to make phone calls, where to wash your laundry, which bus or train to take to go from point A to point B, how to deal with the local culture, etc. One thing I did not expect to see from a travel guide to Armenia was the in-depth discussion of the environmental concerns and issues bound to arise during a trip to this neglected land. It was good to hear that there are many out there who are paying attention to improving Armenia's environment, and to learn how even those of us who are not as conscious and committed can contribute to preserving this precious heritage.

This guide will be most helpful to those who have only a minimum of knowledge about Armenian culture, history, language, etc. The authours have thought of everything one would need to enjoy the trip to its maximum.

In my case, although my planned trip to Armenia will be my first ever, I am not overly concerend about how I'll manage since I speak Armenian and feel confident I could get around fairly easily. Nevertheless, the info in this guide makes me feel I could pretend I've been there and done that many times before!

Another important point for those who, like me, will do brief and hasty trips only and will not fully explore this tiny land before your retirement, is that reading this book makes you feel you have a good feel for how life is in the out of the way spots. You will become an armchair expert on Armenia's flora and fauna, the topography, the local habits, etc.

Finally, one point I really found neat was the description of the B+B scene. Not only did I learn that Ottawa's own Antoine and Sheila Terjanian operate a cozy B+B an hour's drive south-east of Yerevan, which I hope to visit, but it was reassuring to know that there are a few simple alternatives for those who are seeking a more intimate setting for their sejour.

Overall, I think this guide is a great read and can help plan your trip with minimum fuss and worry.

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by Kurkjian and Karanian