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South-West Georgia
Nov. 21st, 2016 11:46 pmThe only day remaining regarding the Georgia trip write-up was a week last Thursday, 10 November, when we went touring around south-west Georgia with Tamari's husband. The plan had been to leave Gori that day and go to Akhaltsikhe to stay there for two nights, but the evening before, Tamari had convinced us that we could do everything we wanted to do down there in a day and she volunteered her husband to drive us. He had driven us around Gori the day before and I felt a little sorry for him as he didn't seem to have much of a say in this, but he accepted at Tamari's insistence and after a lovely breakfast of scrambled egg, bread and homemade jams and jellies, we set off out of Gori and headed towards the south-west.
The drive was long, a good three hours, with the itinery calling off at the furthest sight and working our way back. This was the cave city of Vardzia, perched high on a hillside overlooking the upper Mtkvari River, only 10km away from the Turkish border. The wilderness got increasingly more remote as we headed away from Akhaltisikhe and deeper into the countryside, before we spied the open caves clinging to the rockface above us. It was quite wonderous, even if it was hard to believe that this once was a major settlement. It's a huge cultural symbol in Georgia, with King Giorgi III building a fortification here in the twelfth century. It was turned into a monestary by the revered Queen Tamar and housed around 500 monks, becoming a symbol of Christianity at its far eastern fringe. There were between nine and thirteen floors depending on whether you were on the western or eastern flank of the complex, with over 400 rooms, 25 wine cellars and 13 churches. Not much remains, with an earthquake in 1283 shaking most of the mountain into the green-ribbon river below. Only 20% or so is still intact and looking out at the verdant valley below with the rocky peaks on the other side, you can see the line where the complex used to be.
We parked at the car park underneath the caves, meaning we had a bit of a climb up to the complex itself. Declining an audio guide and opting for a human instead, we were told to meet her in the belltower, although my Russian was nowhere near good enough to work out what that meant. As we walked up, Wolfie became a little apprehensive about the prospect of the overhanging balconies, what with his fear of heights, but apart from one area, he was generally okay. Once we got to the start of the complex and we could see no guide, we started to get a little concerned that we had paid for something we weren't going to get, but after checking a mechanic's porter cabin for signs of life, we just decided to get on with it, noticing a small chapel and a few minor caves before reaching the belltower, where our guide was waiting for us. She looked like a girl I used to work with called Ellie, which was a little distracting, but she was full of interesting facts about the site and hiring her was worthwhile. She told us how these were all the interior rooms and most of them would have been painted, while she also showed us the bread making facilities, one of the apohecaries and the dining room, where monks would sit opposite each other, eating in a social manner. She also told us a lot of history, such as in 1551, the Georgians were defeated by the Persians in a battle within these caves, and we were taken to the place where the last dozen monks were brutally executed. There was a lot of renovation going on as it was tourist low-season - indeed we were two of about seven tourists we actually saw - so we weren't allowed into the Church of the Assumption as they were cleaning the frescos. Meanwhile, the monestary has since become active once again and another one of the churches wasn't on show as a fire from a candle in late October had caused significant damage. As we were walking around, we could also see people high up on the rock face, protecting the site by slinging huge nets over the outcrops to prevent landslides which could kill tourists. The tour itself lasted about forty-five minutes of scurring up and down secret passageways or looking out at the breahtaking valley views, while the secret tunnel at the end to exit the complex just added a further layer of magic to the whole thing.
After our trip to Vardzia, I had wanted to check out the caves of Vanis Qvabebi, but Wolfie didn't fancy climbing up to the little white church at its summit using a number of wooden ladders inside the rockface itself. This site is four centuries older than Vardzia but to be fair time was pressing. However, we did get chance to take a look at the Khertvisi Fortress, which we had spied on our way up to Vardzia perched on a rocky crag at the confluence of the Paravani and Mtkvari Rivers. It's a bit of a scrabble to get up there and the arrows painted onto the rocks evoked the horror that is 'Release the Hounds' but this tenth to fourteenth century construction formed a key part of the Georgian defence such is its excellent vantage point. We saw this from the interior of the complex, with any internal construction now gone, and it provided an excellent ten minute diversion from the long driving.
Our next stop was Akhaltsikhe itself, and specifically Rabati Castle which overlooks the town from the north side of the Potskhovi River. Built in the twelfth century but renovated recently in the Georgian government's attempts to boost regional development, the complex is a symbol of the tolerant nature of the town. Rabati was celebrated for its ethnic and religious diversity, which wasn't surprising considering that this place is a frontier town between modern day Turkey and Armenia, not to mention the huge Persian influence in the area. Inside Rabati today there is still a mosque, a synogogue and churches from the Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Georgian Orthodox denominations, a miscellany of buildings contained within a grey-walled stone fortress. Wandering around here is quite a surreal experience as there is so much going on, but our guide did her best to make us understand it. The highlight was the Samtskhe-Javakheti History Museum, a museum I have never been whisked through so quickly in my life. It spans the whole history of the region, from the fourth millennium BC up to the nineteenth century, but our guide barely stopped for breath as she showed us every exhibit inside. The architectural highlight was perhaps the small garden, which brought back memories of Sevilla, or the marble surrounded pool outside the stone-brick Ahmadiyya Mosque with its two story medrese in the background. Of course, we had seen a working medrese in Morocco, which was fascinating, and this was rather plain as it's no longer in use, but the mixing of cultures here was quite exhilarating. I wanted to go exploring, going up and down all of the passageways and stairwells, with Wolfie getting a bit annoyed by my exuberance. The highlight was definitely the highest tower though, atop of which flew a huge Georgian flag, and which afforded excellent panoramic views of every direction. The town of Akhaltiskhe itself only grew up in the nineteenth century but again is known for its tolerance, and while staying here may have been interesting, the size of it and the fact we had done the only tourist site here within two hours suggests we had made the right call about residing in Gori. On our way out, I insisted we explore all the towers along the fortification and we ended up being caught in someone's wedding, so we ducked out politely.
We had grabbed some crisps on the way into the Fortress as we hadn't eaten lunch, and we had hoped to get another snack but alas the shop was closed. There were a number of expensive looking restaurants and wine shops in the complex too, but it was 4:15pm by this stage and we knew that sunset was fast approaching. We had one more stop to go, the town of Borjomi, about an hour away and equidistant between Akhaltiskhe and Gori. Famed for its sulphorous fizzy natural mineral water, Borjomi was the most popular brand of bottled mineral water in the Soviet era and is still widely sold in Georgia today. Borjomi is very much a resort town and thus thoroughly depressing in November, but the high mountain peaks and tree-lined valleys were quite pleasant, as long as you could disregard the amusements as you walked through the Mineral Water Park. It's here that you can find the original warm mineral spring, named Ekaterina Spring, which sits under a green metal, glass domed pavilion. People come to fill bottles with the salty-sour water and we sampled it ourselves, just by cupping our hands, and it tasted far too eggy for my liking. Definitely an acquired taste. The commercial Borjomi plants do draw their water from a number of different springs but the same taste prevails. There is a small spring fed pool some 3km further up, with a water temperature at a constant 27C, but alas the night was drawing in and we didn't really get chance to see it. We did decide to walk through the park a bit though, making the most of our one lari entrance fee, but all there was was children's amusements lying dormant and bars closed for the winter. All a little depressing. The main building to the left of the entrance was blasting out classical music though, which gave it a greater Soviet feel, while upon departing the park, we did take a look at the neatened up old wooden houses, not to mention the funky design of the Crowne Plaza hotel. All of the shops seemed to be closed, with the street seeming the home of old woman honey and mead merchants, something from which we refrained.
After this, we got back in the car and headed back, calling in at Tamari's favourite bakery in Gori to pick up some fresh bread for dinner. Tamari had cooked us something special, partly out of regret for not being able to come with us (the other guests, the Spainsh couple, hadn't left until later in the day and so she was stuck at the guesthouse until their departure), and partly because of the classical Georgian hospitality, although she did admit she was our mother for a few days. She had prepared a range of food to go with the piping hot loaves, including kebab in a tomato sauce and rice covered in cabbage leaves. Everything was delicious, and with more homemade wine on tap, it was a glorious evening and a great way to end the day.
The drive was long, a good three hours, with the itinery calling off at the furthest sight and working our way back. This was the cave city of Vardzia, perched high on a hillside overlooking the upper Mtkvari River, only 10km away from the Turkish border. The wilderness got increasingly more remote as we headed away from Akhaltisikhe and deeper into the countryside, before we spied the open caves clinging to the rockface above us. It was quite wonderous, even if it was hard to believe that this once was a major settlement. It's a huge cultural symbol in Georgia, with King Giorgi III building a fortification here in the twelfth century. It was turned into a monestary by the revered Queen Tamar and housed around 500 monks, becoming a symbol of Christianity at its far eastern fringe. There were between nine and thirteen floors depending on whether you were on the western or eastern flank of the complex, with over 400 rooms, 25 wine cellars and 13 churches. Not much remains, with an earthquake in 1283 shaking most of the mountain into the green-ribbon river below. Only 20% or so is still intact and looking out at the verdant valley below with the rocky peaks on the other side, you can see the line where the complex used to be.
We parked at the car park underneath the caves, meaning we had a bit of a climb up to the complex itself. Declining an audio guide and opting for a human instead, we were told to meet her in the belltower, although my Russian was nowhere near good enough to work out what that meant. As we walked up, Wolfie became a little apprehensive about the prospect of the overhanging balconies, what with his fear of heights, but apart from one area, he was generally okay. Once we got to the start of the complex and we could see no guide, we started to get a little concerned that we had paid for something we weren't going to get, but after checking a mechanic's porter cabin for signs of life, we just decided to get on with it, noticing a small chapel and a few minor caves before reaching the belltower, where our guide was waiting for us. She looked like a girl I used to work with called Ellie, which was a little distracting, but she was full of interesting facts about the site and hiring her was worthwhile. She told us how these were all the interior rooms and most of them would have been painted, while she also showed us the bread making facilities, one of the apohecaries and the dining room, where monks would sit opposite each other, eating in a social manner. She also told us a lot of history, such as in 1551, the Georgians were defeated by the Persians in a battle within these caves, and we were taken to the place where the last dozen monks were brutally executed. There was a lot of renovation going on as it was tourist low-season - indeed we were two of about seven tourists we actually saw - so we weren't allowed into the Church of the Assumption as they were cleaning the frescos. Meanwhile, the monestary has since become active once again and another one of the churches wasn't on show as a fire from a candle in late October had caused significant damage. As we were walking around, we could also see people high up on the rock face, protecting the site by slinging huge nets over the outcrops to prevent landslides which could kill tourists. The tour itself lasted about forty-five minutes of scurring up and down secret passageways or looking out at the breahtaking valley views, while the secret tunnel at the end to exit the complex just added a further layer of magic to the whole thing.
After our trip to Vardzia, I had wanted to check out the caves of Vanis Qvabebi, but Wolfie didn't fancy climbing up to the little white church at its summit using a number of wooden ladders inside the rockface itself. This site is four centuries older than Vardzia but to be fair time was pressing. However, we did get chance to take a look at the Khertvisi Fortress, which we had spied on our way up to Vardzia perched on a rocky crag at the confluence of the Paravani and Mtkvari Rivers. It's a bit of a scrabble to get up there and the arrows painted onto the rocks evoked the horror that is 'Release the Hounds' but this tenth to fourteenth century construction formed a key part of the Georgian defence such is its excellent vantage point. We saw this from the interior of the complex, with any internal construction now gone, and it provided an excellent ten minute diversion from the long driving.
Our next stop was Akhaltsikhe itself, and specifically Rabati Castle which overlooks the town from the north side of the Potskhovi River. Built in the twelfth century but renovated recently in the Georgian government's attempts to boost regional development, the complex is a symbol of the tolerant nature of the town. Rabati was celebrated for its ethnic and religious diversity, which wasn't surprising considering that this place is a frontier town between modern day Turkey and Armenia, not to mention the huge Persian influence in the area. Inside Rabati today there is still a mosque, a synogogue and churches from the Catholic, Armenian Apostolic and Georgian Orthodox denominations, a miscellany of buildings contained within a grey-walled stone fortress. Wandering around here is quite a surreal experience as there is so much going on, but our guide did her best to make us understand it. The highlight was the Samtskhe-Javakheti History Museum, a museum I have never been whisked through so quickly in my life. It spans the whole history of the region, from the fourth millennium BC up to the nineteenth century, but our guide barely stopped for breath as she showed us every exhibit inside. The architectural highlight was perhaps the small garden, which brought back memories of Sevilla, or the marble surrounded pool outside the stone-brick Ahmadiyya Mosque with its two story medrese in the background. Of course, we had seen a working medrese in Morocco, which was fascinating, and this was rather plain as it's no longer in use, but the mixing of cultures here was quite exhilarating. I wanted to go exploring, going up and down all of the passageways and stairwells, with Wolfie getting a bit annoyed by my exuberance. The highlight was definitely the highest tower though, atop of which flew a huge Georgian flag, and which afforded excellent panoramic views of every direction. The town of Akhaltiskhe itself only grew up in the nineteenth century but again is known for its tolerance, and while staying here may have been interesting, the size of it and the fact we had done the only tourist site here within two hours suggests we had made the right call about residing in Gori. On our way out, I insisted we explore all the towers along the fortification and we ended up being caught in someone's wedding, so we ducked out politely.
We had grabbed some crisps on the way into the Fortress as we hadn't eaten lunch, and we had hoped to get another snack but alas the shop was closed. There were a number of expensive looking restaurants and wine shops in the complex too, but it was 4:15pm by this stage and we knew that sunset was fast approaching. We had one more stop to go, the town of Borjomi, about an hour away and equidistant between Akhaltiskhe and Gori. Famed for its sulphorous fizzy natural mineral water, Borjomi was the most popular brand of bottled mineral water in the Soviet era and is still widely sold in Georgia today. Borjomi is very much a resort town and thus thoroughly depressing in November, but the high mountain peaks and tree-lined valleys were quite pleasant, as long as you could disregard the amusements as you walked through the Mineral Water Park. It's here that you can find the original warm mineral spring, named Ekaterina Spring, which sits under a green metal, glass domed pavilion. People come to fill bottles with the salty-sour water and we sampled it ourselves, just by cupping our hands, and it tasted far too eggy for my liking. Definitely an acquired taste. The commercial Borjomi plants do draw their water from a number of different springs but the same taste prevails. There is a small spring fed pool some 3km further up, with a water temperature at a constant 27C, but alas the night was drawing in and we didn't really get chance to see it. We did decide to walk through the park a bit though, making the most of our one lari entrance fee, but all there was was children's amusements lying dormant and bars closed for the winter. All a little depressing. The main building to the left of the entrance was blasting out classical music though, which gave it a greater Soviet feel, while upon departing the park, we did take a look at the neatened up old wooden houses, not to mention the funky design of the Crowne Plaza hotel. All of the shops seemed to be closed, with the street seeming the home of old woman honey and mead merchants, something from which we refrained.
After this, we got back in the car and headed back, calling in at Tamari's favourite bakery in Gori to pick up some fresh bread for dinner. Tamari had cooked us something special, partly out of regret for not being able to come with us (the other guests, the Spainsh couple, hadn't left until later in the day and so she was stuck at the guesthouse until their departure), and partly because of the classical Georgian hospitality, although she did admit she was our mother for a few days. She had prepared a range of food to go with the piping hot loaves, including kebab in a tomato sauce and rice covered in cabbage leaves. Everything was delicious, and with more homemade wine on tap, it was a glorious evening and a great way to end the day.
