Travels with Kathryn

Today, we headed off to the mountains. We were planning a long drive today, all the way to the border with Russia (not that we would be going through it!).

Our first stop was the Zhinvali resevoir, which was created by the Soviets in 1985 when the Jvari river (and the villages along this river) were flooded. This was used to source most of the drinking water for Tblisi and the suurounding area.

Whilst it is obviously a beautiful spot (see above), Georgia really has been “found” by tourists and not only are there SO MANY tour buses (including big groups of Chinese, Indians and Germans) and local people have also embraced flogging stuff to said tourists. Just behind where I was taking these photos were a large group of souvernier shops, snack/drink vendors, and opportunities to take photos in swings and/or inside hearts. This is the first country I have visited on this trip which actually feels touristy, and whilst I think some tourist infrastructure is a good thing (Krygzystan could do with a little more), this is a little too much.

Onwards to the 16th century Ananuri Complex with includes two churches, a nunnery and a traditional Georgian tall house. It also has a beautiful location, just overlooking the river.

Whilst fighting through the hoards of tourists, I was able to have a wander around the complex. The image below shows the decoartion on the outside of the 17th century church of a cross (for Christianity), lions (for the power of the ruling dukes) and 2 angels – 1 angel is wearing shoes to represent current life, and the other angel is barefoot for future life, when apparently one will not need shoes!

Below is the watch house. This was home to the ruling dukes, but also functioned as a watchtower and a fire would be lit at the top to warn of attacks. These are mainly found in the Svanti region of Georgia, but give an idea of just how often this territory did get invaded over the centuries.

Further up into the mountains, we reached the ski resort of Gudauri. It is always a little odd to visit ski resorts out of season, and although there was a very tiny amount of snow on a distant mountain, the resort will not be open until December/January. However, what we were here was the interestingly named “Peace Balcony.” This was built in the 1980s as a symbol of peaceful friendship between the Soviet Republic of Georgia and the centre of the USSR, Russia. Our guide was quick to point out the irony here… The central image shows a lady and to her left are images of Russia – soldiers, folk figures, bread etc, to her right are images of Georgia – more of the same and also tractors (why one asks?).

We continued driving up and over the Jvari pass at 2,395m above sea level:

Now we were over the past, and we descended slightly to drive through the Gadari jorge to the Kazbegi Glacier. In the shadow of thsi galcier (and surrounding mountains) is the beautiful Church of the Holy Trinity. To reach this, we had to transfer into a 4×4 and then the final slog up the hill.

The church has a beautiful interior and contains many ancient icons and crosses. This is because local people were able to take advantage of their mountain locations to hide these items from invading armies. It is a very popular place for Georgians to get married but I did feel a little sorry for the couple (pictured above) trying to get married whilst a continual stream of tourists came into the church to take photos. We were also very underdressed (although appropriately dressed in our headscarves and long skirts (over trousers!)), particularly when it came to footwear. I have no idea how some of these ladies made it up the cobbled hill in their stilettos, but you have to be impressed by their skills!

We continued all the way along the jorge to see the border with Russia. This is perhaps the closest any of us will get to Russia (and perhaps want to get) for quite some time. Right next to the border is a new 2012 church and monestary, maybe giving lorry drivers the chance to offer a prayer of thanks after having waited however many weeks to cross the border! This has always been a busy border crossing, but now it is one of the only land routes into/out of Russia and whatever we may think regarding the sanctions against Russia, there are any number of European lorries crossing this border…

Well, I cannot say that I have not seen a lot of Georgia having crossed the eastern border with Azerbijan, seen the northern border with Russia and tomorrow crossing the South-Eastern border into Armenia.

The long drive back to Tblisi gave me time to reflect on my short time in Georgia. This has felt like something of a whistle-stop tour, but I also feel like I have fitted a lot into these last couple of days. Georgia is absolutely beautiful, and I will definitely come back – Tblisi would make an excellent mini/short break, and everywhere we have been across, the country has something to offer. The food (and wine I understand) is great, the people are very welcoming and and it is easy to travel around to get your fill of Georgian churches, scenery, and King Erekles statutes! Tomorrow, we attempt to enter Armenia.