Farewell, Georgia!

You have treated me very well, Georgia. I like to think it's for my name, though I know you're not really Georgia but Sakartvelo. Still, we got along very well, especially when I dined with you and for the beautiful surprise yesterday!

Thanks guys! You deserve a post on your own!

So, let's make this a "see you soon!"

Next step, Yerevan, Armenia!

 

Happy birthday to me!

So, I turned 38 today. Probably when I wasn't watching, as I really don't feel 38. Anyway, today I fulfilled one of my latest dreams, to see the Gergeti Trinity Church in Kazbegi. It's a XIV Century orthodox church, built by monks in one of their all times favourite places: the middle of nowhere, possibly somewhere hard to reach.

There are two ways to reach it from the town of Stepansminda, some 6,4 Kms down the valley: taxi and hiking. Not wanting to give in to the new psychological weight of age, I chose the latter. Was it a good choice? A bad choice? Well, let's say this allowed me to see some stunning scenery. But it was exhausting and long. After one hour of walking on uncertain paths and rocky roads, I thought I had finally arrived. I couldn't see the church because trees were blocking my way, but then I looked up and...

Turned out I wasn't almost there.

So I kept walking and walking. My philosophy is "if you can see it you can reach it". I stood by that creed since, well... Half an hour, I think. But that's enough for me. The village was far behind and looking around allowed for fantastic looks at the famous Caucasian landscape. The sky and the light were still absolutely great, so I kept walking.

All my efforts were really for something, though. The prize was there. In all its glory. Hello Gergeti Trinity Church.

I was exhausted and thirsty (I had some water with me, but it was almost finished), so I was delighted to see a beautiful sculpted fountain, with fresh mountain water. Monks are weird but not stupid, after all, and water is a blessing after so many Kms of walking.

After having rested a bit, I went up. The church is of the classic "prescribed cross" shape, with a side entrance rather in front. The bell tower is separated and it doubles as a gate. You go through to reach the main building. Circular patterns, almost resembling Celtic art, are carved on the walls.

Unfortunately it is forbidden to take photos in the church itself, which was pity, because the inside is really worth visiting. And since I'm less Italian than you, I didn't try to sneak any. I took, however, a picture of the two famous "dinosaurs" on the bell tower wall. Nobody is actually sure they're dinosaurs, but I like to think so. And it's not really new stuff, after all we have that thing on the Duomo.

Being here is just undescribable. Photos help a bit, but not much, the feeling of peace helps understating why this place was chosen to become the site for a church. Granted, some other tourists came from time to time, but they weren't overly noisy. Maybe the atmosphere affected them as well.

Mandatory neofolk pose.

Goodbye, wonderful place. You made my birthday a most unique one, that I will dearly remember forever! It's now time for me to go back to Tbilisi and get ready for the second half of my trip. Next destination: Yerevan, Armenia.

(By the way, do you really think I walked all the way down again??? Not a chance in hell! I got a ride from a very Russian man and his very Russian 4x4)

From Tbilisi to Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)

You really have no idea of the landscape I had before my eyes. Unfortunately all the photos have been taken while in motion (and what motion...) and through the dirty glass of the marshrutka, but the beauty of the Caucasus should be clear. Approaching our destination we also climbed above the clouds, so now the sun is shining and a blue sky is over me.

I take it as a birthday present.

Well, this was expected. Really it was!

 

Tbilisi

My last night in Tbilisi, I realised that I've been in Tbilisi for a few days and never really talked about Tbilisi. Only about things in Tbilisi (churches, clubs, food). But there is more that is worth to be told, so let's give a look to the city, albeit a very superficial and "touristic" one.

The first morning I went downtown, walking down on Davit Agmashenebeli (David the Builder, the most successful king of Georgia) avenue, to reach the Tsminda Sameba cathedral. The street is wide and clean, with lots of shops, restaurants and banks.

Liberty Square

However, it doesn't take much to see it change dramatically. Buildings that once must have been beautiful and rich are now in disrepair and lay abandoned, sometimes with a FOR SALE sign.

This is definitely an ex Soviet city, with diffused poverty. Other houses look like they have been affected by an earthquake, especially in the Old Town, close to the manifest luxury or the Tsminda Sameba cathedral, giving a back to the USSR feel all over it. Despite this, however, Tbilisi is a safe city, actually one of the safest, as several articles on the web will explain. Which is actually a good thing, becaue some places are downright scary. This below is a pedestrian underpass.

You see that white thing? For a moment it was obscured by a passing man. Horror stuff, I tell you.

The difference with the richer areas is striking. The Rike park, with the modern Peace Bridge towering over it, offer a definite contrast.

Then, the day after, I thought I would roam a bit north, so I went all the way up Davit Agmashenebeli avenue to Dinamo Stadium, then to the railway station and to the dezerter bazaar. Every saturday I go to the market in Lambrate. Here is no Lambrate (and it's no Saturday also) but this isn't a good reason to skip a market! Yet this was quite different from what I was used to.

Most stalls were manned by one person only. Vegetables, eggs, mushrooms and dried fruit (especially nuts) dominated to view, but fish and meat were also present. The impression was, of course, of poverty, but also of determination, of not giving up.

Tbilisi is rising again, but it still bears the scars of decades of Soviet Union. Sometimes the scars are metaphoric. Other times...

 

Watch over us.

The Narikala fortress at night

 

The (second) inevitable food post.

Meet the chakapuli (ჩაქაფული), a Georgian stew made with lamb, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, unripe (sour) green plums, green onions, green peppers, green coriander, garlic and salt. The plums are unripe in spring, so now it is a bit late for that, mine did not have them, but it was delicious anyway. I also got a serving of Imereti cheese, so large I couldn't finish it.

I am a bit partial to dense soups, especially when it is damn cold outiside, so while I had this today, yesterday I tried karcho (ხარჩო), a traditional soup made with beef and the classic walnut sauce, satsivi (საცივი), very much present in Georgian cuisine.

Speaking of cuisine, I have to admit my newlyfound love for the saperavi red wine. I'm gonna try to bring a bottle of two. I invite all my predictable friends to comment with "ah, but Italian wine...", I'll be happy not to invite them to try it. Georgia is where wine was practically invented, with traces of grape fermentation dating back to 6,000 BC. If you don't believe me, you can always check on Wikipedia.

And now, if you excuse me, there's a chalice of saperavi waiting for me.

(Yeah, I wish)

 

Nightlife - the Canudos (and some other lame bar)

You thought that I was too tired to go out at night after having walked all day, eaten tons of food and visited innumerable churches, right? Well, yeah, I'm tired, but you know the whole "seize the moment", right? So, the first night I was in Georgia, me Alma (German with Indian origins) and Wouter (Dutch), two hostels mates, decided to have some drink. Alma, having been here for some weeks, knew of a bar that always seemed full. So we reached it, braving the cold, and got in.

Canudos is one of the places that immediately strikes you for the very relaxed atmosphere. Rough woden tables and chairs, Oriental themes and a lit fireplace give a friendly feel. After a few minutes we got in, a band started to play in a corner, mostly covering English and American songs. I don't usually like cover bands, but this was clearly here as a jukebox replacement and they could actually play. We sat on a large wooden table in the back room, where the music allowed us to talk and got beer and glint wine (from Russian Глинтвейн, glintwein, a kind of mulled wine).

The second thing I noticed, after the joyful atmosphere, is that in Georgia, unfortunately, smoke is still allowed indoor. Not everyone was smoking, so the annoyance was not extreme, but the effects were noticeable. After a while, someone started cooking large skewers on the lit fireplace, and I noticed it just when I passed in front of it to go to the counter. No delicious smell of barbecued meat came to me, because cigarette smoke covered everything.

After a while we decided to change place, but after skipping British and Irish pubs we ended up in a rather sad and empty bar which turned out having a Spanish theme. Or at least it was supposed to be. We were the only patrons, the TV was broadcasting a lame kinky show and it felt like the staff couldn't wait for us to scram, so we drank our stuff and hurried back to Canudos, where we stayed more or less until the end.

 

The Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition

Yay, more churches! Basically my stay here is being characterized by two things: ingurgitating massive amounts of (good) food and visiting tons of orthodox churches. The Sioni Cathedral was the main Georgian Orthodox Cathedral and the seat of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia until the Holy Trinity Cathedral was consecrated in 2004. It is found in Sionis Kucha (Sioni Street) in downtown Tbilisi, with its eastern façade fronting the right embankment of the Mtkvari River.

Again, I couldn't help noticing how the religious sense here goes far deeper what we're used to. I guess there's a reason why it's called orthodox, right? People here cross themselves (one, maybe two times) just passing on the street next to a church, not just when entering or leaving.

The light was very low, so rather than trying to take pictures showing the beautiful frescoes or the icons, I tried to capture the atmosphere. Which is rather fantastic excuse for "I couldn't do better than this", but you don't know, so you're gonna believe it!

The Narikala Fortress

Built sometimes in the IV Century, the fortress was called Shuris-tsikhe (I did not manage to find the exact meaning, sometimes it's translated as enviable fortress other times invidious fort). Even the later name is conteste, as someone claims it comes from an ancient Persian word for citadel but the most accepted theory is that the Mongols called it Narin Qala, meaning little fortress. It was then expanded during the Umayyad caliphate rule and further again by David IV, the Builder. It overlooks the whole city and allows for fantastic pictures, when the weather isn't as shitty as it is now.

You can access it by walking or by taking a cable car. Guess what I did. Yay, big toys! Anyway, most of the fortress lies in ruin. One of the most notable feature is the recently renovated St. Nicholas church, which pictures I took but I won't post, out of spite for having it found closed. Take that, Nicholas! I don't care of your sainthood!

One selfie a day, keeps the doctor away. I wonder why he didn't show up, then.

The verdant Caucasus scenery. I had to work magic with photo editing to remove a bit of the grayness. But the best bit is the statues of Kartlis Deda, Mother Georgia. It's a damn 20 meters tall aluminium woman. Erected in 1958 to celebrate Tbilisi's 1500th anniversary, according to Wikipedia symbolizes the Georgian national character: in her left hand she holds a bowl of wine to greet those who come as friends, and in her right hand is a sword for those who come as enemies.

Unfortunately, her position on the edge of a hill doesn't allow proper boob shots. Georgia is a religious country, after all.