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.
No comments:
Post a Comment