Well why there? The answer is two-fold. I've never been! And, friends Hugh & Tammy decided to visit there as part of their 2024, 13-month, multi-country tour from Oz. So, we decided to join them there and elsewhere. So, a chance to discover a new and unvisited country.
We flew into Tbilisi, discovering the capital for a couple of days, drove west from there and then north to Stepantsminda, near the Russian border. Then, it was to the east into the wine region of Kakheti at Signaghi, next crossing the border into Armenia near Sadalko for a stop at Dzoraget, then to its capital, Yerevan, taking a route via Lake Sevan. We returned home from Yerevan.
Before heading off, I did a lot of reading up on The Caucasus and Georgia & Armenia in particular and did it take a bit of time! Lots has happened historically in this cross-roads North/South, East/West and Europe/Asia, caught between the Black and Caspian Seas, and gosh, it's complicated!
We flew into Tbilisi, discovering the capital for a couple of days, drove west from there and then north to Stepantsminda, near the Russian border. Then, it was to the east into the wine region of Kakheti at Signaghi, next crossing the border into Armenia near Sadalko for a stop at Dzoraget, then to its capital, Yerevan, taking a route via Lake Sevan. We returned home from Yerevan.
Our hotel in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, was The House, is located in the Old Town and what a fascinating area that is. Old crumbling buildings, many of which seemed on the verge of collapse but seemed to be still occupied, were abound along with the external gas pipes routed along the outside with spurs and meters off into buildings! I later learned that this method of installation was an expedient for distribution, but it did strike me as very vulnerable to damage from vehicles amongst other things! Gas was supplied to Georgia from Russia, but that was cut off and Georgia then sought supply from Azerbaijan. However, gas it still piped through Georgia to Armenia.
Georgians pride themselves on being welcoming and upbeat and the people certainly came across that way. The streets sported art in places and there a lot of dogs, albeit with ear tags, wandering freely. It seems that they are regulated and neutered but do roam freely anywhere and are friendly. They do seem well fed.
 |
| The House Hotel courtyard restaurant Blue Fox from our balcony |
 |
| Our balcony |
 |
| ? |
 |
| The Leaning Clocktower |
The leaning clocktower was fairly new (2012) and was built that way, but it did seem to lack structural integrity and needed the steel beam to keep it up! It is attached to the puppet theatre of renowned puppeteer Rezo Gabriadze. He himself is the brainchild behind the structure, as well as the building to its side, which houses the actual theatre. It is built from abandoned materials from the Old Town and took 4 years to construct.
Wandering through the area just revealed one after another crack or other defect and there do not seem to be any enforced regulations on structural safety that might safeguard the lives of those in occupation!
 |
| Gas pipe about 10 feet on supporting poles above the pavement! |
 |
| Rainwater directed out into the street below! |
True there have been earthquakes in the past, on top of dilapidation and I couldn't feeling that some were on the brink of collapse!
 |
| River Kura |
 |
| Peace Bridge |
 |
| On the Peace Bridge across the Kura |
 |
| Jean with Ronald Reagan |
 |
| Aged mountain cheese platter |
 |
| She managed a smile despite the seat being wet! |
 |
| Cheese pie Protocol is to share dishes and this worked well |
 |
| Never found out whether they were prayer offerings or ? |
 |
| Climb to Holy Trinity |
 |
| Holy Trinity |
Holy Trinity, high and overlooking the city is the centre of Georgian Orthodox Christianity.
 |
| Peace Bridge, left of centre |
 |
| Mother of Georgia Sword to fend off enemies Tray of wine (far side) to welcome friends |
 |
| Concert pianist earning a little extra |
 |
| Lunch calls! |
Georgian food is very good and portion sizes befit sharing, about which we were glad to have been guided. The weather was outstanding in Tbilisi with clear blue skies, sunshine and dry, which was quite unexpected but perfect for wandering.
 |
| Another gas pipe and a slumping door |
Heading out of Tbilisi for the first time, with our driver Giorgi, was to Jvari Monastry, about 25km away and overlooking the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, the latter glacial and a different colour, as well as the town of Mtksheta and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
 |
| Jvari Monastry |
 |
| Confluence |
 |
| Entrance to the cathedral |
 |
| Svetitskoveli Cathedral |
 |
| 4th Century Fresco |
 |
| Coffee & cake stop |
Driving further west passed very close to the South Ossetia area - predominantly Russian even though within Georgia - that elected to remain separate as an internationally recognised enclave. From there, it was onward to the ancient caves at Uplistsikhe outside the town of Gori. Dug into the sandstone and overlooking the River Kura, these caves were defensible hiding places, dating from around the 4th century.
 |
| The Church of Prince high above the caves |
It was very windy clambering over the sandstone formations.
 |
| Briefing from Giorgi |
 |
| Inside the Church of Prince |
Giorgi was not only a competent driver for these roads, which are not as disciplined as elsewhere, but was also an extremely knowledgeable guide and very personable company. We warmed to his company and learned much about him as the trip progressed - second language German, but his English was excellent too, and he would later demonstrate the value of having Russian at his disposable. He is extremely fit and does lots of hiking, climbing and such adventure pursuits.
It was my 77th birthday and I was surprised at breakfast with a cake from the hotel with cards, those that had arrived before we left and Jean had brought, and a present! It is a local product of nuts encased in a sort of gelatine, formed into the shape of a candle. Hugh & Tammy selected three in the colours of the Irish flag - green, white and gold, highly befitting my other passport!
 |
| Churchkhela in the colours of the Irish Tricolour |
Then it became time to leave Tbilisi and take to the Georgian Military Highway, so named from >200 years ago because of what it was for and by whom it was built. We had several stops along the way, crossed over some high passes, peaking at about 2,400m, and were lucky enough to get past queues of trucks bound for the Russian border. They were being stopped and then released in blocks by the Police. When we passed through old Soviet era single lane tunnels on the other side, it was evident that they were too narrow for a truck and a car, barely two cars, never mind two trucks!
 |
| Loading up our Mitsubishi Delica We fitted in, just! |
 |
| Ananuri Fortress Complex first stop on the Highway |
 |
| Overlooking the Zhinvali Reservoir very low |
 |
| Climbing towards the snow |
 |
| Trucks heading (slowly) for Russia |
When we encountered the queue, we were able to make good progress overtaking, fortunately little to no traffic coming the other way, and the truck drivers seemed to allow a space for any of them to pull in.
But, it didn't last forever!
We had truly climbed into the snow by now.
 |
| Now queued |
 |
| More trucks waiting where we stopped for coffee at the Gudairi ski resort, at around 2100m |
Nestled in the Jvari (Cross) Pass, we stopped at the Russian-Georgia Friendship Monument, just beyond the ski resort.
 |
| Russian-Georgia (so called) Friendship Monument |
Giorgi explained that it was 'so called' because of the pretentiousness of friendship in a fractious relationship, purported by the Russians but depicted with art that portrayed that contradiction in a clever and subtle way that had to be looked for in the paintings.
 |
| Rooms Hotel Stepantsminda |
It was definitely the right and best place to stay, with a terrific view over the valley, up to the Gergeti Trinity Church on a peak opposite and the Kazbegi Mountain beyond, even if it did have the look of a prison (credit Giorgi) from the outside! It was way too hot inside and had large tables in the restaurant that were shared with others, and it was noisy! That sounds a rather conflicted review, but it was the right place nonetheless!
 |
| A dinner birthday celebration with Gergeti Trinity Church lit and visible on the hillside behind |
And there was even a birthday cake here as well to celebrate!
 |
| Medok Honeycake with candle |
 |
| Sno [sic] Valley carved heads near Stepantsminda |
 |
| Terek Valley falling towards the Russia border |
 |
| Dariali Monastery by the Russian border |
 |
| Russian border at the narrowest gorge of the valley |
It is a little difficult to see the detail because of all the clutter in the image, but it was as close as we could get looking down on it from the Monastery. It is in a very narrow gorge in the valley.
 |
| An almost invisible hillside settlement overlooking the border |
Here, small numbers of villagers in earlier times used to be able to defend against battalions of invaders.
 |
| Priest tending the trees |
 |
| An old Soviet car 'Moscow' on the bonnet |
 |
| Terek Valley from a high point above the Highway |
 |
| A hillside village graveyard high above the Terek Valley |
 |
| Terek valley highway below |
 |
| An avalanche almost blocks the access road up to Gergeti church |
 |
| Gergeti Trinity Church the last bit a walk |
 |
| Layered stone formation on the final ascent up to the church |
 |
| Looking down on Stepantsminda from the church |
 |
| The final ascent to the church |
The weather had continued mostly kind although temperatures were considerably colder in low single figures. Rain was to make an appearance the following day as we returned over the Jvari Pass heading back towards Tbilisi before turning east towards the wine country and Sighnaghi.
 |
| Kazbegi Mountain across from Rooms Hotel about 4,000m |
 |
| Heading back over Jvari Pass |
 |
| Weather had turned murky and damp |
 |
| Trucks queuing again |
 |
| Korbuda Restaurant |
Near to Pasanauri village, we called into the Korbuda Restaurant to sample some khinkali, a traditional Georgian dish that originates from this area. The original is minced lamb boiled in a dough casing and has to be eaten upside down, holding the central fold, occasionally sucking out the juice to avoid spillage! They were delicious and we added the simpler cheese one as well.
 |
| Georgi talks through the places we will visit while we wait for the khinkali |
 |
| The restaurant had a great mix of rustic finishes and styles, inside and out |
 |
| Meat and cheese khinkali Giorgi demonstrates how to hold it |
 |
| And a local beer finishes it off nicely! |
We then travelled onward to Tevali for a walkabout before heading onwards for Lost Ridge Ranch in Sighnagi in the Kakheti Wine Region, in the east of Georgia.
 |
| Tevali a mix of buildings, some ugly Soviet ones, but they are trying to restore in the traditional style |
 |
| King Erekle II statue Tevali Monarch of Kakheti 1744-1762 |
 |
| Giant Plane Tree Tevali |
 |
| Schuchmann Winery near Tevali Clay pots fermenting wine below ground level |
The winery makes Georgian wines in the traditional manner where the fermentation takes place in buried clay pots. It also makes sparkling Chardonnay, which is secondary fermented and riddled while bottled in the traditional French way. The bottle neck is then frozen for the yeast plug to be removed before final capping of the bottle.
 |
| Saperavi red wine maturing in barrels |
 |
| Riddling racks |
 |
| The finale and the time for tasting finally arrives! |
 |
| Two whites (amber) and a red |
 |
| 10 in the left + 2 in the right Impressive! |
 |
| Lost Ridge Ranch & Craft Beer Brewery |
 |
| Time for tasting Black IPA & Hazy IPA |
We met the Brewmeister, a young American from California, who works at a couple of craft breweries and he clearly knew his stuff when responding to a question about lager making from Hugh.
 |
| Dinner at the Ranch Restaurant a shortcut walk away, but with our return in the dark after an onboarding of some fine Saperavi red using mobile torches meant getting a tad lost! |
 |
| A patient plea to share dinner! |
During a rather damp day with limited visibility of the wonderful hills and views, we toured the Bodbe Monastry aka Convent of St Nino, where a huge and very impressive new Monastry is nearly complete alongside it.
 |
| Old Covent |
 |
| New Bodbe Monastry alongside |
 |
| Waiting for Giogi to pick us up at the bottom of the path down to the Holy Spring |
 |
| One of the many friendly but tagged roaming dogs |
 |
| Sighnagi, town on the hill |
 |
| Russian Lada |
 |
| Monument to the Fallen |
 |
| City Wall |
 |
| Beware Rainwater is just directed out into the middle of the road! |
 |
| Georgi on the city wall |
 |
| The City Wall encompassed a huge area Just visible on the hilltop opposite |
 |
| Jean meets another dog on the City Wall |
Then it was time to load up and head towards the Armenian border, near Sadakhlo, with a few stops along the way, including a wander around a local market.
 |
| Loading up again |
 |
| Cheeses We discovered some are quite sour |
 |
| Chickens |
 |
| More churchkhela |
 |
| Still not sure what this dried something was! |
 |
| Goodbye Georgia Hello Armenia |
The crossing was surprisingly quick and easy although we did have to take our luggage out for a cursory x-ray on the Armenian side. While waiting for Georgi to clear his vehicle paperwork, we saw a mother with her pups under a small tree.
 |
| Haghbat Monastry 976AD |
 |
| Mining town below |
 |
| Soviet era housing built in 'tuff', a soft rock that is formed from liquified volcanic ash |
 |
| Sanahin Monastry 966AD |
 |
| More engraved pictures on headstones |
 |
| In need of some refurbishment?! |
Then, it was onward to Dzoraget, and a one night stop by the river.
 |
| Tukfenkian Avan Dzoraget Hotel |
Unfortunately, Jean had a mishap inside this hotel when she tripped on a stone staircase. She was lucky to escape more serious injuries, but had to visit a hospital. The hotel staff were great and crowded round with help and, in the end, we decided to take her with us as we would be passing through the town with the nearest hospital.
Heading east, we stopped briefly at the small town of Dilijan.
 |
| More Soviet era housing built in tuff |
 |
| Dilijan Old Town |
 |
| Small, but pretty |
 |
| Sevanavank Monastery on the hill overlooking Lake Sevan |
 |
| Lake Sevan with snow-capped hills in the background |
 |
| Hugh and I opted out of the climb to the monastery and had a walkabout |
 |
We met 4 young Jordanian female medical students having a picnic in the covered seating to the right above, to celebrate the end of Ramadan. They were very friendly and gave us each a banana and a chocolate bar!
 |
| A curious conversion! 'Be Blessed' |
Turning to the southwest, it was onward to Yerevan, capital of Armenia, and the Tukfenkian Heritage Hotel in the old town.
 |
| Carpet weaving machine takes centre stage in the dining room |
 |
| Carpet shop beside the restaurant |
The hotel were great on our arrival, finding Jean an office chair with wheels to get to the room, and she kept it for the rest of the stay. She rested up to allow recovery, had to rely on room service, and was unable to enjoy the quirky restaurant with its carpet machine and adjacent carpet shop. But the hotel room was comfortable.
Exploring Yerevan by road was hampered by heavy traffic, double parking and difficulty finding spaces to do so. It definitely a greater Soviet feel about it - more brutal Soviet architecture in and amongst less attractive other buildings, when compared to Tbilisi. This results from the still close ties with Russia, including a garrison of Russian troops in the nearby city of Gyumri, northwest of Yerevan.
Armenia has been invaded, bullied and bloodied over the centuries, losing much of its land and many of its people have fled, creating a bigger diaspora than its current population of just 3 million. It used to stretch from the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, but is now much smaller and is landlocked with troubled borders to both Turkey and Azerbaijan to the west and east. It borders Georgia to the north and Iran to the south. Additionally, the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh that is within Azerbaijan but is mostly populated by Armenia has been the subject of recent oppression from Azerbaijan, causing more to flee this internationally disputed territory.
Befittingly, we toured the Genocide Museum, which covers two such events, the first in the late 19th century, the second and bigger one under the umbrella distraction of WWI. The Turks set out to eliminate the Christian Armenian people, many losing their lives.
 |
| Blocked in by double parking |
 |
| Mind the gap! |
 |
| Republic Square |
 |
| Trees of remembrance & recognition from families, representatives and leaders of countries (except Turkey, who deny it) |
 |
| Genocide Memorial |
 |
| Genocide Museum Entrance |
Inside there was a well presented chronology of the Armenian Genocide and, needless to say, it did not make good reading.
 |
| Mount Ararat not far in the distance but inside Turkey |
 |
| Looking down on Yerevan |
 |
| Memorial to the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution in 1917 that led to the formation of the Soviet Union |
Heading east from Yerevan into the hills provided a great view in clear conditions of Mount Ararat, where Noah beached his Ark.
 |
| A clearer day and view of Mount Ararat |
 |
| Garni, high above Yerevan surrounded by deep gorges |
 |
| Garni Temple, part of Garni Historical & Cultural Museum |
Garni Castle fortress was built around the 2nd century BC, but little of the fortress remains. The temple is the only surviving pagan temple, predating Christianity in Armenia, and was originally built in 77AD. In the 4th century when Christianity was adopted, all other pagan structures were destroyed, but Garni was spared. However, it collapsed in an earthquake in 1679. After many ideas and plans to remove the stones and reconstruct it elsewhere, the temple was finally put back together in the late 1960s after Soviet approval.
Alongside the temple were a bath house with mosaic floor and other palatial buildings.
 |
| Bath house |
 |
| Fountain dedicated to the reconstruction |
 |
| The gorge leading to the 'Symphony of Stones' |
 |
| The Symphony of Stones near Garni is a basaltic formation that is very similar to the Giants Causeway in NI but completely dwarfs it! |
 |
| Seriously impressive columns |
 |
| and overhangs |
 |
| Polygon structures |
 |
| This gives scale |
 |
| I confess to feeling rather nervous with so many rock columns above me and so many cracks showing in them! |
Then, it was onward to another Monastery even though we were getting close to our fill! But, we weren't to be disappointed.
 |
| Crosses on the hill at the end of the valley above Geghard Monastery |
 |
| Geghard Monastery |
Dating from 1215, it is set high in the hills at the end of
a valley and I did wonder how the location had been chosen, accessed, and the construction
achieved in such a difficult location. The monastery was famous
because of the relics that it housed. The most celebrated of these was the
spear which had wounded Christ on the Cross, allegedly brought there by the
Apostle Thaddeus, from which comes its present name, Geghard-avank ("the
Monastery of the Spear"), first recorded in a document of 1250. The spear is now in
the museum of Echmiadzin monastery.
 |
| Ancient pillar inscriptions |
 |
| Partially dug into the hillside |
 |
| Giorgi musing on a milling stone |
 |
| A copied khachar (individual carved stone memorial) because the originals were destroyed by Azerbaijanis |
 |
| Lady making lavash bread (thin like a chapati or naan) at a roadside stop in a traditional oven |
 |
| Stuck to the side, timing is everything |
 |
| Chimney pulled down over the oven while it is reheated |
 |
| 2 Armenia coffees (thick, strong and gritty) and some sweet cake |
 |
| Fire being replenished with vine branches |
It became time for our final meal, sadly without Jean, and we walked to a recommended restaurant just off Republic Square nearby.
Well, it was quite a trip to places hitherto unknown. It was so good to enjoy the experience with Hugh & Tammy and be so well informed and cared for by Giorgi.
Georgia and Armenia I found to be quite distinct, but with some overlap inevitably from their shared Soviet eras. There were far more Ladas on the road in Armenia and it looks the poorer and continues to strive for a peaceful independence. This is agitated by Russia by way of soft loans for arms, while Azerbaijan buys its arms from Russia, and no doubt uses them against Armenians in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, as recently as February this year. This agitation probably keeps Georgia in check in between Armenia and Russia, but by typically disruptive means.
Georgia has moved further away from Russia, but both countries continue to make fine wines with their long history of doing so! They are welcoming and friendly. The food in each tends to a Eurasian fusion with spices used extensively, and they are similar but not identical. Georgian bread, mostly unleavened, is both large and tasty. It also comes packed with meat and other savoury fillings in the many bakeries.
 |
| Georgian Bread |
Armenian bread is mostly lavash, which is thin like a tortilla or naan, and is less suited to mopping up nice sauces! There is some import of other Western cuisines (pizzas for example) creeping into their menus in common with trends in other countries, which is a pity although inevitable. Sharing dishes is the norm in both and we found the food good and enjoyable everywhere, even if it was a bit tepid by the time in made the table, or didn't arrive all together, in some cases. Georgian beer was enjoyed, but I didn't get a chance to compare Armenian beer with it.
Jean was sadly denied some of the sight-seeing because of her tumble, which was a huge shame, but checks back here showed that the diagnoses made in Vanadzor were correct and there were no other issues, which was a great relief. She continues to be looked after by Lorna.
Lastly, I remembered to investigate where I might find some Georgian or Armenian wines and here we go - Amazon among other specialist dealers!
No comments:
Post a Comment