Travel in Georgia: country-resort, country-monument
I was in Georgia this summer. Many of my friends treat this as exotic. But what's the big deal?
Georgia is slightly north of Turkey, which makes the climate of the two countries very similar. There is one difference: in Georgia the weather is more variable, sometimes it rains. Many Russians have visited Turkey, but almost all (with rare exceptions) have never visited Georgia. Why? Most believe that there is “dangerous”, “not interesting”, “the Russians do not like”. Although, of course, there is nothing similar in sight – for a month spent in Georgia, my mother and I managed to study local customs.
The Georgians I have met treat Russians well. But a Russian person as a tourist is very rare. And there are not very many of our compatriots living there. The older generation speaks Russian fluently - the union past affects - but young people know it poorly and prefer English.
The first stop we made in Poti – a small port city on the Black Sea coast. There are no special attractions there. Most of all, I remember the noisy bazaar (so a sight, of course, but I have never seen anything like it) and the Rioni River – the largest of the Transcaucasian rivers, which in ancient times was known as Phasis and was mentioned by Virgil and Socrates. In Poti is the mouth of the river, and locals can admire the sea - it is very clean, blue-blue, and the beach is also not littered, unlike the beaches in the coastal cities of Russia.
From Poti we went to Tbilisi, where almost half of the population of Georgia lives. Tbilisi is also a city of historical significance: it was first mentioned in the works of the IV century called Tiflis. The word “Tbilisi” literally translates as “warm source”, and this is not accidental: in the ancient area of Abanotubani there is a huge number of sulfur baths. The baths themselves are hidden underground, and only “caps” are visible from above. The water in the pool reaches 40 degrees Celsius - entertainment for amateurs.
There are many historically valuable monuments in the city, for example, the Narikala fortress complex, which existed already in the VII century and was called Shuris-Tsihe. In addition, lovers of architecture can see a lot of beautiful things here - for example, the Parliament building.
In Tbilisi, we lived near the main street – Rustaveli Avenue. In order to get to it, it was only necessary to climb several levels up the mountain, however, the silence in the vicinity of the house was such that our homeland does not happen on the outskirts. And from the window there was a wonderful view - Tbilisi as in the palm of your hand! However, we decided that we should not stay here, and continued our journey.
Water "Borjomi" is known to everyone (although now it is not sold in Russia), but the fact that it received its name from the Georgian city, not everyone has heard. In Borjomi city there is a spring, the water in it is warm, almost not carbonated and smells of sulfur. Not that in bottles: there is water "Borjomi" is much nicer - cold, salty ... mmm. It was interesting to know what it was, so to speak, in the original.
The next destination is Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia. It is very similar to a town from the Middle Ages – cute, small, but at the same time, unlike the Middle Ages, clean and pleasant smell. In the center of the town is the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, with which a very interesting legend is associated. It is said that in time immemorial, one of the kings asked the architect to build a cathedral, the highest in all of Georgia. The architect and the bride of the king fell in love, and the king ordered to cut off the architect’s hand, allegedly because the cathedral was not high enough. A severed hand was used in the decoration of the church.
The cathedral is surrounded by the same low houses, narrow streets paved with stone. A massive gate leads into the city. It seems that you are in a fairy tale, and from somewhere around the corner now looks familiar from childhood hero.
Another outstanding cathedral was waiting for us in Kazbegi - an urban-type village. The Church of the Holy Trinity in Gergeti was built in the XIV century at the foot of the mountains, which go beyond the clouds. Around a lot of small yellow flowers grow, and the surrounding air is saturated with honey aromas – a stunning sight and stunning sensations!
Another attraction is the Davido-Hareji complex of cave monasteries of the VI century (in the first photo of the article), located on the Georgian-Azerbaijani border, stretching for 25 km along the slopes of the semi-desert Gareji Ridge and including 20 monasteries carved into the rocks. The border between Georgia and Azerbaijan divides it in half, and the visitor is in two countries at once, which enhances the impression. In the photo below you can see several frescoes on the walls of David Gareji.
Another cave complex was waiting for us in the south of Georgia, in Javakheti. Vardzia appeared in the XII-XIII centuries, when about 600 rooms were manually carved in the wall of Mount Erusheti: churches, chapels, residential cells, storerooms, baths, refectories, treasuries, libraries; in addition, the builders did not forget about the secret passages, water supply and irrigation system. In times of historic battles, Vardzia was used as a shelter from the attacks of the Turks, and it was very convenient as the complex accommodated up to 300,000 people at a time. The premises go 50 meters deep into the rock and rise to a height of eight floors. The views are beautiful! Clean air, mountains and sky are close.
According to legend, the name Vardzia appeared as follows: once, when Queen Tamara was still a little girl, she played with her uncle in the caves of the then unfinished monastery. At one point, the uncle lost sight of the child in the labyrinths of the caves, and then Tamara shouted: "I'm here, uncle!" (translated into Georgian: "Ak Var, dzia!").
One of the last we visited the fortress of Ananuri, located on the Georgian Military Road 70 km from Tbilisi, where the small river Vedzatkhevi flows into Aragvi. Next to the fortress is the Zhenval Reservoir, striking in its size and beauty. It seems as if this place is inaccessible to people: both the fortress and the reservoir are surrounded by high mountains.
The final point of our trip was the city of Batumi - the resort capital of Georgia. We stayed there for a total of two days, went to the dolphinarium, the botanical garden, looked at the sea and just walked around the city. This is a very beautiful, modern resort corner that will not leave anyone indifferent.
I enjoyed traveling in Georgia and didn’t want to leave. It is a very beautiful ancient country, and it is worth a visit to anyone who aspires to self-education, because the information they will receive will be invaluable. In addition, Georgia is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, since Georgian beaches are mostly rocky and will not allow a sluggish “decomposition” of the tourist on the coast. And, most importantly, if you are looking for kindness and friendliness, if you are tired of the cold faces of colleagues, then you definitely need to go to Georgia for a while and, rest assured, you will be greeted there with love and smile: no political vicissitudes can destroy the extraordinary good-nature inherent in this nation in ordinary Georgians.
Maria Vigorova
Photo by author