Fleurieu Magic: Discovering Georgia

Positioned on the fabled Silk Road at the crossroads of western and eastern civilisations, Georgia was always a prime target for invasion and conquest. And they certainly came - the Persians, the Mongols, the Ottomans, the Turks, the Greeks, the Chechens, the Russians ... and now us!!! For such a small country Georgia carries a weight of history going back centuries which we discovered and enjoyed during our recent 7-day visit. Best of all, the invaders left reminders of their stay - fortresses, monasteries, churches and walled towns.

The scenery

I'm starting off with the landscape because, along with the history, this is my lasting impression of Georgia. Mountains, huge and awe-inspiring whether rough-hewn and rocky or cloaked in the softest of trees. Deep gorges and canyons. Fertile valleys. Boulder-strewn plains. Sparkling rivers.

Dariali Gorge

The Kura River

Paravani Lake - the largest in Georgia.

Zhinvali Reservoir

A high point in the Caucasus Mountain range.

Stepantsminda Hotel- with views!

Check out the church high on the hill top. That was where we were heading.

At last, a fertile, flat plain!

We were told the church is still in use once a month.
How do they get there???

The People

The landscape is the background and it is the people who really make up the country. We were only there for a week so it seems inappropriate or even insulting to make a judgement. But this is what we saw and felt.

The people we passed in the street or met in the course of the day seemed wary and silent and rarely made eye contact ... until we said 'Hello' or 'Thank you' in the Georgian language. These were the only words we used as the language is a tongue twister. Later on we learnt 'Cheers' as we grew to love the local beer. When people heard our fractured accent their faces would break into huge smiles and they laughed long and loudly. Hotel staff could speak a little English but often communicated with a translation app. After one such encounter with both of us sending endless questions and answers back and forth, Susannah, the owner of the B&B we stayed at wrote 'At last we have communicated' and a smiley face.

A cheerful fruit seller in Tbilisi.

A woodcarver gives us a wary eye.

A nun at St Nino's monastery.

Groups of young girls were often seen out and about having fun.

A street musician

People were always glued to their phones. (Steve took this photo.)

Another of Steve's photos. I love this one.

Me and our lovely guide Tornike in Georgia.

Fortresses

Invasions were common throughout Georgia's history because of its strategic position. To spot invaders and defend their territory, fortresses were built on high mountain peaks, below which smaller mountains, gorges and rivers impeded an invader's progress. A number of these remain, some restored, some reflecting the wear and tear of the years. All of them sending tingles up my spine imagining an army of conquering Persians camping below.

Sighnagi Fortress

15th century Ananuri Fortress

Rabat Fortress

View from the watchtower.

10th century Khertvisi Fortress

Food

Let's look at the food. To be honest, there was not much variety. Barbecued chicken, pork and beef was very common and came in different forms - in cubes as kebabs, in shwarmas (what I call yiros), in a salad, and in larger pieces. Very tasty and with a delicious aroma. They also had tolmes (similar to the Greek dolmades) of minced beef wrapped in vine leaves. We had some wonderful stews. And twice, fresh trout with a salad of tomatoes and cucumber in a walnut garnish which had us salivating. Pomegranate sauce was another wonderful surprise. Georgia's traditional dish is called khachapuri which of course I had to have - a soft bread case filled with salty melted cheese and topped with a runny egg. Hmmm. The fresh fruit was fabulous - peaches, plums, figs and berries in particular. Every bakery had lots of different varieties of bread - some were very good, especially lavash. Sadly, no desserts except icecream. Instead, there were pastries - large, crisp and, to me, pretty tasteless. We spied a baklava on the menu at one restaurant and it was predictably full of nuts, honey and pastry - but a nice change for us.

The fruit was deliciously fresh.

A roadside honey seller.

The local beer was so good.

Khachapuri

Trout and salad.

Georgians are very proud of the fact that the wine industry began here. We visited a winery and saw how they originally stored the wine in vats in the ground (which some wineries still do). They continue to use corks and shuddered when we asked whether they use screw tops. We thought the wine was good but nothing spectacular; the price of a bottle was similar to Australia's better wines. However... everyone makes their own wine and it is available in cafes and restaurants, marked 'Homemade'. Much cheaper. We had quite a lot and loved it. Steve even had a wine icecream.

Being shown how they tested the wine in the underground vat.

Monasteries and churches

Georgia's churches and monasteries (churches with accommodation for monks) are many. Some have World Heritage status and the Georgians are mighty proud of them. We enjoyed their simple decoration - no gold icons here - just beautiful carvings and a few pictures of saints. The ones we visited were often built high on a cliff top so lots of uphill walking involved.

Gergheti Church

St Nino's Monastery.

These are the graves of shepherds.

Bagrat Temple - oops - got demoted from its World Heritage listing recently as toilets were built into the structure - see the modern jutting out bit to the left. What were they thinking?

At least they are keeping it clean.

The serene Motsameta Monastery with a river far below.

Note the grape vine decoration on the top of the door - a common tradition in Georgia.

Shopping fun

We didn't do a lot of shopping in Georgia. Here are some items for sale, and some we actually bought.

And finally, a purchase - a lovely small carpet.

And when we visited St Nino's Monastery we were amazed at their gift shop of fabulous foods including jams, chocolates, herb teas, liqueurs, and salts. A mini-paradise for me. The proceeds from the shop assist the nuns in providing education for the local children and helping the community.

The countryside

It was a wonderful day when we drove higher into the mountains. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there was a distinct aroma of 'country'. We were now in a fertile plain with a few small villages dotted around a lake, behind which rose grassy hills dotted with sheep and cattle. Most of the solid stone houses had huge vegetable plots and gardens of faded summer flowers. The main crop here is potatoes.

Fences made of cow dung with which they warm their homes in winter.
You can almost smell the country just by looking at this photo!

A solid stone house surrounded by spruce trees.

One day we ventured 220kms west of Tbilisi, the capital, to a region full of Greek legends. Here, Medea met with Jason and the Argonauts to seek the Golden Fleece; nearby is the river where Jason washed the sheep and discovered gold; the Caucasus mountain top where Prometheus was chained for defying the gods ... We visited Georgia's most popular tourist attraction - Prometheus Cave National Monument, calculated to be 60,000- 70,000 years old. We were two of almost 100 people. While the 1.5 km walk took in the usual magnificent cave formations, it was the vastness of it that took my breath away. All this was spoilt a bit by the whirlwind pace of the guide as we stumbled up and down steps and along slippery paths with never a stop to admire or take photos. Her command of English also made it difficult to appreciate what she was telling us. We hung back and went at our own pace.

We stopped at the alpine ski resort of Gudauri in the Caucasus mountains and the nearby Panoramic Arch built in 1983 - a joint project between Georgia and Russia. Great views.

We often had to stop for sheep or cattle on the road.

These parked trucks were en route to Russia, sea ports being closed because of the Ukraine war. There were hundreds of them, mile after mile, all waiting to go through customs at the border. What a sight.

I enjoyed our time visiting a local winery miles into the countryside to the east of Tbilisi the capital city where our hotel was. Nearby was the elegant Tsinandali Estate which had a lovely garden.

A little further on and we arrived at a King's palace. A tour of the on-site museum was fabulous as we saw items from the bronze age up to the present, beautifully curated. These are a few of my favourite things.

And then, the following day... what a surprise. We came upon an 11th century 'city' built into the side of a mountain, firstly as a fortress then used as a monastery which housed over 2,000 monks. Known as Vardzia, the site consists of a rabbit warren of small caves that the monks used for eating, sleeping, and socialising. There is also a church, wine cellars and an extensive irrigation system. A fascinating place indeed.

An earthquake exposed the caves which were originally hidden and entered through tunnels.

I begin the climb, eyeing how far up I have to go and how many steps I'll have to climb.

Vardzia held a strategic position high up and with a river below.

Age-old frescoes are an important link to the past.

Our guide explains how the spaces were used. Here, the monks sat with their backs to the wall, feet in the depression and the raised section was the table.

Our next country stop was at Borjoni Resort, famous for its mineral springs.

Along the way we came across the house Stalin lived in when he visited.
It's going to be restored as a hotel, we were told.

The resort had an old-world elegance.

When we came through the entrance a 'photographer ' was there to take our photo. Steve thought I should retaliate.

This photo was on a billboard. It shows the Romanov family who came here to taste the waters.

As I did. It was a very hot day though the mineral water did not taste that great!

A handsome hotel in the resort.

Lots of families about. Here a boy tries his hand fishing in the river.

Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia ... and Kutaisi, Georgia's second largest city

I'll finish our tour of Georgia with some photos of Tbilisi and a couple from Kutaisi.

Tbilisi has some gracious old buildings as well as a modern business section and our guide proudly told us that the economy is thriving (wine and mineral waters being their biggest exports). To me, the city had more of an eastern feel about it, not surprisingly as Russia is a very close neighbour and the majority of tourists come from there. We certainly saw some parts of the city that resembled the past when it was part of the USSR, 34 years ago. Late at night the Old Town was alive with music, people eating at open-air restaurants, enjoying the walk along the river or even (like us) visiting the sulphur baths. While tourism is increasing we were frustrated that at every site we visited there was minimum information, no pamphlets nor brochures or maps. Instead, site guides related the history - overwhelming us with facts, figures, names and dates until it was just too much for us. Our tour guide was much better.

A view of Tbilisi showing parts of the walled city, the Narikala Fortress and the Assumption Church. The cable car was great for getting a bird's eye view of the city.

A closer view of the church.

Tibilisi -the old and the new.

Parts of the city have seen better days.

This balcony is a typical feature of Georgian houses.

I loved this sign.

The city sulphur baths (where we had a delicious bath - no photos for you though!).

The Botanical Gardens

A Tbilisi restaurant.

Quirky statues abound in Tbilisi. He was a poet.
You rubbed his nose for luck.

Another (very large) statue.

Recharging station for electric cars.

One from Steve's collection. Look upper right. There must have been a lot of dentists in Tbilisi because I spotted these huge molar signs everywhere.

The Peace Bridge over the Kura River.

Another Tbilisi restaurant where we discovered their delicious beer.

We loved the calm atmosphere inside Tbilisi's oldest church (7th century but with 19th century paintings). A tad more decorative than other churches visited.

Just outside Tbilisi was an open-air museum. In the 1970s a man bought original old houses from all regions of Georgia and established them in this hillside park. We enjoyed seeing the different styles and the way the buildings evolved over the years, from using no nails and having the simplest of layouts to houses with fireplaces, kitchens, and separate rooms. We went inside a wine cellar which held all the paraphernalia of wine-making and a guide explained the wine-making process to us. I was touched by one story which told how a bottle of wine was buried in a clay pot in the ground on the birth of a male child and opened on his marriage. I queried what happened when the child was female ... hmmm ... nothing.