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Borjomi Park
This lovely park is renowned for its' spa and healthful waters On the road in Georgia
Having been convinced of the wisdom and economy of traveling “Georgian style” with friends and relatives rather than hiring a guide, Irakli and I embarked on our trip of southwestern Georgia with his brother Achi, his cousin Ilya and Ilya’s daughter Nuntsa.
First stop:Borjomi- This town of about 20,000 people has several well known springs with heath-giving mineral waters, each with different properties (and flavors) such as sodium carbonate. Some are carbonated, some flat, and others have a distinct mineral content and resulting taste. There is a large bottling plant and a lovely park with a cable car to the high cliffs above the river. In 1862, Grand-Duke Mikhail Romanov, Viceroy of the Transcaucasus and the brother of the tsar renovated the spa and built a summer residence here. The railway opened in 1894 and Chekov, Tchaikovsky, Stalin and others were among those to came to ‘take the waters’ here. The Grand-Duke’s villa has glittery mirrored Arabesque decorations on the ceiling of the ornate balcony. There are many other restored and new villas, many with the intricately carved, ornate balconies so distinctive and representative of fine Georgian homes. We strolled through the park along
Irakli didn't like the taste
of the famous 'life and health giving' waters. Guess he's doomed to die early. the river, drank lots of water along with our picnic lunch, then took the cable car to the top where there was a huge and modern ferris wheel.
Next Stop: Akhaltsike- A city of about 25,000 people, it’s name means “New Castle” and the fortifications of the hilltops date from about the 12th century. Bordering Turkey, this has always been a city of trade, yet today about 30%!o(MISSING)f the population is out of work and the city is suffering as a result. Rarely have I been in a more depressing post-Soviet town, yet there are several gems here, including the Museum of History and Art. One of the curators (a very well informed and pleasant professional woman) spoke excellent English and gave us the grand tour, including a significant collection of carved rocks, including hearths, building stones and grave stones. Some of these were inscribed with dedications, mostly requesting that God have mercy on the soul of the inscriber, and others with ancient graffiti. We stayed at a clean and fairly modern hotel, laughably named the White House. The next morning we drove to Khertvisi, the most famous fortress in the region. At the confluence of two rivers,
Grand-Duke's Villa
Ornate balconies are characteristic of fine Georgian homes from the 1800's but this was the most ornate I had ever seen. you can see its’ strategic location with views up and down the river valleys. There are clear sights to enemy advancements, and it is an easily defensible location. There were fortifications here in the 2nd century BC, long before a church was built in 985, when it was the administrative center of the region. The two main towers were built by Queen Tamar, and the walls were added in 1354. It is partially restored and gives the visitor a real sense of history. Of note is that Irakli spent several summers here as a youth, helping work on the restorations with the rest of his classmates. During Soviet times, these "volunteer opportunities" for youth during summer were common. If your kids are bored on their summer vacation, they could be toting bags of sand & cement, along with rock bricks, up the cliff face to help restore historical monuments, as Georgian students still do to this day.
Then, Vardzia- As I wrote in a previous Blog, Vardzia is the site of the most famous cave city in Georgia. Founded by King George III in 1156, and expanded by his daughter Queen Tamar into a monastery, it became the chief
Balcony Detail
It contained mirrored tiles and inlays seminary of southwestern Georgia, eventually housing 2,000 monks in 3,000 chambers. These included stables, barracks, bakeries, wine presses, stores, cells for the monks and everything needed for the thriving city it once was. An earthquake ruined it in 1283, slicing away a large portion of the rock face. Another quake in 1456 was followed by a Persian army invasion in 1551 and the Turks at the turn of the century, so now only about 600 chambers remain. Likewise, only about 6 levels remain out of the 13 levels which once existed. Still, there is enough to create a sense of real wonder and living history. We were fortunate enough to be able to hike some of the inside tunnels, which were extensive and contained many chambers. We could still see the tool marks where the chambers had been carved out. It was scorching hot outside, even though there was a cool breeze from the river, yet inside the rock it was amazingly cool. We also toured the church (monks and priests still live here and there was a baptism going on) with it’s famous fresco of King George III and his daughter Queen Tamara (one of only 4 in the
Blue Villa
A fine example of Georgian balconies. country showing the beloved Queen). We also saw two examples of ‘wishing trees” a pagan custom where strips of cloth, each representing a wish are tied onto trees with the belief that they will come true. Not unlike our custom of throwing pennies into fountains, and probably about as effective.
Lastly, Gori- As I mentioned in a previous Blog, Gori is a fairly large city which was besieged by Roman General Pompey in 65BC but there was no real civilian settlement here until 1123 when King David the Builder (an important Georgian king who built many cities, castles and churches) established a fortress. It’s also known as the birthplace of Stalin and was bombed by the Russians during last year’s Georgian-Russian war. We visited the Stalin museum, a massive Italianate structure, definately built in 1957, the year after Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin and his crimes. Speaking of his crimes, we found little mention of that either in the exhibits or by our English speaking guide, who looked (and sounded) exactly like a typical Soviet communist matron. There are rooms outlining his youth and pre-revolutionary career (It is astounding how literary he was, even writing passable poetry) as well as
New Wood Balcony
The style remains popular even today! his rise to a world leader, with displays outlining events up to WWII and beyond. They even have a replica of his office and a whole room full of gifts from various world leaders, including a kitschy carpet with his likeness, courtesy of the Shah of Iran. The museum tour culminates in a spooky exhibit-in it’s own room, lights dimmed of course- featuring a symbolic lying in state of one of his many busts. No doubt many are waiting for his return to save Russia from the capitalists. Irakli’s mother tells a hilarious story about a delegation to the museum of old style communists from Russia, one of whom fell on his knees before Stalin’s life size statue, crying “Return and save us, Father, Russia needs your help”. Well, Elvis returned, why not Stalin?
We also toured Stalin’s massive private rail car, on six axles to carry the weight of its amour-plating. We saw his private bedroom and bath. Scary to think of him bathing here and contemplating the next round of executions. But, our favorite room was the dining room/conference room, where the guide let us take photos sitting at the table.
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Leslie De Palo
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Khertvisi and Vardzia
The land and views from Khertvisi and Vardzia look like "middle earth" from the Lord of the Rings series! THANKS for sharing -- this is wonderful!!