Blogs from Georgia, Asia - page 21

9 May. Gori, the town where Stalin was born. And we were here on Georgia's Victory day, a public holiday. The truck was parked across from Stalin's museum which we made our first stop, waiting for an English guide to take us through. She spoke fast with a heavy accent and in a voice that brooked no questions. It was very one-sided which was surprising to me but shouldn't have been: the town was very much still pro-Stalin. When the tour finished we walked through again at a slower pace but I don't feel like I learnt much that I didn't already know. Another church, then the fortress. I was hot and flustered and having to shop for dinner and getting ripped off didn't help matters. Back on the truck I slept and after a few ... read more

3rd May Leaving the Black Sea coast we're heading inland and stopped at the amazing Prometheus Caves, only discovered in 1984. Requiring a guide, we were ushered down the stairs and into the mouth of the cave. Over 1400m long and with 17 chambers, the cave was impressive from the start with huge stalagmites and stalactites, some still growing. I saw our guide for a few minutes in the first chamber but he set such a speed that I didn't bother trying to keep up, preferring to take photos and actually look at the surroundings. A few others trailed along at various speeds also and I thoroughly the peace and quiet that came with being on my own. Our arrival into Kutaisi today didn't go unnoticed, especially on the side streets we had to take to ... read more

This can't be little Hussein, his uncle cried As he drops to his nephew's side, holding his cane Just give me a name, of who has inflicted this bitter sickness, and left us to witness. -Wu Tang Clan, A better Tomorrow Our crash pad in Antalya was a real score. Someone that Maggie met briefly at a party in Madison just happened to have a spare apartment for a week and we had the entirety of a three bedroom flat to ourselves. Antalya is a name we have seen spelled out in Cyrillic outside of nearly every travel agency in Russia and other former Soviet states. It is a very popular destination for Russian travelers and we could hear the familiar tongue flowing from every cafe we passed as we navigated our way down to the ... read more

This is a 9-month late story but a story anyway. In October 2013 my girlfriend, who we'll call M, and I, flew out from Katowice to Kutaisi, Georgia for 2 weeks, finally giving me a chance to explore somewhere which isn't in or being considered for accession to the European Union. The flight arrived at some strange hour in the morning and it was one of about 5 flights per week to serve the airport, but that didn't stop the airport being chock full of taxi and minibus drivers ready to shout city names at you as soon as you got through passport control. "Kutaisi city centre, 10 euros for two people!", offered one taxi driver. We knew that sounded a bit expensive, so we tried to negotiate. "Okay, okay! So I will take you for ... read more

Seven hours on the bus today, the countryside reminded me a little bit of Mongolia. I found the hotel easy enough before wandering out to see a few historic mosques, have another shave and track down a few cans of Efes. In the morning I visit the ancient Armenian capital of Ani which was initiated in 961 and later abandoned after earthquake and warfare sealed its destruction in the 14th century. The church of St Gregory perched dramatically above the Arpa Cayi river gorge was certainly a highlight as was the massive cathedral built in 967. The Menusher camii (mosque) has wonderful views of the river gorge and of Armenia. Other highlights include the restored city walls and the Zoarostrian fire temple although little remains of this structure. On returning to the city I had another ... read more