Our first morning in Georgia found us waking up early but well rested. We slept with the window open and the heat on low so it was chilly, but crisp and refreshing air. In Bahrain its so dusty and the air quality so poor that we rarely open the windows, so to wake up and have slept in fresh air was pretty awesome.
We headed down to the hotel restaurant for our inclusive breakfast and were blown away by the offerings! I've stayed in a lot of hotels and done a lot of continental or included breakfasts and this one was one for the books. There was a spread of cold cuts and cheeses, fresh fruit and roasted fruit, vegetables, a cold eggplant stew, pickles, georgian nuts, and some spreads and fresh breads... and that was just on the buffet. Also included was crepes, cottage cheese pancakes, eggs Benedict, eggs made to order, and different porridges. Also on the drink side of the buffet were a whole coffee bar, sparkling wine, fresh orange and pomegranate juice, water, six different loose leaf teas, and a box of different tea bags. It was awesome!
After breakfast we grabbed our stuff and headed to lobby to meet the tour guide we had booked the previous day. Our guide, Zura, met us and showed us to his car and we started our day. He explained that Georgian weather, especially in the mountains, was incredibly unpredictable and that, as of that morning, we were slated to have a sunny day, but it could change. He assured us he had a reliable car, chains for his tires, and a will to give us the best tour ever!
Our first stop was the Jvari Monastery. It was about 30 minutes or so away from Tbilisi and as we drove further away from the city we drove deeper and deeper into fog. The Monastery is situated atop of a rock and overlooks a town called Mtskheta. When we started up the road we were met with snow and more fog.
We pulled up to an empty parking lot and could barely see the Monastery... Zura was pretty disappointed, but we were happy to just be there and see it, so not having the view wasn't too terribly disappointing. We also found out here that Zura was an exceptional guide. He was so knowledgable and engaging and really knew his stuff-- from facts and figures to legends to personal experience and opinion, our trip was filled with fantastic information. I literally sat in the backseat jotting down notes after we'd stopped at all the places on our tour!
We pulled up to an empty parking lot and could barely see the Monastery... Zura was pretty disappointed, but we were happy to just be there and see it, so not having the view wasn't too terribly disappointing. We also found out here that Zura was an exceptional guide. He was so knowledgable and engaging and really knew his stuff-- from facts and figures to legends to personal experience and opinion, our trip was filled with fantastic information. I literally sat in the backseat jotting down notes after we'd stopped at all the places on our tour!
We walked up the steps and finally got close enough to see the church.
Java Monastery was built in the 6th Century and Zura explained that its the first stone church in all of Georgia and that it was built out of stone so it would be able to withstand anything since wooden churches cold be burned or easily destroyed The name Jvari means "cross" in Georgia and legend has it that Saint Nino placed a Georgian cross in this place to symbolize Georgia's acceptance of Christianity. The Georgian Cross has a distinctive shape because Saint Nino was said to have taken grape vines and tied them together with a lock of hair. So the shape is different and very important to Georgian culture and tradition.
The saint on the right is Saint Nino holding the Georgian Cross
We walked out of the Monastery and I swear the fog was even thicker. The views from the top of the rock that the Monastery sits on are supposed to be incredible, but we literally couldn't see anything past a couple of feet ahead of us. While I would have loved to see the picturesque city and rivers flowing beneath us, being surrounded in the quiet fog was quite the experience as well!
Back in the warmth of the car we headed down to continue our journey. We got on the only highway in all of Georgia, which is only 400 km long and continued our trek into the mountains.
We stopped at the Jinvali Reservoir and it was beautiful! The Soviet Union built this reservoir to bring clean drinking water to the people of Georgia in 1985. Sounds nice, doesn't it? And I suppose it is. They have clean tap water. However, in doing so they destroyed eight villages and relocated poor, peasant farmers who had known nothing but their villages and stuck them in crappy apartments with no way to make a living since all they'd known was farming. There was no place for their animals or farms but they had no choice or say in the matter. Anyone who complained was sent to Serbia... or worse.
So it was a beautiful backdrop to snap a few pictures at and you could see how beautiful the country must be in the summer, when everything is verdant and lush with life, but it was hard to see past the devastation those villagers went through for the sake of the whims of the Soviet Union.
Along the road are these watch towers and they were used to alert people all through the country. They would light fires to pass on big news-- white smoke meant something good; the king was coming or something very good was happening, while black smoke mean enemies were coming.
Our next stop was Ananuri fortress. The large watch tower was the first structure built in the area and it was constructed in the 14th century. There were other buildings added on later and walls that surround the structures making it a true, easily defended fortress.
The church was built in the 16th Century and all the ornamentation was handmade. Even today the Georgian people stick to the same methods of hand making ornamentation for their buildings and churches and take pride in the mastery necessary to handmake it all.
We walked into the church and our guide explained that it used to be covered in Fresco's and that the Soviets had come in and painted white all over the walls and ceilings and they were still trying to recover and restore the old paintings. He also told us that the Soviets destroyed 1500 churches in their reign.
I know that the destruction of churches and decimation of the art and treasures inside was common practice, but I wish we could see these old churches and cathedrals in all their glory. The small bits and pieces that have been restored give us only hints at how magnificent the craftsmanship in centuries previous truly was.
We walked around the fortress taking in the impressive buildings and the views from the Aragvi River. We came across a small tower and our guide told us that older people believe that it has healing properties and they come from all over to pray and hope for healing.
The largest castle tower in the fortress is one of the tallest towers like this in all of Georgia at seven floors high. It was built to house the villagers and keep them protected in case of attack. They had also put into place a basic plumbing system made of clay pipes that piped water in directly to the fortress so they could close the gates and defend themselves, but stay alive. Very, very few people were privy to this knowledge so they maintained their water supply until word got out and their enemies cut the clay pipes.
We climbed up some extremely old and not well formed "steps" and made our way across a skinny stone ledge connecting the large tower to other parts of the castle. It was quite the experience... crumbling, uneven stones sprinkled with snow are not necessarily the most trustworthy of paths to walk on.
But alas, we did it (and survived with nary a broken bone!) and got to see one of the rooms in the tower and our guide told us stories of the fortress.
In the 17th Century two dukes were fighting over claims to the area. One of the dukes was defeated and the winning duke captured the defeated duke's family and locked them away in the tower and cut them off from the outside world and food and water and left them there to die. 200 years later, when the tower was excavated in the 1940's the bodies of that family were found.
We made it back down (which seemed more harrowing than the walk up!), snapped some pictures and headed back to our car.
We stopped at the bathrooms for the last bathroom for a few hours and I walked in to find this...
We stopped at the bathrooms for the last bathroom for a few hours and I walked in to find this...
thats right... a hole in the ground. I did say Georgia was the crossroads between Asia and Europe and here was some Asian influence. I managed to do my business, thighs burning the whole time... haha!
From that little adventure we were off and headed higher into the mountains for Guraudi Ski Resort.
We made a pit stop to see the convergence of two Georgian rivers and Zura told us that the legend was that there were two sisters who were in love with the same man (I cant remember if he was a monk or a prince but no matter...) and their father wouldn't let them marry him. One sister dressed in all black, as a widow, climbed high into the mountains and killed herself and her river runs black. The other sister, equally as devastated that she couldn't marry her beloved, dressed as a bride in all white, killed herself, and her river runs white. This is the place where the two rivers meet and you can actually see the separation of the two waters which goes on a few meters before fully merging into one river. Theres a scientific explanation for this, but I rather like legends more!
As we climbed further up into the mountains the roads got worse and worse and the snow heavier and heavier. The mountains themselves were covered in a thick blanket of snow and fog.
We came across a ton of huge trucks just parked on the side of the road. All of them had Russian or Armenian license tags and the police had closed the roads off to the big trucks since the roads were so bad.
Still we kept on and then, when we were just a few kilometers from our destination we came to a blockade from the police. Our guide was determined to get us through so he got out of the car and tried to plead with the officers to let us through. It was not successful. Haha! Despite his promises of good, winter tires with chains, they wouldn't let him pass. To be honest? We were totally fine with that. Visibility was atrocious and it was only getting worse.
Zura was really upset and disappointed. The road being closed also kept us from one of our stops, Kazbegi, which is a village on the border of Russia. We assured him that we were fine and happy to be skipping that in favor of being safe and seeing other things. So we decided we'd finish out the tour we'd planned and then he'd show us around Old Town Tbilisi when we got back into the city.
We headed back down the mountain and ended up stopping at an overhang to get out and snap some pictures and enjoy the snow a little bit! Apparently the mountain range is huge and we could only see a fraction of it that day.
Our guide told us that this was one of the first snows of the year and that before much longer there would be at least two meters (6.5 feet) covering the mountains! That little village in the picture will be blanketed in snow and they spend their entire summer and fall gathering supplies and food for the winter!
Once we were back down the mountain and closer to the city, we stopped for lunch. I have no clue what this place was called but it was so quaint and adorable! There was a wood burning fire going in the middle of the room and the restaurant was filled with locals. We were seated and Zura opened the menu and explained all the food to us and helped us pick out what we were going to eat.
We decided on some Georgian dumplings called Khinkali. The ones we chose were filled with beef, pork, and broth and he told us there was a special way to eat them.
They arrived smelling wonderful and looking delicious! Steaming plates of dumplings passed by our table a few times before ours arrived and I'll be honest, my stomach was growling and my mouth watering by the time ours made it.
Zura explained that we had to hold it at the top and bottom and bite into the side and slurp the broth out before eating the dumpling. They were boiling hot, but I dove right in. It. Was. Delicious. The broth was salty and meaty and the meat inside was decadent and it was all surrounded in soft, chewy dumpling dough. I couldn't get enough!
So, turns out that if you finish your khinkali with a clean plate, you're a Georgian dumpling expert. Guess who's an expert? ::takes bow:: Should I need to write one ever again, I think its going on my resume...haha!
After finishing our dumplings, our khachipuri came out. There are different types of Georgian cheese bread and we had been on the hunt for this one. The bread is shaped like a boat, filled with cheese, topped with a raw egg, and a pat of butter. Again, pictures do not do this thing justice. I don't even think words will.
This beautiful piece of culinary art was placed in front of me and excited doesn't even touch what I was feeling. As instructed, I took my fork and whisked my egg around in the cheese and butter melting it and mixing it all together in the center of the bread boat creating this melty, cheesy, gooey, amazingness. I took my first bite and... euphoria. Seriously. This thing is now one of my favorite things I've ever eaten... at least in the top 10, but probably in the top 5. I mean, its melty cheese and egg in bread. Its decadent while managing to feel like comfort food.
Zura also let us try his beans and cornbread which were both delicious and similar to soup beans and cornbread thats prevalent in the south. Its so interesting to me the parallels all over the world with some things. Those random similarities crop up at the most unexpected times!
After our amazing lunch, we made our way to Mtskheta, the little village that is at the foot of the Jvari Monastery (the one we couldn't see because of the fog earlier in the morning). The fog had cleared and we could see the Monastery overlooking the little village and I can only imagine what a spectacular view there is from all the way up there on a clear day.
We started walking through the village and saw a set up of how they make Georgian wine. Zura explained that they take the grapes and press them, getting the juices out, and then they put the juice, the grape skins, stalks, everything into a clay pot called a Qveri which is then buried in the ground and left to ferment for six months or so before its unearthed and the wine is collected. All the leftover stuff from the wine is then made into something called Chacha, or vine vodka.
We did some walking and a little shopping in town and I found a gorgeous handmade, wooden pomegranate that I just had to have!
So there are these odd looking things all over the place-- outside of shops and stores, in vendor stalls, all over. They look sort of like bumpy wax candles and they're called Churchkhela and they call it "Georgian Snickers". Zura took us to his favorite Churchkhela maker and had us try a couple of different varieties. It was... interesting. So its sort of like a fruit snack with nuts inside of it. Its an odd thing. The different colors are different juices and flavors they've used. We tried honey and grape and neither Michelle nor I were fans.
And then she poured us some homemade chacha. I know its called vine vodka, but I think a more appropriate name would be jet fuel or rubbing alcohol. Also, tourists take note... the saying "well, that'll put hair on your chest" is not something the Georgian's say... nor will it translate well. The humor was lost on poor Zura.
Chacha burning away in our chests and keeping us warm, we continued through the village to the old church in the heart of the village, passing by more vendor stalls and beggars with hats or empty cups. Zura tried to avoid the beggars and keep us away from them, but there were quite a few congregating in front of the church grounds.
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was originally built in the 4th Century but it had been damaged by multiple invaders so what stands today was built in the 11th Century. Its an extremely important place for the Georgian's as their kings were coronated and buried here. Ten kings are supposed to be buried here, but so far, only six tombs have been discovered.
As we walked into the church, he explained that again, it was all built by hand, down to the last detail, and thats something the Georgian's are really proud of. When you first walk in, theres a small alcove to the right and inside of it is a baptismal font that is from the 4th century! Zura's daughter was just baptized in it a few months ago.
If you look in the corner of this picture below, there is a hole there in the corner. To protect the church's treasures they built 60 secret tunnels that only a handful of people knew about. Whenever raiders or enemies would come to loot the church, they wouldn't find anything... it was all hidden in the walls and ceilings of the cathedral!
We continued on, seeing that, again as with most old churches and cathedrals, the walls had been painted over and frescos were covered but trying to emerge with restoration.
We came across a large, painted structure in the middle of the cathedral and it is said to house the Mantle of Jesus. There was a Georgian Jew named Elias who was at Jesus' crucifixion. He bought Jesus' robe off some of the soldiers and took it back to his native Georgia where he met his sister, Sidonia, who, upon touching the robe of Jesus, died, she was so overcome. They tried to remove the robe from her grasp, but couldn't, so she and the robe are buried here in the cathedral. Later, a giant tree grew from her grave and Saint Nino ordered the tree cut down to build the church around her grave. Seven pillars were made for the church's foundation and the first six went into the ground with no problems, but the seventh column could not be placed in the ground. It had magical properties and rose into the air and only after Saint Nino prayed all night did it fall into its perfect place to complete the foundation. Since then, it is believed to have healing properties and was said to have sacred liquid flow from it and cured people of all diseases. In Georgian sveti means "pillar" and tskhoveli means "life-giving" or "living", hence the name of the cathedral.
We continued on through the church coming across more frescoes and the tombs of Georgian kings.
We walked outside and walked around the cathedral taking in the architecture and crisp, cold air. The cathedral is surrounded by large stone walls and villagers used to live within, but now local monks live there and take care of the grounds and cathedral itself. Zura also told us that after the master builder finished building the cathedral, the king had his hand cut off so he'd never be able to build anything to rival the Svetitskhoveili Cathedral.
After winding our way back through the village and to our car, we headed back into Tbilisi for a tour of the city!
We made a pit stop to see the convergence of two Georgian rivers and Zura told us that the legend was that there were two sisters who were in love with the same man (I cant remember if he was a monk or a prince but no matter...) and their father wouldn't let them marry him. One sister dressed in all black, as a widow, climbed high into the mountains and killed herself and her river runs black. The other sister, equally as devastated that she couldn't marry her beloved, dressed as a bride in all white, killed herself, and her river runs white. This is the place where the two rivers meet and you can actually see the separation of the two waters which goes on a few meters before fully merging into one river. Theres a scientific explanation for this, but I rather like legends more!
As we climbed further up into the mountains the roads got worse and worse and the snow heavier and heavier. The mountains themselves were covered in a thick blanket of snow and fog.
We came across a ton of huge trucks just parked on the side of the road. All of them had Russian or Armenian license tags and the police had closed the roads off to the big trucks since the roads were so bad.
Zura was really upset and disappointed. The road being closed also kept us from one of our stops, Kazbegi, which is a village on the border of Russia. We assured him that we were fine and happy to be skipping that in favor of being safe and seeing other things. So we decided we'd finish out the tour we'd planned and then he'd show us around Old Town Tbilisi when we got back into the city.
We headed back down the mountain and ended up stopping at an overhang to get out and snap some pictures and enjoy the snow a little bit! Apparently the mountain range is huge and we could only see a fraction of it that day.
Our guide told us that this was one of the first snows of the year and that before much longer there would be at least two meters (6.5 feet) covering the mountains! That little village in the picture will be blanketed in snow and they spend their entire summer and fall gathering supplies and food for the winter!
Once we were back down the mountain and closer to the city, we stopped for lunch. I have no clue what this place was called but it was so quaint and adorable! There was a wood burning fire going in the middle of the room and the restaurant was filled with locals. We were seated and Zura opened the menu and explained all the food to us and helped us pick out what we were going to eat.
We decided on some Georgian dumplings called Khinkali. The ones we chose were filled with beef, pork, and broth and he told us there was a special way to eat them.
They arrived smelling wonderful and looking delicious! Steaming plates of dumplings passed by our table a few times before ours arrived and I'll be honest, my stomach was growling and my mouth watering by the time ours made it.
Zura explained that we had to hold it at the top and bottom and bite into the side and slurp the broth out before eating the dumpling. They were boiling hot, but I dove right in. It. Was. Delicious. The broth was salty and meaty and the meat inside was decadent and it was all surrounded in soft, chewy dumpling dough. I couldn't get enough!
So, turns out that if you finish your khinkali with a clean plate, you're a Georgian dumpling expert. Guess who's an expert? ::takes bow:: Should I need to write one ever again, I think its going on my resume...haha!
After finishing our dumplings, our khachipuri came out. There are different types of Georgian cheese bread and we had been on the hunt for this one. The bread is shaped like a boat, filled with cheese, topped with a raw egg, and a pat of butter. Again, pictures do not do this thing justice. I don't even think words will.
This beautiful piece of culinary art was placed in front of me and excited doesn't even touch what I was feeling. As instructed, I took my fork and whisked my egg around in the cheese and butter melting it and mixing it all together in the center of the bread boat creating this melty, cheesy, gooey, amazingness. I took my first bite and... euphoria. Seriously. This thing is now one of my favorite things I've ever eaten... at least in the top 10, but probably in the top 5. I mean, its melty cheese and egg in bread. Its decadent while managing to feel like comfort food.
Zura also let us try his beans and cornbread which were both delicious and similar to soup beans and cornbread thats prevalent in the south. Its so interesting to me the parallels all over the world with some things. Those random similarities crop up at the most unexpected times!
After our amazing lunch, we made our way to Mtskheta, the little village that is at the foot of the Jvari Monastery (the one we couldn't see because of the fog earlier in the morning). The fog had cleared and we could see the Monastery overlooking the little village and I can only imagine what a spectacular view there is from all the way up there on a clear day.
We started walking through the village and saw a set up of how they make Georgian wine. Zura explained that they take the grapes and press them, getting the juices out, and then they put the juice, the grape skins, stalks, everything into a clay pot called a Qveri which is then buried in the ground and left to ferment for six months or so before its unearthed and the wine is collected. All the leftover stuff from the wine is then made into something called Chacha, or vine vodka.
We did some walking and a little shopping in town and I found a gorgeous handmade, wooden pomegranate that I just had to have!
So there are these odd looking things all over the place-- outside of shops and stores, in vendor stalls, all over. They look sort of like bumpy wax candles and they're called Churchkhela and they call it "Georgian Snickers". Zura took us to his favorite Churchkhela maker and had us try a couple of different varieties. It was... interesting. So its sort of like a fruit snack with nuts inside of it. Its an odd thing. The different colors are different juices and flavors they've used. We tried honey and grape and neither Michelle nor I were fans.
And then she poured us some homemade chacha. I know its called vine vodka, but I think a more appropriate name would be jet fuel or rubbing alcohol. Also, tourists take note... the saying "well, that'll put hair on your chest" is not something the Georgian's say... nor will it translate well. The humor was lost on poor Zura.
Chacha burning away in our chests and keeping us warm, we continued through the village to the old church in the heart of the village, passing by more vendor stalls and beggars with hats or empty cups. Zura tried to avoid the beggars and keep us away from them, but there were quite a few congregating in front of the church grounds.
The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral was originally built in the 4th Century but it had been damaged by multiple invaders so what stands today was built in the 11th Century. Its an extremely important place for the Georgian's as their kings were coronated and buried here. Ten kings are supposed to be buried here, but so far, only six tombs have been discovered.
As we walked into the church, he explained that again, it was all built by hand, down to the last detail, and thats something the Georgian's are really proud of. When you first walk in, theres a small alcove to the right and inside of it is a baptismal font that is from the 4th century! Zura's daughter was just baptized in it a few months ago.
If you look in the corner of this picture below, there is a hole there in the corner. To protect the church's treasures they built 60 secret tunnels that only a handful of people knew about. Whenever raiders or enemies would come to loot the church, they wouldn't find anything... it was all hidden in the walls and ceilings of the cathedral!
We continued on, seeing that, again as with most old churches and cathedrals, the walls had been painted over and frescos were covered but trying to emerge with restoration.
We came across a large, painted structure in the middle of the cathedral and it is said to house the Mantle of Jesus. There was a Georgian Jew named Elias who was at Jesus' crucifixion. He bought Jesus' robe off some of the soldiers and took it back to his native Georgia where he met his sister, Sidonia, who, upon touching the robe of Jesus, died, she was so overcome. They tried to remove the robe from her grasp, but couldn't, so she and the robe are buried here in the cathedral. Later, a giant tree grew from her grave and Saint Nino ordered the tree cut down to build the church around her grave. Seven pillars were made for the church's foundation and the first six went into the ground with no problems, but the seventh column could not be placed in the ground. It had magical properties and rose into the air and only after Saint Nino prayed all night did it fall into its perfect place to complete the foundation. Since then, it is believed to have healing properties and was said to have sacred liquid flow from it and cured people of all diseases. In Georgian sveti means "pillar" and tskhoveli means "life-giving" or "living", hence the name of the cathedral.
We continued on through the church coming across more frescoes and the tombs of Georgian kings.
We walked outside and walked around the cathedral taking in the architecture and crisp, cold air. The cathedral is surrounded by large stone walls and villagers used to live within, but now local monks live there and take care of the grounds and cathedral itself. Zura also told us that after the master builder finished building the cathedral, the king had his hand cut off so he'd never be able to build anything to rival the Svetitskhoveili Cathedral.
After winding our way back through the village and to our car, we headed back into Tbilisi for a tour of the city!
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