June 24 - 26 Tbilisi to Sighnaghi and the Kakheti region

King Gorgasali of Caucasian Iberia founded Tbilisi and keeps watch over the capital

Beautiful modern and futuristic-looking buildings in newer parts of Tbilisi

Tbilisi is a conglomeration of the old and new all jumbled together in a fairly small area - compared to sprawling Melbourne! We focussed on the old - exploring the winding streets of the old city, peering into churches dating back thousands of years, before walking the ruined ramparts of the C4th Narikala fortress on the craggy heights where it once guarded the old city. 

Tibilisi's Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition - a Georgia Orthodox Cathedral

Some old houses in a back street

Mother Georgia - all former Soviet countries have a massive statue of a warrior mother

From there we trekked down to the millennia-old Sulphur Baths fed by a waterfall and creek at the bottom of the precipice. We happened on some exuberant and totally unexpected entertainment which was rather a treat - a traditional Uzbeki dance celebrating a wedding in the square outside the Sulphur Baths.

The Sulphur Baths are under the domes in the background to this wedding party

We completely forgot time in the National Museum of History. The two of us had a personal tour led by the museum's longest-serving guide - she has been guiding there for 50 years. What she doesn't know about Georgian history and treasures is probably not worth knowing - we felt very privileged.  One fascinating piece of their history is the discovery of the remains of a new species Homo georgicus ~2 million years old in Dmanisi Georgia.  In light of the discovery, the belief is that there may have been two waves of migration - one into Africa from the Caucasus, followed by one out of Africa. A fascinating and unexpected 'discovery' for us. It is a land of wonder with many pre-history treasures. A collaboration between the National Museum of Georga and the University of Melbourne has teams of archaeologists working in Rabati in southwestern Georgia where they have uncovered evidence of sophisticated human settlement dating back at least to 5000 BCE. The excavations continue.

Lindsay with the tamada - a Georgian traditional toastmaster

Dinner on the rooftop terrace of our hotel sipping Georgian wine and watching the lights come on across Tbilisi was a perfect way to end a wonderful first day.

Roof-top restaurant in our hotel afforded wonderful views over the city

As we drove east the following day into the Kakheti region, we passed what seemed like an almost endless line of fruit stalls along the side of the road selling huge watermelons, peaches and an array of other fruits and of course, buckets spilling large ripe tomatoes ...... and slaughtered pigs! There they were, fresh-killed chunks of pig - pale pink mysterious shapes hanging by the roadside inviting people to buy, some cuts wrapped in cloth, others just swinging naked in the breeze. Bizarre sight for we overly-sanitized and refrigeration-oriented visitors. 

We called into Khareba winery for a tour and tasting and came away with 4 bottles to enjoy along the way. Then we were taken to a local farm where the family treated us to a delicious lunch with fruit and vegetables from their garden and scrumptious pork shashlik all topped off with homemade cheese, wine, bread and chachas - their local fiery grape vodka which is pretty potent stuff!  The whole experience was excellent.

A delicious meal prepared from their own farm produce plus home-baked bread

The qvevris were buried in the floor and sealed. Centre: these are 100s of years old. R: a modern version

Georgian wine is very special. With a history of 8000 years, it is one of the oldest wine-making regions in the world. They still make wine using the traditional fermentation method in underground claypots (kvevris) which has been UNESCO listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage, but alongside the newer European method. Both varieties taste of sunshine and rich soil - the wine is not readily available in Australia but do ask for it nevertheless, it is really worth a taste. We drove to visit a farmer's house to see a 300-year old wine cellar and drank wine straight from the ancient clay jars, the qvevris.

We spent the night is the picturesque Sighnaghi, the eastermost region of Kakheti looking out over the vast Alazani Valley.

View from Sighnaghi over the vast Alazani Valley with the Caucasus Mountains in the distance