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| King Gorgasali of Caucasian Iberia founded Tibilisi. He keeps watch |
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| Beautiful modern and futuristic-looking building in newer parts of Tibilisi |
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 and cathedrals 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.
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| Tibilisi's Sioni Cathedral of the Dormition |
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| All former Soviet countries have a massive statue of a warrior mother. Here it is Mother Georgia |
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 a bit if a treat - a traditional Uzbeki dance celebrating a wedding in the square outside the Sulphur Baths.
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| The Sulphur Baths are under the domes n 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 (we had her all to ourselves!) - 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 millions years old in Dmanisi Georgia. In light of the discovery the belief is that there were two waves of migrant - one into Africa from the Caucasus followed by one out of Africa. A fascinating and unexpected new thing for us. |
| 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.
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| 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 polish off 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 ....whoph haaa! Excellent.
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| A delicious was prepared for us on the property. Everything came from the farm and the bread was baked there too in an outdoory oven |
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| The earther qvevris which were buried in the floor and sealed. Centre: these are hundreds of years old. R: a modern version |
Georgian wine is pretty special. With a history of 8000 years, it is one of the oldest wine-making regions in the world. They still make wine in the traditional underground claypot, kvevris, fermentation method, which has been UNESCO listed as ab intangible cultural heritage, along side the newer European method. Both varieties tastes of sunshine and rich soil - the wine is not readily available in Australia but do ask for it nevertheless, it's really worth a taste.
We spent the night is the oicturesque Sighnaghi, the eastermost region of Kakheti looking out over the vast Alazani Valley.
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| View from Sighnaghi over the vast Alazabi Valley with Caucasus in the distance |
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