Monday, 4 July 2016

July 3 - 4 Fortresses, Cave cities and the end of our journey

We spent the night in Akhaltsikhe before heading further south towards the border with Turkey from where many invading forces pushed north into the heart of Georgia – we were on our way to visit the medieval cave city of Vardzia.

The ground was a carpet of delicate flowers - an artist's palette

These are ancient lands 
The confluence of the Mtkvari and Paravani Rivers

The drive southeast from Akhaltsikhe took us through beautiful wilderness. The road followed the course of the Mtkvari River through narrow canyons and spectacular valleys full of lush green and carpets of wildflowers. On the way we stopped at the Khertvisi Fortress. Khertvisi derives from the Georgian word meaning the confluence of rivers. The fortress is situated on the high rocky hill in the narrow canyon at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Paravani Rivers.  Like other fortresses, it was strategically positioned to stop invading forces.  Not so successfully it seems.  During the Russo-Turkish War of the early 1800s, the Turks besieged the fortress and slaughtered the Armenian part of the population. Such a fierce and bloody past! The age of the fortress in indeterminate but according to a local legend, Khertvisi was once destroyed by Alexander the Great on his march eastward in the C4th BC and since then has been reconstructed and invaded numerous times over the centuries. The current structure was built in the C10-11.

We cross the Paravani River to reach the Khertvisi Fortress
The road we were taking south followed the course of the Mtkvari River (also known as the Kura River), through narrow canyons and spectacular valleys. This region close to the border with Turkey is, or was, one of the Black Sea routes of the Old Silk Road and along its length many medieval cave fortifications and dwellings existed. Georgia was a country invaded many times over the millennia. Archaeological excavations have shown that the region around Vardzia was inhabited during the Bronze Age and cave settlements near by date from at least C5 BC.
It was a glorious drive but then we rounded a bend in the river and there it was – the incredible medieval cave city of Vardzia excavated out of the slopes of Erusheti Mountain in the Lesser Caucasus.
King Giorgi III built the fortifications here in the C11 after 10,000 Turkish troops marched into Georgia. Happily, they were defeated by a bold Georgian army of just 2,000 men. His niece and successor, Queen Tamar, subsequently established a monastery that grew into a virtual holy city housing around 2000 monks. Tragically in C13, Vardzia suffered a major earthquake which sheared off the face of the mountain exposing this magnificent labyrinthine C11 cave city. 
We saw a number of caves which could have given access to the cave city

Vardzia at a distance - mind boggling

Sliding doors?! Sliding mountains - an amazing sight revealed!
It stretches over half a kilometre along the River Mtkvari and had up to 19 tiers which once contained ~3000 caves which served as refectories, pharmacies, dwellings, with many wine cellars along tunnels carved into the belly of the mountain.  The clever monks designed an intricate irrigation system to ensure the supply of clean drinking water into the city and to irrigate the terraced slopes of Erusheti Mountain overlying the city. Once it also housed thousands of troops as it was a huge defence point guarding the passage north as well as a defence against the Mongols. The access to this hidden city was through a concealed tunnel that had its entry near the banks of the river Mtkvari. In C16 the Georgian army was defeated by the Persians in a battle in the caves themselves and Vardzia was looted. 
Today Vardzia is again a working monastery, and some monks inhabit the caves. They have a flying fox to bring goods to the monastery.

We popped in and out of cave openings - remembering that there was a long drop down!
We climbed up from the valley floor and explored as much as we could. The monastery was off limited, but we visited the rather other-worldly Church of the Assumption. Once completely entombed by the mountain, now it projects into the light. It felt spiritual, quite mystical. The interior of the Church almost made me weep with its shadowy atmosphere where dust motes floated down the thin beams of watery light that filter through deep slots in the thick walls to highlight faded frescoes rich in history.
From near and far the views were spectacular!

The sides and roofs were blackened by centuries of flame torches


The Church of the assumption

The archways letting in light was covered in beautiful frescoes

'Outside' the Church of the Assumption
We ventured deep inside where the walls were blackened by centuries of flame torches

The remaining monastery was fenced off.
The views were absolutely spectacular! But having climbed up there, we had to descend! Two of the women in front of me were terrified going down to the valley floor but they made it with lots of nervous laughter. We all embraced once we were on level ground. They were part of a lovely Georgian family who, after the mandatory group photos, invited us to share their BBQ lunch. That would have been a wonderful finish to a rather spectacular day but we had to press on as we needed to be back in Tbilisi that evening.   
We descended to slopes though tunnels cut into the slopes
Sadly we turned our backs on Vardzia and headed east to Tbilisi travelling back along the river that Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece and passing Paravani Lake, a volcanic lake located over 2,000 m above sea level. The lake is fed by snow, rain and underground springs and is frozen during winter when the ice can get to almost 1 m thick.  Thus ended a fantastic day. 
Back in Tbilisi we explored a little closer to our hotel - a creek and waterfall fed by mountain springs.  
The mineral baths


Sadly, the next day we were due to fly out heading for home. What an astonishing and breathtaking country! We had traversed the few coveted corridors that Georgia offers as passages between Asian to Europe, explored ancient sites of great religious and historic significance, clambered through shoulder high flowers and herbs to visit mountain villages and sample delicious wholesome foods, shared roads with cows, horses and pigs as we crisscrossed this stunningly beautiful country, sat down to eat with delightful, welcoming Georgians - and guzzled its delicious wine. What more could you ask for! Although a rather rushed 12 days, it was an epic journey and a fantastic adventure. We travelled about 2000 Km through Armenia and Georgia. 
Unfortunately, our planned trip to Istanbul and the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and the exotics of the souk, mosques and ancient laneways was thwarted by a 'shooting incident' in Istanbul which left over 40 innocent people dead (and our plans in a mess!). It was a sad ending to our journey ..... but we will return once sanity returns to that old city. 







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