The Caucasus & Central Asia 2
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip through the Caucasuses and Central Asia from September 4-October 16, 2016. Volume 2. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, c. 2016 Cover: Sve) Tskhoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta
The Caucasus & Central Asia September 17-September 25, 2016 A conKnuaKon of our three-week trip to the countries of the South Caucasus. Their tale is ended like a dream of the night. They are passed away and gone beyond the world. Behold the treachery of )me at play: even to him who thinks it long, it’s just a moment, it won’t stay. —Shota Rustaveli, The Knight in the Panther Skin, c. 1180
Volume 2 The Caucasus
Saturday, September 17
to Bojormi, Georgia
In spite of our good inten/ons, we le3 Yerevan later than we’d planned, clearing town a li:le past 10:00 on a drizzly Saturday morning. At least, being a weekend, the traďŹƒc was lighter than usual. As we were heading west out of the city, I noted the manufacturers that lined the road, including numerous furniture shops and one place that fabricated ornate iron gates: this must be the area that Yerevanians go when they are building their dream homes. We also passed ugly housing complexes that were remnants of the Soviet era. We stopped to see Zvartnots, the UNESCO-designated site of a great cathedral that was built to honor St. Gregory in the mid-7th century. Today, it is merely a ruin, as it was destroyed by an earthquake in 930 AD and only rediscovered in the early 20th century. Since then, only limited reconstruc/on has been a:empted, but Jake and I agree that in the case of restora/on, less is usually more.
Zvartnots Cathedral UNESCO
Etchmiadzin Cathedral UNESCO
About 16 km on, we reached the complex of Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, located in the city of Vagharshapat. Consecrated in 303 AD, it is the oldest cathedral in the world. The main church is set in a park, surrounded by lawns and gardens in which khachkars have been brought in from all over Armenia. By the /me we returned to our car, it was already a3er noon, and we had a long way to go.
Border Crossing Bavra, Armenia / Ninotsminda, Georgia
Driving north through patchy rain with numerous road construc/on delays, it was a3er 2:00 by the /me we reached Gyumri, Armenia’s second-largest city. Almost leveled by an earthquake in 1988, the city is an una:rac/ve place by any count, and much reconstruc/on obviously remains to be done. An hour later, we reached the border crossing between Armenia and Georgia at Bavra, a rus/c rural village in the desolate highlands. The crossing is quiet and underu/lized, and the burly uniformed men spoke li:le English. I sat in the car while Jake took care of the formali/es. I watched as various travelers went into each of several doors in the modest customs building, holding /ght to their documents that were flapping in the brisk wind. Then they would come out and enter another door, and then back again. I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on, but when he returned to the car, Jake assured me that no one else did either. Eventually, the right documents were produced and
stamped and the barrier was li3ed so that we could proceed. As we approached the Georgian side, we joked about the poor condi/on of the road, sugges/ng that neither country was willing to accept responsibility for maintenance. We bounced around par/al paving and muddy ditches as we circled a building project that was obviously far from comple/on. Once we cleared border formali/es, we drove through what must be the most potholed interna/onal territory known to man. For almost 30 km, we bounced, swerved, and crashed over the worst stretch of road we have ever encountered. At least our experience reaching Haghpat was not along an actual road, and was not intended to be the way into a sovereign country. When we reached Ninotsminda, the road finally improved, and the barren brown hills turned to green and then to rolling forests. We followed the Bojormi Gorge through forests along the Paravani River.
Near the village of Aspindza, we stopped to photograph the magnificent Fortress of Khertvisi as it glowed in the late a3ernoon sun. A fortress was first built on this site in the 2nd century BC and this is one of the oldest in Georgia. Unfortunately, we were running too late to take the turnoff to the cave monastery at Vardzia. Jake wanted to do it, but I was fearful of nego/a/ng the winding roads a3er dark. In retrospect, we should have skipped our first stops this morning, but those decisions can only be made in hindsight. As it was, we arrived in the resort town of Borjomi a3er 7:00 and checked into the Hotel Rixos, a new hotel in a former
sanatorium that boasts being the most expensive in Georgia. My annoyance at the staff’s clumsy handling of our arrival was offset when we went to dinner in the large main dining room. While the buffet was nothing special, the real treat was watching other diners. At one table, a man and his wife were trying to manage their restless li:le son. When another family came in, their daughter looked shyly at the boy. Both fathers encouraged their children to shake hands, which they eventually did. I overheard their conversa/on and learned that the families were from Kazakhstan and Dubai; cultural exchange can never start too early.
Khertvisi Fortress
Sunday, September 18
to Batumi
Disco beats throbbing through the wall and girls giggling in the hall kept me awake, but eventually I dropped o to sleep. Morning came early, however. My bowl of buckwheat porridge and fresh yoghurt was good and sustaining. The day was fresh and crisp as we drove out of the a:rac/ve town of Borjomi at 9:00 and followed the bends of the Kura River, descending to the valley. We saw lots of people out and about in the towns we passed on this pleasant Sunday morning—going to church or the market, or tending animals. Although the views were lovely across the wooded hills, Jake did not have much of a chance to enjoy them, as he had to keep a sharp eye out for aggressive passing, meandering pedestrians, and a veritable barnyard of wandering cows, goats, chickens, and ducks that had li:le respect for speeding motorists.
Gelati Monastery UNESCO
Gela/ Monastery is set on a wooded hillside 8 km northeast of Kutaisi. The monastery was established by the great Georgian Tsar David the Builder in 1106 as the center of spiritual life in the Middle Ages. This being a Sunday, we had the added beneďŹ t of seeing a service in progress as we admired the colorful frescos above. Children were running around everywhere and the young acolytes looked smart in their red robes. One of them, a young man with red hair, was siing next to his sister; they agreed to let me take their picture. They could have been Ryan and Wesley’s Georgian cousins.
Ten kilometers brought us to Bagra/ Cathedral, majes/cally towering over Kutaisi. Commissioned in the 10th century by the first king of a unified Georgia, Bagrat III (975-1014), it is said to be the greatest architectural and cultural monument in Georgia. It stood proudly for seven hundred years, un/l it was destroyed by the O:omans in 1691. Even in its present overly-reconstructed state, you cannot but feel the grandeur and nobility of the structure and sense its power. Although it has been rebuilt, it is interes/ng that the ruins have also remained; a li:le
boy was climbing on them when we arrived. Here, too, a Sunday service was in progress and we watched as a number of soldiers in camouflage received a special blessing by the priest as they took communion. The most interes/ng part of the interior—but certainly not the most a:rac/ve—was the use of metal columns that were presumably installed to keep the roof up rather than to add beauty; in fact, what we liked best about the cathedral was the sense of how personal it was to the people who worshipped there.
Bagrati Cathedral UNESCO
We drove southwest from Kutaisi to Batumi, a distance of 150 km that took us more than three hours; the GPS got hung up in Samtredia and we went back and forth un/l we relied on our own logic. As we neared Batumi, a holiday coastal town on the Black Sea, the traďŹƒc got heavier. I was relieved when we ďŹ nally arrived at the newly-opened Hilton. We were upgraded to a beau/ful suite with four rooms and views on three sides. We could have moved in permanently. Complementary drinks and a light supper were served in the Execu/ve Lounge; we sat and watched the sunset over the
Batumi
Black Sea. I had looked forward to seeing the illuminated Ali and Nino statue, a steel sculpture designed in 2007 by Georgian sculptor Tamara Kvesitadze. However, that was not to be. Fortunately, we stopped at the car for Jake to get something before we walked down the boulevard to see it at night. It was then that we realized that the car ba:ery was dead. Although I was disappointed not to see the statue a3er reading the novel, we were relieved that we had discovered the problem this evening and not as we were seing out for our long drive to Mes/a tomorrow.
Monday, September 19
to Mestia
Jake knew how disappointed I was not to have seen Ali and Nino, and dropped me off near the statue. I was thus able to see it before we le3 town. Although it was, of course, not illuminated, the sun shining on the steel figures as they slowly came together and separated was enough of a light show to sa/sfy me. As we ascended from the beach level, we commented again on the unique mini-climate of Batumi that enables palm trees and bamboo to flourish. Among the plas/c figures of panthers, eagles, and Snow White for sale by the roadside (who would ever buy these things?) we saw ladders and utensils made of bamboo for sale along the way. We followed the coast north as far as Po/ before turning east to Senaki and north again to Zugdadi. Coming within 3 km of the separa/st area of Abkhazia, we turned down the road to Mes/a at about 12:30.
For the next three days, we will be exploring the Svane/ area of Georgia: that mysterious area tucked away in the recesses of the High Caucasus. Surrounded by gigan/c, snow-capped mountain peaks and deep gorges, Svane/ is home to some of the highest and most isolated villages in the Caucasus. The region is so remote that it remained unconquered un/l the Russians exerted control in the mid-19th century. The people have their own customs and language, and it has been said that the area is more Georgian than Georgia itself. As the road wound around the Lake Enguri valley and then began to ascend, we were treated to beau/ful vistas. It took careful driving though: around every bend lay the poten/al for rockslides, animals, or speeding vehicles with a propensity for veering across the center line.
The Upper Svaneti UNESCO
We reached Mes/a, in the shadow of Mt. Ushba (15,453 feet), just a3er 3:30 and looked for Roza’s Guesthouse. We stopped a couple of people to ask direc/ons, encountering blank stares. I followed a group going into a bar and asked them, but no one had a clue what I was talking about un/l a smiling woman came out from the back and kindly offered to call the number of the guesthouse for me. She waved me in the direc/on of the correct road, and a3er asking two more people for confirma/on, we crept up a narrow, rocky lane, thinking all the while that this was probably not a good idea. When we reached a pre:y much impassable point, Roza came out and told us that we would be staying at her new house instead and that
we needed to go back down the hill. That was no easy task, but eventually we returned to the main road. Roza took us up another dirt road to her “new house” which has only been open for a couple of weeks. She pointed us up three flights of sterile stairs with no bannister to a spotless, sterile room with only a bed and a cabinet—but with the advantage of a private bathroom. A3er we dropped off our things and met her downstairs, she led us through a gate and along a narrow path to a second gate that connected the new house with the dreaded alley we had earlier nego/ated with the car. She showed us the back way to the guesthouse where she prepared hot tea and agreed to arrange for a driver to take us to Ushguli tomorrow.
Later on, we gingerly made our way on foot back down the steep, stony alley, passing hairy hogs and rough stone buildings in disrepair.
Mestia
Se/ Square is the pleasant park in the center of town. I got into a conversa/on with two young men who were running a souvenir stand on the square. Both were surprised that we were American and both of them, Giorgi Dzagania his and his buddy Zuka, told me that they hoped to come to the US one day. A3er walking the two main cobblestone streets, we relaxed over local white wine at Leila’s “Feel Georgian Food” and watched the shadows lengthen on the high mountains above us. We decided to return to the Sun-se/ where I had asked direc/ons earlier. The woman who helped us seemed pleased that we had come back. We enjoyed a simple dinner of kubdari meat pie and kharcho soup that was delicious, without another tourist in sight. The place was filled with local Georgians who were drinking impressive amounts of vodka and chacha. The room was blue with smoke. The power failed four /mes during our meal, but we determined that it must be a common occurrence, as barely a comment was made; I heard someone break out into a few bars of “Happy birthday to you…” once, but that was about it. We had our work cut out for us, finding the way back to our room in the pitch darkness: up that rocky lane, across to the gate, and down the narrow path to the “new house.”
Tuesday, September 20
Mestia The air was cool and fresh, but our bed felt as if it were made of layers of cardboard. The night was restless for us both. We woke just before 7:00, bea/ng the alarm by a minute or so. The bathroom has a shower, but it sprays the whole room, with no stall or curtain. I tried not to make a mess by holding the nozzle close in my hand, while Jake decided not to mess with it at all. At 8:00, we followed the path to Roza’s for a breakfast of porridge and fried eggs. At 9:00, we met the driver whom Roza had arranged to take us to Ushguli. A tall, good-looking man of about 45 introduced himself as Giorgi. Although he speaks Russian, his English was minimal. However, he was a pleasant companion just the same. He loaded us into an older model Toyota Land Cruiser with high clearance. (We soon realized how vital that was going to be.) About 15 km outside of Mes/a, the paved road ended, and for the next eight hours, we bounced and jostled along dusty mountain roads, dodging boulders, edging ver/ginous drops, and fording cascading water from the glaciers above. Fortunately, Giorgi was a capable driver and accustomed to local road condi/ons. What we were trying to see in one day usually takes backpackers four days. Crossing the Mulkhura River Gorge, we plunged into the brush for a challenging drive to the remote village of Hadishi. Nine kilometers from the road, the village is cut off from civiliza/on for six months of the year and is now home to only eight families, whose livelihood is subsistence living and catering to backpackers. Georgi knows them well and introduced me to a li:le fellow who is also named Giorgi. We walked the maze of alleys, no/ng the wooden balconies and iconic stone towers that are the mark of the Svane/ region. I walked down a wet path towards the /ny St. George’s Church in a lower field, but did not make it past the significant mud I encountered. While we were thus occupied, Giorgi picked up a load of duffle bags and loaded them into the back of the van. We then retraced those long nine kilometers to the “main” road.
We con/nued on the unpaved, uneven, and rocky trail towards Ushguli, stopping in several small villages, including one where a boy named Lavari dared me to climb a rickety ladder up into the darkness of an 800year old Svane/ defensive tower for only 2 GEL. They would have to pay me a lot more than that to a:empt it. At Iprari, we saw some beau/ful frescos in the small Church of Archangel Michael on the hill and Giorgi dropped o the packs he had picked up. With road condi/ons such as those, it only made sense to use all the available space in the vehicle since we had the luxury of our own driver.
I would not have guessed what treasures were locked inside this /ny church.
The culmina/on of our day’s drive was the UNESCO-designated Ushguli village. Claimed to be Europe’s highest permanently inhabited se:lement, its three communi/es rise to an al/tude of 7,218 feet. At the far end lies the Lamaria Church of the Assump/on of the Virgin—set against a backdrop of snow-capped Mt. Shkhara (17,037 feet). It is the finest seing of any Svan church. Interes/ngly, less than 70 kilometers to the north and just out of sight rises Mt. Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe (18,510 feet), near the Georgian border in Russia. I was intrigued to watch the priests in the back of the church, covered with neing, tending to their feisty colony of bees.
Ushguli Village
On the way back to Mes/a, we stopped to see the 9th century St. Barbara’s Church with its 6th century icon and 9th century frescos. It is interes/ng that the churches in the Svane/ tend to be quite small and unadorned. I suppose that in these parts, there were few large congrega/ons and these small structures would be far easier to warm during the long and brutal winters. Just before Giorgi dropped us off, we visited the Svane/ Museum, opened in 2013. The highlights of the collec/on are the Svan icons, da/ng from the 10th century onwards. Their beauty and naïve simplicity captured our imagina/on in much the same way as European Romanesque art. A dinner of Svan special/es was served at Roza’s communal table; we enjoyed chaing with Paul and Mark from London. The power went out again this evening, but unlike last night, it stayed off, making our walk back to the “new house” and preparing for bed difficult. Although it had been an exhaus/ng day, it was a memorable one.
Wednesday, September 21
to Natakhtari
Roza prepared breakfast for us at 7:30 so that we could get an early start as today was going to be a long drive for us. We said good-by to Roza and her husband, Vito, and began our descent from the Svane/, reaching Zugdidi three hours later. As we drove along in a persistent rain, we were grateful that we had enjoyed such perfect weather for our drive to Ushguli yesterday.
A3er passing through Kutaisi, we stopped at Gori, birthplace of Georgia’s infamous son, Josef Djugashvili, be:er known as Josef Stalin. At the north end of the main square, the imposing Italianate museum was deďŹ antly built in his honor in 1957. Although the cap/ons were in Georgian and Russian, we were able to get a sense of the great man from Gori whom the museum intended to depict. The museum was oďŹƒcially closed in 1989 but the pretense of closure has long ended and the rooms are open again. The place understandably has a somber, depressing air; the red carpets that run throughout are wrinkled and worn, and paint is peeling from the high ceilings. Nonetheless, we were glad we had made a visit to this strange place, where photographs of those who had died under his regime were displayed along with gi3s from leaders from all over the world.
About 10 km east of Gori, we visited the cave city Uplistsikhe, a religious center da/ng from before 1000 BC. Unfortunately, it started to pour, and I abandoned my plan to climb to the top to take some pictures when I discovered that a3er the steps ended it was necessary to scramble up smooth rocks that had become slick in the rain. By that /me, I was soaked and I feared that Jake had been wai/ng too long for me back at the car. As we con/nued east, we nicked the border with disputed South Osse/a at the town of Nigoza. It was dusk as we reached the base of the Russian Military Highway where we have reserva/ons at Vanilla Sky, a small hotel that caters to passengers ying short hops on the airline of the same name. I believe that we are the only guests in the hotel this evening. When we arrived a3er 6:30, no one was in the recep/on area, but we located a young woman named Marita in the bar who gave us a key to our room. We immediately went across to the dining room, where we were the only diners. Marita took our order, apologizing that most of the items on the menu were not available. However, we had soup, Khachapuri Megruli (Georgian bread with extra
cheese) and the local Natakhtari beer. We thought the evening was over when we went back to our room and Jake locked the door. But when he oered to go and get my camera from the car, things changed fast. The key would not unlock the door; neither would it come out of the keyhole. There we were, locked inside our room with no one on duty to call. Just as I was star/ng to feel a li:le panicky, I realized that the distance from the window to the ground was not more than six feet or so. So I put the duvet across the sill, grabbed my trusty ashlight, and crawled out the window. The restaurant area was totally dark. When I checked the terminal, I found a guy in shorts siing there working on his laptop. Using my best sign language, I mo/oned that we were locked in our room and that I had climbed out the window. At last he got a sense of what I was saying and followed me around to the back of the building where the duvet was hanging. He moved it aside and pulled himself up into the open window. He somehow managed to dislodge the key and open the door. We thanked him profusely and asked him his name: he smiled and told us that he was Alex, the pilot for Vanilla Sky.
South Osse*a
Thursday, September 22
Natakhtari
Although breakfast was supposedly included with our room, the hotel staff only started to show up at 9:00. We even had a hard /me finding someone to accept payment when we checked out. Foregoing a meal, we drove north along the Georgian Military Highway. This ancient passage across the Caucasus Mountains to Russia has existed as a route since before the 1st century BC, but it took the Russians to finally convert it to a proper road in the late 18th century. Today, the road links the Russian city of Vladikavkaz with Tbilisi. From the south, the road hugs the side of the turquoise Zhinvali Reservoir and passes the photogenic Ananuri Fortress before ascending to the ski resort of Gudauri through a series of hairpin curves. At one point, we encountered a line of trucks that was at least two kilometers long; apparently they were transi/ng Georgia from Armenia and were wai/ng to be admi:ed to Russia. From there, the road con/nues to climb to the town of Kazbegi (now renamed Stepantsminda) at 5,840 feet.
Ananuri Fortress
Zhinvali Reservoir
Along the Georgian Military Highway
The site that we had come to see was the 14th century Tsminda Sameba (Holy Trinity) Church of Gerge/ in its incomparable seing on a hilltop, 1,200 feet above the town. Although many choose to hike to the church and others hire a 4x4 vehicle to take them to the top, my intrepid Jake drove the 6 km dirt track himself; a3er conquering Haghpat, nothing daunted him. Over the centuries, the church’s remote loca/on has been an ideal hiding place for treasures
during /mes of danger. Climbing the ďŹ nal kilometer to the top, we could well understand how true that was. The weathered stone church is decorated with intriguing carvings, although we found the interior to be disappoin/ng. A3er savoring the view of the surrounding mountains from the windy outcrop of the church, we carefully retraced our way down the track and began the drive back to Natakhtari.
Gergeti Church
Mount Kazbeki
At the base of the highway, we stopped at an assembly of vendors selling jewelry, hand-kni:ed Georgian socks, and churchkhela, the tradi/onal candle-shaped candy that is made with grape must and walnuts.
Determining that we had had enough of the Vanilla Sky Hotel, we took our chances, stopping at the Hotel Emocia simply because it looked appealing from the road. We discovered an a:rac/ve complex behind the main building, with separate co:ages surrounding a central area. When we no/ced a selec/on of liquor bo:les behind the bar/recep/on area, we asked if they had any chacha, the na/onal brandy of Georgia. The girl at the desk nodded her head and then made a call. In a moment, a gentleman came in and introduced himself as Ramaze. He led us outside and down a narrow alley in the back, unlocked a door, and invited us into his private showroom of qvevri wines, complete with a tas/ng table and wine-related memorabilia on the walls. He gave us a sample of his home brew; one swallow and I knew what people meant when they said that the best Georgian brandy is made at home. We said that we’d like to buy a bo:le, and Ramaze obliged by bringing
out a giant water container with blue plas/c handles and funneling some into an old Borjomi water bo:le. Since we were going to dinner, he agreed that I could leave the bo:le in the soda cooler in the recep/on area un/l we returned. We had a pleasant meal at Chashnagiri Restaurant just down the road, siing peacefully under a willow tree, while Russian trucks barreled along the Georgian Military Highway no more than 30 feet from our table. The meal was delicious, although it was heavy on dumplings, as we uninten/onally ordered three kinds. Once back at the hotel, I went to pick up our bo:le of chacha from the soda case, and discovered that someone had bought it, thinking it was mineral water. Hartuna, the desk clerk, had a good laugh, and was able to retrieve it from the other guest before he had a (pleasant?) surprise. We enjoyed a nightcap outside on the li:le pa/o that accompanies our room before a sprinkling of rain sent us inside.
Friday, September 23
to Kisiskhevi
It was just star/ng to rain again when we le3 the Emocia Hotel and drove the short distance to Mtskheta (pronounced “Skay-ta”). Inhabited for more than 5,000 years, its history is rich with ancient cults and pagan shrines. Since 327 AD, it has been the center of Chris/anity and of Georgia’s very soul, as confirmed by its churches that are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. We first visited Sve/ Tskhoveli Cathedral, an enormous building da/ng from the 11th century. It is believed that Christ’s robe lies beneath the central nave, under a square pillar that has been the site of numerous miracles. The frescos are the most spectacular we have seen in Georgia; most notable is a depic/on of the Apocalypse, covering the south transept, with the wheel of the zodiac radia/ng from a central figure of Christ. As I was leaving, a priest blessed me with the laying on of hands.
Sveti Tskhoveli Cathedral UNESCO
Juvari Monastery UNESCO A few kilometers away, the Jvari Monastery stands 500 feet above the city, offering views of the confluence of the Mtkvari and the Aragvi Rivers below. The many visitors were intent on taking photos of each other with that exquisite view as a backdrop. Jvari is a fine example of Georgian architecture, but in contrast to Sve/ Tskhoveli, is poignantly simple. Built in the late 6th century, it is, according to the Bradt Guide, “the first ‘apse-bu:ressed’ cruciform church, in which the gaps between the arms of the cross are filled in by small chapels.”
In spite of faulty direc/ons from our GPS, we eventually found our way to Sighnaghi, high on a ridge in the Kakhe/ region of Georgia, and home to natural qvevri winemaking. We wanted to visit John Wurdeman’s Pheasant’s Tears a3er our special evening at its sister restaurant, Azarphesha, in Tbilisi. Decorated with an/que rugs and po:ery, the place has a lot of warmth and atmosphere. We enjoyed a meal of jonjoli fri:ers and sautéed wild mushrooms. A3er I sampled the chacha, we bought a bo:le to take back with us, as well as a CD of tradi/onal Georgian music produced by John Wurdeman’s wife. It con/nued to rain as we drove east, deep into the wine district towards Telavi. We are spending our last full night in Georgia at Schuchmann Wines Chateau in Kisiskhevi, a stone, wood, and brick building where we have a room with a balcony overlooking the vineyards. A3er tas/ng three qvevri wines presented by the engaging Na/a, a young woman from the Svane/ area, we shared house special/es, including a Georgian vegetable salad and Apkhazura, a dish of veal, pork and onion that originates from the par/ally recognized state of Abkhazia on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.
Sighnaghi
Saturday, September 24
to Tbilisi
It was a misty drizzle as we le3 the winery for our drive back to Tbilisi from the Kakhe/ wine region, this /me by way of the Gombori Pass, a picturesque road through ancient forests with endless turns, constant changes in eleva/on, and, except for fog at the actual pass (5,315 feet), panoramic views of the Alazani Valley and the Caucasus Mountains. Fall was just star/ng to show its colors, on this, our last day in Georgia. It was a ďŹ ing ďŹ nal drive before returning the car to Hertz at the Radisson Blu in Tbilisi. Fortunately, there was a room ready for us so that we could begin the reorganizing and regrouping process before we start the second half of our trip. And since we will need to leave for the airport at 4:00 am, we need to get to bed early.
Tbilisi
Sunday, September 25
Istanbul Atatürk Airport — Tashkent, Uzbekistan
The alarm went off at the absurd hour of 2:30 am but we had already awakened twice: at 11:00, there were a series of bangs, which I presumed were fireworks, since I didn’t see anything untoward when I looked out of the window; and at midnight, our room phone rang. Nonetheless, we were ready when our taxi arrived and speeded us through a series of back streets to the Tbilisi airport. As is usual in taxis in Georgia and Armenia, the seatbelts were buried somewhere. Airport check-in went smoothly and at 6:30 am we were on our way back to Istanbul on TK 387, arriving 2 ½ hours later. Next, we had to figure out how to spend ten hours un/l our evening flight to Tashkent. We found a place at the BTA Café where we se:led in at a long table with outlets, free Wi-Fi, and an understanding waiter who allowed us to stay as long as we occasionally ordered something. We were near a hallway where we observed arriving passengers: a parade of men in flowing jellabiyas with the women behind carrying parcels and bags on their heads; women in saris, men in soccer shorts, women in hijabs, men in business
suits; virtually everyone with a phone a:ached to their ear. A large crowd of migrants from Mali had taken over the entrance to the gate area. Most had their shoes off; the women cha:ed together as the men lounged nearby. At the gates, many of which were crowded and lacked adequate sea/ng, several people were sleeping, stretched out across three or more chairs. As we observed these people passing through, I found myself quite moved; I thought of the recent a:ack on this airport that is, in many ways, at the center of the world. At 5:30 pm, we went to the departure gate for our flight. We were shuffled from our seats into a line and then back to our seats, the only point of which seemed to allow the gate representa/ve to exert his officiousness. The flight to Tashkent took off on /me and arrived just a3er midnight. Again, we were bussed to the terminal. Passport control was no worse than one encounters in most countries. But then we went to pick up our bags. Baggage Claim at the Tashkent Airport was beyond belief. The conveyer belt was small and underpowered, for one thing.
The baggage handlers took more than a half hour to unload the luggage onto the belt. While several tour groups were trying to grab their own suitcases as they appeared, other people had seized carts and pushed them against the sides of the conveyer. Then the pushing and crowding started in a big way. More than half of the baggage was not luggage at all, but taped or shrinkwrapped odd-shaped objects, some as small as footballs and others huge rounded cartons that made it difficult for them to stay on the belt. They were obviously extremely heavy as well, and the people trying to get their things were stacking as many as 9 or 10 items on carts that were not designed for such weight. Bundles fell off to the sides or the center of the conveyer as the handlers carelessly tossed them on, while others were shoved out of the way as passengers grabbed for their own stuff. Some people were even jumping up on the conveyer belt to retrieve things that had fallen into the center. It was total chaos. A3er that scene, we were sent through to another room where we joined a mob to have our luggage
scanned. It was there that we learned that we had to fill out an ambiguous form that we did not know about before. A3er filling it out and guessing at the informa/on that we were asked to provide, we got back in line, only to learn that the form was to be filled out in duplicate. When a guy with a cart crammed with ten or so chartreuse shrink-wrapped bundles bumped me in the heel to try to get in front of me, I just about lost my interna/onal grace. So although the plane had arrived on /me, we did not escape the airport un/l 2:15 am. Then we encountered a gauntlet of taxi drivers and tour operators all clamoring for business. We were relieved to find Ramil from Salom Travel wai/ng for us, and from that point, things went smoothly. He loaded us into his car and handed Jake some /ckets we’d requested and $300 USD, which in Uzbekistan som is 1.8 million (at street rates.) Since the largest Uzbek note is 5000 som—with a street rate of 79 cents—the stack of notes he gave us was about 8” high. It was 3:00 am by the /me we checked into the Lo:e City Hotel Tashkent Palace and collapsed.
Faces of the Caucasus
Itinerary SEPTEMBER Sunday
4 Depart: O’Hare Interna/onal Airport, ORD, Terminal 5 on Turkish Airlines Flight 6 (Boeing 777-300ER) at 21:30, on /me; Seats 16H, 16K EN ROUTE TO ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Time (GMT +2:00) in Turkey Time (GMT +4:00) in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia 1 Azerbaijani Manat (AZN) = (USD) $0.60; USD $100= AZN 167 Monday
5 Arrive Istanbul Ataturk Airport, IST, Terminal 1 at 16:35 (20 minutes late) a3er aborted landing at 300 meters al/tude Depart: Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Terminal 1 on Turkish Airlines Flight 334 (Airbus A321 Sharklets) at 17:30 (10 minutes late); Seats 6B, 6C Arrive Heydar Aliyev Interna/onal Airport, GYD, Terminal 1 at 21:00 (10 minutes early); transfer to hotel Dinner: plane, en route Four Seasons Hotel Baku: City view king: Room 402 1 Ne3chilar Avenue, Baku BAKU, AZERBAIJAN clear: evening 75 degrees
Tuesday
6 Breakfast: Sehirli Tandir Restaurant Sites: Walled City of Baku/ Icheri Sheher Fortress (UNESCO), Qiz (Maiden Tower), Medieval Market Square, Palace of the Shirvanshahs (Sirvansah Muzey), Baku Museum of Miniature Books, Siniq Qala Mosque, Vahid Gardens; Central Baku: Railroad Sta/on, Fountains Square, Zaha Hadid’s Aliyev Center; Azerbaijan Carpet Museum Dinner: Firuze Restorant Four Seasons Hotel Baku BAKU clear: 85 degrees
Wednesday
7
Route: tour of Qobustan and Absheron Peninsula: with Emil as driver in Four Seasons Hotel Mercedes S350 (260 kms); mud volcanoes: with Azat as driver in Lada 2107 (12 kms) Sites: Qobustan: oil derricks, Qobuston Petroglyph Reserve (UNESCO), mud volcanoes Absheron Peninsula: Balakhani: oil derricks and waste lands; Surakhani: Ateshgah Fire Temple, Mardakan Castle, Qala Ethnographic Museum; Mehemmedi: Ramana Castle Dinner: Shirvanshahs Museum Restorant (Sirvansah Muzey Restoran) Four Seasons Hotel Baku BAKU partly cloudy: 80 degrees 272 km
Thursday
8 Breakfast: in old city (Icheri Sheher) near hotel Route: “Ali & Nino” Walking Tour and Oil Baron Mansions Tour: Niyazi Street and Ne3chilar Street from SOCAR Headquarters Building to Seaside Boulevard; Sites: Baku: SOCOR Headquarters, Art History Museum, President’s Office Building, Western University Building, Baku City Hall, Manuscripts Ins/tute, Academy of Sciences, Taghiyev Na/onal Museum of History of Azerbaijan, Flame Towers Drinks: Baku: Paris Bistro Depart: Baku Railway Sta/on, on Train 38, 1st class (“Spalny Vagon”: 2-bed sleeper) at 20:30; Car 7, spaces 15 and 16 EN ROUTE TO TBILISI, GEORGIA clear: 88 degrees Rail distance 551 kms Total driven in Azerbaijan: 272 km 1 Georgian Lari (GEL) = (USD) $0.44; USD $100= GEL 229 Friday
9 Arrive Tbilisi Railway Sta/on, at 10:40 (50 minutes early) Sites: Tbilisi: Shota Rustaveli Avenue, Georgian Na/onal Opera and Ballet Theater, Kashve/ Church, Na/onal Museum of Georgia Dinner: Shavi Lomi, Tbilisi Marrio: Hotel: Standard King Room: Room 228; 13 Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi TBILISI clear: 85 degrees
Saturday
10 Breakfast: Funicular Restaurant Sites: Djorbenadze's Wedding Palace, Anchiskha/ Basilica, Mtkvari Riverside, Sameba Cathedral, Metekhi Temple, Narikala Fortress, Mother Georgia sculpture; Shaveteli Street: Clock Tower, Gabriadze Puppet Theater, Anchiskha/ Basilica Ac/vi/es: funicular to Mount Mtatsminda; cable car to Narikala Fortress Shopping: ”Suhoy Most” (Dry Bridge) Flea Market Drinks: Café Gabriadze Dinner: Azarphesha (Pheasant’s Tears), Tbilisi Marrio: Hotel: Reserva/on #93681997, as modified; Standard King Room; breakfast not included; high-speed Wi-Fi TBILISI clear: 85 degrees
Sunday
11 Breakfast: Sites: Pushkin Park, Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts and Ecclesias/cal Treasury, old city, Anchiskha/ Basilica Lunch: Café Gabriadze Dinner: Barbarestan Restaurant Tbilisi Marrio: Hotel TBILISI rain overnight, overcast, then sunny, 75 degrees
100 Armenian Dram (AMD) = (USD) $0.21; USD $100=AMD 475
Monday
12 Hertz car rental at Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel; white 2014 Renault Duster (4 WD SUV), Georgia license OA-661-AO, odometer: 81,432 Route: Armenian border at Bagratashen; Alaverdi; Sanahin, Haghpat; Debed Canyon; Vanadzor; Dilijan Sites: Armenia: Haghpat Monastery (UNESCO), Sanahin Monastery (UNESCO), Debed Canyon, Dilijan: Old Dilijan Complex Dinner: Dilijan: Tufenkian Haykanoush Restaurant Tufenkian’s Ananov Guest House: second floor suite: Room 2 Old Dilijan Complex: Sharambeyan Street, Dilijan DILIJAN, ARMENIA hazy, clear: 75 degrees 215 km (149 in Armenia)
Tuesday
13 Breakfast: Tufenkian’s Ananov Guest House Route: Idjevan; Makaravank; Gosh; Sevan; Hrazdan; Yerevan Sites: Makaravank Monastery, Goshavank Monastery Shopping: Vernissage Market Dinner: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Drinks: Tufenkian Yerevan Hotel Bar Tufenkian Historic Yerevan Hotel: Junior Suite: Room 503 48 Hanrapsetutyan Street, Yerevan YEREVAN foggy: 75 degrees; clear: 82 degrees
40 km
Wednesday
14 Breakfast: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Sites: City Center: Museum of History of Armenia, Republic Square, Mesrop Mashtots Matenadaran, Cascade Complex: Cafesjian Center Dinner: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Tufenkian Historic Yerevan Hotel YEREVAN clear: 85 degrees
Thursday
15 Breakfast: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Sites: Geghard Monastery and Upper Azat Valley (UNESCO); Garni Temple Shopping: Vernissage Market Dinner: Dolmama Restauant Tufenkian Historic Yerevan Hotel YEREVAN partly cloudy: 84 degrees 81 km
Friday
16 Breakfast: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Route: Lake Sevan; Vardenyats (Selim) Pass; Yeghegis Valley: Noravank; Ararat Sites: Lake Sevan: Noratus Cemetery: field of khachkars; Orbelian’s Caravanserai; Noravank Monastery, Momik Museum; Khor Virap Monastery; Mount Ararat Dinner: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Tufenkian Historic Yerevan Hotel YEREVAN rain: 65 degrees; clear: 75 degrees 328 km
Saturday
17 Breakfast: Tufenkian Kharpert Restaurant Route: drive to Echmias/n; Sardarapat; Gyumri; Georgian border; Ninotsminda; Akhalkalaki; Akhaltsikhe; Borjomi Sites: Zvartnots Cathedral (UNESCO); Echmias/n Cathedral and Churches (UNESCO); Khertvisi Fortress Dinner: Hotel Rixos Borjomi Hotel Rixos Borjomi: Room 120 16 Mekhe/ Street, Borjomi BORJOMI variable: rain, partly cloudy: 72 degrees 354 km (215 in Armenia) Total drove in Armenia: 1,013 km
Sunday
18 Breakfast: Hotel Rixos Borjomi Route: Kura River Valley, Kutaisi, Bagra/, Gela/, Black Sea coast, Batumi Sites: Gela/ Monastery (UNESCO); Bagra/ Cathedral (UNESCO); Batumi: Seaside Park Dinner: Hilton Batumi Hotel Execu/ve Lounge Hilton Batumi: upgraded to Execu/ve Suite: Room 1401 40 Rustaveli Street, Batumi BATUMI clear: 75 degrees 320 km
Monday
19 Breakfast: Chocola:e Coffee-Room Route: Black Sea coast; Po/; Zugdidi; Mes/a Sites: Batumi: Seaside Park, Ali and Nino Statue; Mes/a: Se/ Square, Svan towers Drinks: Mes/a: Café Laila Dinner: Mes/a: Café Sunse/ Roza Shukvani (New) Guest House: Room 1 17 Vi:orio Sella Street, Mes/a MESTIA clear: 75 degrees 285 km
Tuesday
20 Breakfast: Roza Shukvani Guest House Route: Ushguli and return with Giorgi as driver in Toyota Land Cruiser; Ughveri Pass; Mulkhura River Gorge, Adishi, Ipari Sites: Chvabiani: Makhtsovari Church; Adishi: St. George’s Church; Ipari: St. Barbara’s Church, Church of Archangel Michael; Upper Svane/: Ushguli (UNESCO): Lamaria Church of the Assump/on of the Virgin, Svan towers; Mes/a: Svane/ Museum of History and Ethnography Dinner: Roza Shukvani Guest House Roza Shukvani (New) Guest House MESTIA clear: 60-75 degrees Driven 118 km
Wednesday
21 Breakfast: Roza Shukvani Guest House Route: drive to Zugdidi; Kutaisi; Gori; Natakhtari Sites: Gori: Joseph Stalin Museum; Uplistsikhe: cave complex Dinner: Vanilla Sky Restaurant Hotel Vanilla Sky: Standard Double: Room 5 Airodrom Natakhtari Mskheta, Natakhtari NEAR NATAKHTARI rain all day: 70 degrees
478 km
Thursday
22 Route: Natakhtari; drive Georgian Military Road: Ananauri, Gudauri, Djvaris Ughelt (Cross Pass), Kazbegi, Gerge/ and return Sites: Georgian Military Road: Ananauri: castle complex: Church of the Virgin, Church of the Assump/on; Djvari Pass; Kazbegi; Gerge/: Church of Tsminda Sameba (Holy Trinity), Mount Kazbeg Dinner: Chashnagiri Restauant Hotel Emocia: standard double: Room 8 Highway of Natakhtari, Misaqcieli Miaqcieli NEAR NATAKHTARI partly cloudy: 72 degrees 266 km
Friday
23 Breakfast: Hotel Emocia Route: tour of Mtskheta; M27 and M5/A302 to Sighnaghi; Gurjaani; Tsinandali Sites: Mtskheta: Historic Monuments (UNESCO): Sve/ Skhoveli (Cathedral of 12 Apostles), Jvari Monastery; Kakhe/ region: Sighnaghi: Erekle II Square, Bodbe Convent Lunch: Sighnaghi: Pheasant’s Tears Dinner: Schuchmann Wine Bar and Restaurant, Schuchmann Hotel Schuchmann Hotel: Suite with balcony: Room 15 Kisiskhevi Village, Telavi KISISKHEVI rain, partly cloudy: 72 degrees 231 km
Saturday
Sunday
24 Breakfast: Schuchmann Restaurant Route: Telavi; Gombori Pass; Tbilisi Return rental car at Radisson Blu Iveria Dinner: Surface Lounge, Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel: Standard King Room: Room 1014 Rose Revolu/on Square 1 TBILISI rain early, partly cloudy: 65 degrees
25 Transfer from Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel to Airport Depart: Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi Interna/onal Airport, TBS, on Turkish Airlines Flight 387 (Airbus 321-100/200) at 06:35; Seats 6D, 6E Arrive: Istanbul Ataturk Airport, IST, Terminal 1 at 07:45 on /me Breakfast: Istanbul Ataturk Airport: BTA Cafe Depart: Istanbul Ataturk Airport, IST, Terminal 1 on Turkish Airlines Flight 370 (Airbus A330-200) at 18:10; Seats 7J, 7K EN ROUTE TO TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN
Time (GMT +4:00) in Uzbekistan Monday
103 km Total drove in Georgia: 1,888 km Total driven in Georgia: 118 km
26 Arrive Tashkent Interna/onal Airport, TAS, Terminal 2 at 00:30 on /me
Total kilometers rail distance between Baku and Tiblisi: 551 km (344 miles) Total kilometers drove in Georgia and Armenia: 2,901 km (1,813 miles) Total kilometers drove and driven in Caucasus: 3,291 km (2,057 miles)
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip through the Caucasuses and Central Asia from September 4-October 16, 2016. Volume 2. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, c. 2016