Somewhere between Vox & Hunter S. Thompson
Viewing entries in
Caucasus
Literal paradise.
Ushguli is a small cluster of towns that sits right on the Georgia-Russia border in the mountainous northerly region of Svaneti. It’s remote, difficult to access, and it’s got a population of less than 250 people. And yet, a quick Google image search for Georgia (the country of Georgia) will often return images of Ushguli even above images of the capital city. Clearly there is something special about this place.
Svaneti is the highest inhabited region of the Caucasus mountain chain. The whole region is studded with snow-capped 3,000–5,000 meter (~10,000–16,500 foot) peaks and sprinkled with small glaciers. In fact, the highest mountain in Georgia, Mount Shkhara, is located here in Svaneti, which stands at 5,201 meters (17,059 feet) tall. But in between all these mountains and glaciers are some of Georgia’s most picturesque little valleys and towns. These town are inhabited by an ethnic group known as the Svans.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. Before we re-enter our narrative, let me introduce you to the famous Georgian mountain town of Kazbegi. It’s basically just famous because the mountain peak that towers over this little town is particularly dramatic and maintains a snowcap year round. This Mount Kazbek. In short, it’s super pretty! Everybody I had brushed elbows with up to this point in my trip recommended Kazbegi profusely.
Before I get to introducing the actual town of Sighnaghi, I think it’s important that I first explain the region of which this town is the epicenter. Sighnaghi is located in the far-eastern Georgian province of Kakheti. Kakheti was, like most Georgian provinces, at one point an independent Kingdom. So it has its own cultural history, but the facet of this culture that we’re going to be focused on today is winemaking.
Georgia is working with a totally new set of materials. And if that fact weren’t enough, it’s also PACKED with all sorts of interesting micro-climates that are unique to Georgia. The untapped potential of this region is honestly insane. Georgian winemakers are only just now starting to work with all these different varieties of grapes that have been collecting dust until now, and while that is very exciting, it doesn’t promise huge results any time soon. New styles of wine takes a long time to cultivate and hone, and Georgia is right now at the beginning of this journey. Expect to be hearing a LOT more about Georgian wine over the next few decades.
Georgia’s cultural resurgence comes in many forms, but today we’re going to focus specifically on street art. Tbilisi is a treasure trove of interesting little alleyways, tastefully decrepit old buildings, and a unique form of urban decay that makes the whole city feel like some sort of massive antique shop. And in the spaces in between the city’s main cobblestone causeways and its many new restaurants and coffeeshops, there is quite a robust collection of murals that… well, I should probably just shut up and show you.
FEAST YOUR EYES!
Now it’s time to dive a bit deeper and check out some of the sights that make Tbilisi, Georgia what it is on an individual level. I went to a hell of a lot of places within this city, but I’m only going to cover the ones that really stick out in my mind as being special. There’s a lot of ground to cover and no time to waste, so let’s jump in!
Some cities hit you with strong vibes the minute you step out of the airport, and those vibes set the tone of your entire stay. But Tbilisi was an interesting one, because I really didn’t feel anything when I arrived here. Or ever, in the 7 nights I spent in this city. I was expecting some sort of strong, emotive, post-Soviet energy of a fledgling nation determined to get on its feet regardless of Russia’s endless attempts to undermine its sovereignty (or, you know, something like that) … but I felt nothing. Because, as it turns out, Tbilisi is a city with absolutely ZERO pretense.
For our last installment from Armenia, we’re going to our most famous site yet. Well, maybe it’s a little bit less notable than the Genocide Memorial or the Cascade in Yerevan, but it’s definitely one of the most iconic images of Armenia. Prior to my trip, I knew that if I went nowhere else outside of Yerevan on my trip, I was going to come here.
I’m talking about Khor Virap Monastery.
It’s not exactly a household name, but if you just run a simple Google Images search for Armenia, it’s going to be one of the first things that pops up. And it’s not far from Yerevan!
This started as a trip to a church in the southern part of Armenia called Noravank. Not a big deal.
We’re going to get there by the end of this article, but we’re going to take a detour to explain something interesting along the way first. So I’ll drop us into the story right around noon, when I was riding shotgun in a large van, speeding southward along the Armenian-Turkish border.
Lake Sevan is the life blood of Armenia. This is the biggest water source in a small landlocked country, so its value as a natural resource cannot be overstated. It provides 90% of the fish consumed by Armenia, as well as a huge portion of the water used for agricultural irrigation and generation of electricity. And if you look at a map of Armenia, it’s probably the first geographic feature that you will notice. Armenia is not a big country—for my American readers, it’s about the size of Maryland—so a lake this big is hard to miss. Exactly how big is it? It’s about 1,900 squares miles, or about 1/6 of Armenia’s total surface area. That makes it a little more than half the size of Lake Erie. And at 312 ft deep, Lake Sevan is actually quite a bit deeper than Lake Erie. Although, it’s a bit less deep these days than it used to be.
