Photo Link:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vimM2nxWBhtQveow9
So I flew from Tashkent into Tbilisi, Georgia and was greeted to a downpour and ~10 degree Celsius temperature all day (I have been trying to convert everything to military time and the metric system over the past year since it just makes more sense). Still, since I was taking an 8am train the very next day, I forced myself to trudge through the narrow cobblestoned streets of the Old Town in this weather to check out the town. You have these picturesque European Old Town alleyways with narrow cobblestone streets, photogenic balconies jutting out, and wall-growing green plants that look cool whose name I don’t know and am too lazy to look up, but which you see in every European Old Town…in this way, I found Tbilisi to be “nice but forgettable” if that makes sense. There were definite strong Russia and Ukraine comparisions here though, with the stereotypical pretty old towns combined with dirt cheap prices (my lunch+dinner first day in the heart of touristy Tbilisi was ~5 USD), and the obvious Orthodox Christianity connection with similar artwork inside the churches. One thing I did enjoy about Tbilisi, and The Caucasus as a whole, was the design of the Churches. They were very austere and simple, but in a way that pleases the eye. Sharp shapes, conical roofs, sandstone brick and stone buildings – not quite as ostentatious as the Orthodox churches of Russia and Kyiv, and a very different flavor from grand Catholic cathedrals. Maybe not as “wow” inducing, but I definitely appreciated this style as I haven’t really see it in person before. One cool highlight of Tbilisi was this this super quirky clock tower that was designed by some artist around 20 years ago. Really reminded me of like Alice in Wonderland. One unfortunate reality of both Georgia and Armenia is that both countries have their own scripts for their respective languages, both scripts which are related to Aramaic and not Latin or Cyrillic, so no more reading Cyrillic for me despite these being ex-USSR countries.
The next day, I had an 8am train to the town of Zugdidi, which was 6 hours away. From there, I had to take a ~3 hour bus ride to the mountain town of Mestia, where I was going to go on a 4 day trek to another mountain town, Ushguli. This trek was in the Svaneti region of northwest Georgia. To be perfectly honest, I definitely would have found the trek to be more beautiful had I not already been to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan recently…the trek was gorgeous, but I couldn’t help but feel like this was basically a poor man’s version of Kyrgyzstan, to say nothing of Tajikistan. The trek here did not involve summitting any of the mountains, and instead I sort of looped along multiple passes to get great views of the snow capped peaks with the colorful fall foilage below. Definitely a great trek and on the “easier” side as well…would classify this as tough but fair. Got lucky with cloudless skies during the day, but unfortunately at night the clouds came in, so I didn’t get a good view of the stars.
The first day was fairly easy, from Mestia to the town of Chvabiani. Mestia lies at 1500m above sea level, and the highest point on this 4 day trek was at ~2700 meters above sea level, so the elevation was relatively low…at least, low enough where altitude sickness was not a concern. This hike took like 5 hours, and was 16km long, with ~750 meters in elevation gain and ~520 meters in elevation loss. The elevation might seem like a lot, but it was pretty spread out over the course of the first 10 km so it wasn’t too bad. At the top of this pass, there was a fantastic view of the valley below, dotted with multiple small towns (including Chvabiani) and the soaring snow-capped Caucasus behind. While descending, one thing I noticed (that I would see over the next few days) was how a lot of these small villages had ancient medieval towers dotted throughout, all in varying states of decay. While my homestay in Mestia (on my first and last night) had fantastic dinners and breakfasts, I do have to say that the homestay in Chvabiani was the best overall food I had. And while in Mestia there were other guests, in each of the other homestays I was the only guest.
On the second day, I went from Chvabiani to Adishi. This was definitely a bit more challenging – was only 11km long, but involved ~900 meters in elevation gain and ~520 meters in elevation loss, and took me ~6 hours. The entirity of the elevation gain came in the first few km, so it was a pretty steep ascent to basically go up a large hill, and then drop down on the other side. Adishi was definitely the most remote of the towns on this trip (with pretty much no road access from what I could see), which explains how the food at this homestay was the most “basic” of the lot – still good though! Basically just vegetable soup, potatoes, and of course, the everpresent katchpuri, which is basically like a baked bread stuffed with cheese that every homestay made with their own unique taste (probably due to the different bread starter yeast and the slightly different ways they preserved the cheese).
The third day was personally the toughest for me. Went from Adishi to Lalkhori, which was just under 20km, and involved ~860 meters in elevation gain and ~1200 meters in elevation loss, and took me a whopping 9 hours. The most interesting part of the day by far was my first ever legit river crossing while hiking. I have crossed tons of streams that have involved rock hopping or stepping in below-ankle-high water (my boots are waterproof so that’s not an issue), but this was wading through shin-high water for a solid 10 seconds (unlike my trek in Kyrgyzstan, which was over waist-high and also much stronger currents so we paid for the horse transport there). This was in the first ~2 hours of the hike, so still in early morning where the glacier run off hadn’t reached max strength. Needless to say, the water was ice cold, so that was fun. After that, trudged up to a pass that was 2700 meters up, which gave great views of the valley below and the mountains encircling the pass. Then was the fun part…like 10+km of downhill. I despise hiking downhill…I will always take uphill over downhill. The guesthouse in Lalkhori was run by this elderly couple that didn’t speak a word of English. Had what was easily the best katchapuri of the trek here, but I don’t know if a part of my reason for that is the subconscious seal of approval that I give to food that is made by a cute old grandma. She was dressed like one of those stereotypical babushkas, with that bandana wrapped around her head.
Final day was a breeze – took me like 3.5 hours, and was just 10km long and involved ~400 meters in elevation gain. Definitely the least scenic day of the four, though I did get to hike through some of the medieval villages towards the end (as opposed to seeing them from a distance) which was super cool. Honestly, minus the power lines, solar panels, satellite dishes, and parked cars (so a lot I guess?), it was straight out any medieval movie or video game. Once I got to the village of Ushguli (the end point), I managed to find a share taxi to take me back to Mestia. Bit depressing to see a 4 day trek take just under 2 hours of driving, but oh well. Overall, it was a great and scenic trek. The only real negatives was that none of the homestays had any heating at all, and the temperatures dipped below freezing once the sun went down. The hiking paths were also starting to ice up in certain areas, so I was definitely lucky (again, like in Kyrgyzstan) to catch the tail end of the trekking season in the Svaneti region.
After spending a half day in Mestia once I finished the trek, I got an 8am mashrutka the next morning for a ~6+ hour ride to the city of Kutaisi, in western Georgia. Kutaisi was, for lack of a better word, a whimsical city. Tons of statues of random historic figures in random everyday poses dotted the small Old Town, which was quite scenic. Not really more than a day or two’s worth of stuff here, but I honestly enjoyed Kutaisi more than Tbilisi. Had the usual trappings of a European Old Town (cobblestone streets, attractive buildings, etc.). The food here was also pretty good – Georgia is known for its’ wine so I had wine with a couple of dinners here and all I got out of it was that it was better than the cheap bagged and jugged wine I used to drink in college…alcohol is wasted on me, I can’t appreciate anything that is considered “good”. While in Kutaisi, I saw the Bagrati Cathedral, which was a little disappointing. It’s this 1000+ year old cathedral that was totally razed by a combination of natural disasters and the Ottoman Empire, and then rebuilt in the 20th century. I don’t mind historic buildings that are rebuilt, but there wasn’t really anything special about this cathedral. Just a generic exterior, and a bland interior with no intricate stonework or artistic designs. There were some cool original carvings in the exterior of the cathedral that had survived but most of it was just regular stone. The highlight of Kutaisi for me was seeing the Gelati Monastery. This was about 10-15 km outside the city. Unfortunately the entire complex was under heavy renovation/restoration work so there was scaffolding galore everywhere, but the artwork inside the primary church here was stunning. Colorful and detailed religious scenes painted in the Orthodox style…it was almost like a “worn out” version of the Church of Savior on the Spilled Blood in Saint Petersburg in terms of the interior artwork. I got here via a ~3USD Bolt (app like Uber) ride, and then from there walked 90 minutes to another sight, the Motsameta Monastery. This monastery had a really cool secluded location, but the interior artwork was nowhere near Gelati. Both monasteries had a nice, tranquil, secluded feel to them…was similar to how I felt at the Chor Bakr complex in Bukhara, or even really the entire town of Suzdal in Russia. Say what you want but a lot of these relatively rural religious complexes, but they definitely are peaceful areas. I then hitchiked back to Kutaisi (no Bolt pickups up here), and spent that last half day just walking around the old town area again.
After a couple of days in Kutaisi, took a ~5 hour train to head east back to Tbilisi. Had 3 more days in Tbilisi, which I used to for a couple of day trips while spending the evenings in Tbilisi, before taking a marshrutka across the border to Yerevan, Armenia. The first day trip was to Stepantsminda, which was a 3 hour marshrutka ride north from Tiblisi, right along the Russian border. From the Stepandsminda bus stop, it was just over 2km to reach the Gergeti Church…this was also roughly 500 meters in elevation gain over those 2km. It was a solid hike and I felt wonderful when reaching the top. This was one of those hiking sites that attracted a wealth of non-hikers, since it’s just a day trip from Tbilisi…I lapped like 30 people on this hike going up and down. It’s weird…compared to non-hikers, I seem really fast, but compared to people who are actually into hiking (like those I met in Kili, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Svaneti), I would say I am slightly below average in terms of speed. The church itself was decent – typical Georgian/Armenian style of a stern exterior and simple interior – but there were some phenomenal views of the church with the mountain backdrop, as luckily there was no fog that day. The other day trip I took from Tbilisi was to Mtskheta, which is basically a suburb that is under an hour away. There was a decent monastery (which was really just a church) up on a hilltop here, but the main highlight was the Svetitskhoveli Church that was downtown…this was yet another ~1k year old Church, but the interior had some super cool Orthodox style paintings. Not quite as cool as Gelati Monastery in Kutaisi, but still up there.
Had one more day in Tbilisi which I used to run some errands – haircut, plan out my Iraq trip, laundry, etc. – before taking a 9am marshrutka across the border from Tbilisi to Yerevan. Overall, Georgia was definitely an enjoyable country, though definitely a few steps below Central Asia (but I think most places are, to be fair). It weirdly reminded me a bit of Gondor, with the austere churches and dramatic landscapes. And the food was excellent – the everpresent katchpuris and khinkalis (basically a Georgian soup dumpling) were awesome, and on my last day in Tbilisi, I had lunch at this really cool spot called Barbarestan, which was apparently ranked as a top 50 restaurant in the world. It was super expensive by local standards – ~60 USD for a starter, main course, dessert, 2 glasses of wine, and a shot of chacha, which is a grape liquor made in Georgia. Definitely overpriced, but undoubtedly some of the best food I have had in 2021. A highlight was the entree, which was a duck sausage with dark chocolate sauce. The entire restaurant is based off a cookbook written by a Georgian princess in the 1800s that resurfaced a few years ago in a flea market, so it’s pretty legit to see old recipes brought back to life with a modern twist.
Anyways, the ride from Tbilisi to Yerevan took ~6 hours, including immigration and a quick lunch break. It’s been a little over two years of constant travel and this is shockingly only my second ever land border crossing after Guatemala > Honduras back in April. Yerevan was one of the most surprising cities I’ve ever been to. I try not to do *too* much research before going somewhere – usually enough just to sort of know what I want to see with plenty of space for winging it – but I was expecting another cute little European old town like Tbilisi. Yerevan was nothing like that…purely in terms of cityscape it had more in common with the post Soviet monstrosities that were Dushanbe, Bishkek, and Tashkent. However, I really really liked Yerevan. Probably not as cool as a “tourist” city as Tbilisi, but it just struck me as an incredibly liveable place. The wide boulevards were actually somewhat grand and scenic (instead of just gaudy), and there were tons and tons of cool restaurants and bars lined up on every street. Just seems like an enjoyable place to live in. I splurged again for one dinner at a place called Dolmama, where luminaries such as Kanye and Putin have dined, and the food was excellent. This “expensive” meal, which was just a bottle of water, entree (Dolma! which I have always loved), and desert (so no alcohol), was ~25 USD.
Besides sort of just wandering around Yerevan, I also had time for a couple day trips, to Garni and Echmiadzin. The first daytrip I took was to Garni, which was easily the highlight of The Caucuses for me. Garni is a small town about 45 minutes east of Yerevan, and the first thing I saw there was this well-preserved Roman temple. It’s kind of amusing to me how for Greco-Roman ruins, the most important factor on it being a tourist site is simply its’ preservation (moreso than its’ importance). I suppose that makes sense given their age, but this was basically a nondescript temple that is in great condition and not in ruins, so has become a tourist site. After that was this really cool and tranquil church, the Mashtots Hayrapet Church, which is almost 1000 years old and had intricate decorations on the walls. The whole vibe was also strengthened by all the Fall leaves blowing about…more than anywhere in Georgia or Armenia, this church in particular really reminded me of Gondor. Almost like a “fallen splendour” feel with a mostly maintained, gorgeous yet simple church being at one with nature. The highlight of Garni was the final sight I saw, the Geghard Monastery. This reminded me a lot of both Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu and the Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, as this was basically an intricate Church carved into the rocks, with an exterior building and extension built around the original cave carvings. The carving quality here was honestly on par with what I saw in India – legit the coolest thing I have seen in either Armenia or Georgia. Also a big pleasant surprise as I thought it would be “just another” Caucuses-style church building like in the rest of Armenia and in Georgia. Scale-wise it was only a few rooms and two floors, so obviously nothing quite as grand as in Ellora (like in the Kailasa Temple, but nothing will ever compare to that), but it’s really the first time I have ever seen this in a Christian setting so that was cool. I also had Gata, which is this sweet walnut bread, for the first time from a vendor outside Geghard, and it was probably the best thing I ate in Armenia.
Had an evening in Yerevan after this daytrip (as I did after all my daytrips here) so just walked around a bit more then. The next day, I took my PCR test (Iraq requires PCR tests and doesn’t accept vaccines) and then took a day trip about half an hour west of Yerevan to Echmiadzin. The first stop here was Zvarnots Cathedral, which the international airport in Yerevan takes its name from. The cathedral was in a totally ruined state with just pillars and an outline standing…was sort of cool, but to be honest just struck me as a lesser version of the massive ruined church in Goa, or the ruined churches of Jordan. From here, it was like a 2km walk to the city of Echmiadzin, which involved walking on a highway into incoming traffic with no sidewalk…I am from New York, so it’s always possible to walk to your destination. Saw a couple of smaller churches that were pretty cool, but I do think that seeing Garni first spoiled me here as these obviously did not compare to Geghard. The final site here was the Echmiadzin Cathedral, which actually looked awesome, but sadly was totally closed due to heavy renovation…couldn’t even enter the church, and the exterior was filled up with scaffolding and yellow construction cranes. But from the little bits of the church that I saw peeking out from these distractions, it honestly looked incredible. Typical of Armenian churches (vs. Georgian), the exterior was very fine and intricate, with floral patterns galore. Overall, I think I definitely prefer the exterior of Armenian churches to Georgian churches since, at least from the ones I have seen, the Armenian ones tend to have more of that embroidered floral pattern carved into the stone which just seems more precise. Also gives it more of a Gondorian feel for me. Unfortunately, have yet to see any cool artwork inside any of these Armenian churches, unlike some of the ones I saw in Georgia.
I had one more day in Yerevan where I just sort of hung out and wandered around the city – it really is one that grew on me, since my first impression was “wait this is just an ex-Soviet city”. Headed for the airport soon and then will be spending a week in Iraq proper (not Kurdistan!) before meeting my high school friend Steve to roadtrip in Greece and then Italy, which will take me to the end of November.