Mtskheta - Uplistsikhe

Our two-day excursion began with an intro to our guide and our driver. The driver looked like a cross between the Three Stooges Curly and Moe, a huge burly guy who was an ex-professional Rugby player. Our guide, as it turned out, was a very intelligent, insightful 26 year old.
We started the day at Mtskheta. First, at Jvari Church, the oldest of the churches, dating from 585 AD. It was on a huge rock projection at the confluence of the Kura and Araguy Rivers and provided a beautiful view of the entire city.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is the mother church of the Greek Orthodox Church. According to legend, this church is one of the most sacred in Christendom, second only to Jerusalem. Here, Sidonia, a 1st Century convert is said to have died from the emotion that surged through her as she clutched Christ’s robe. Her brother was said to have bought the robe from a Roman soldier and in death she held it so tightly that it couldn’t be pried from her grasp. She was buried with it underneath the floor of the church.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

Finally, we went to Samtavro Monastery Complex, where the 1st Christian king and queen of Georgia are buried.

From there, we drove to Uplistsikhe. This city, dating from the 6th C BC is a cave town, once an important city along the Silk Road. The entire city was carved into the soft sandstone of the mountainside. Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed by the Mongul invasions and by Tamerlane.

Next on the agenda was Gori, the birthplace of Georgia’s most infamous son, Joseph Stalin. The country is still divided on its’ feelings about Joe. In Gori, they’ve dedicated an entire museum to his life. He was born in Gori in December 1879 and lived there until 1883. The original wooden hut where he was born is at the museum. Our “intourist” guide fortunately had a good sense of humor and while glossing over the atrocities committed by Stalin (she quickly moved from his early schooling to WWII), she did have some amusing anecdotes.

Stalin's Rail Car:



One story: Stalin, while visiting Lenin in his dying days, tells Lenin, “I want to take over as leader after you die”.
Lenin replies, “You are too strict. No one will follow you”.
To which Stalin retorts, “They will either follow me or they will follow you”.

Stalin's House:

On the drive to Bakuriani, our guide shared a bit of her personal life and thoughts with us. At 26, she is one of the most charming and knowledgeable guides we’ve ever had. She is fluent in 6 languages. Her comments about life during Soviet times were classic. She told stories of everyone and everything being monitored. At church services, half of the attendees were communist party members reporting on anyone attending church regularly. All movies were screened before being allowed into the country. Certain directors were almost always allowed; Fellini, Milos Freeman – anyone with an anti-capitalist message. To discourage church attendance on Easter Sunday, they’d put a major draw movie on television.
She talked about the Georgian soldiers who would get on a plane with no idea of their destination and land in war torn Afghanistan.
She also commented on the “energy” drain we’d seen throughout ex-Soviet bloc countries. By 30 or 40, people just became tired of trying to fight the system and quietly resign themselves to their lives. She said that it will take the young generation to turn around their economy. To try to change the psychology of those who grew up under Communism would be impossible.
Her perspective on tourists was amusing. According to her, the worst punishment for a guide is to be given a group of Japanese tourists. Although, they’re very good for new guides because you can tell them anything and they understand nothing.

A Georgian guide joke:
What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages?: Trilingual
What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages?: Bilingual
What do you call someone who speaks 1 language?: American

Two hours of stories and insight and we got to our guesthouse in Bakuriani, a Georgian ski resort. The air was crisp and cool, the pine forests beautiful. You’d almost expect Heidi to come out walking of the hills. We sat on our balcony, reading and drinking wine and watching the local pig open the gate and sneak into the owners’ garden. Once discovered, the owner would come and beat him off with a brick.

Our dinner was a home cooked meal in the guesthouse. What a pleasure – everything fresh – like having Mom cook for you. And, the fact that they had their own cows made for excellent butter, yogurt, and cheese – all homemade.