Georgia on my mind: Five highlights
Trying to capture the essence of Georgian culture and hospitality in a blog post is like trying to describe the history of the world in a tweet.
Coming from Canada, where our built institutions date back barely 300 years, and our culture is spread over vast swaths of land, the sheer amount of history, tradition, and diversity that fits into Georgia’s 70,000 square kilometres is daunting. Here are five destinations that you shouldn’t miss on your trip.
Father Gerasime is the head winemaker at Alavedri Monastery
Alaverdi Monastery
A 17-km drive from Akhmeta, Kakheti into the eastern wine region of Kakheti, this Georgian Orthodox monastery was founded in the 6th century. The present day cathedral is the second tallest religious building in Georgia. There you will find a living museum of recovered Georgian grape varieties and a winery that started producing some of the finest Georgian wines over 1,000 years ago.
Bee hives sit between rows of vines in the Ampelographic Museum–a living museum containing 102 grape varieties. Georgians have recovered 450 of the 525 traditional grapes varieties that originally existed before being annexed by the Soviets.
Max Johnson toasting our host who shared a very special bottle of Kisi with our group. Toasting is an art form in Georgia, and Max holds his own!
The beautiful amber of Georgian wine.
The Alaverdi Monastery in Kakheti, in the east of Georgia, has been making wines since the 10th century.
Sighnaghi
While you are in Kakheti, visit Sighnaghi, a tiny town that is built on the remains of an 18th century walled fortress. Georgia has funded a reconstruction of the town, and its views of the Alazni Valley and the Greater Caucasus make this a destination for both its history and its scnery.
Sighnaghi is a tiny town that is built on the remains of an 18th century walled fortress.
Ancient grape crusher at Pheasant’s Tears Winery in Signhnaghi
Mestia
Mestia is a highland townlet (daba) in the Svaneti region in the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The town is small, but its relative safety in the Caucasus Mouantains meant that it has served has a safe haven for many of Georgia’s precious cultural artifacts, many of which are held in the Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is also the centre for mountaineer and ski tourism. It’s a trek, but can be accessed both by road and through the Queen Tamar airport.
Mestia sits at 1,500 metres in the Caucasus mountains and serves as a gateway to the skiiing and alpine activities in the Caucasus. Mestia is dominated by stone defensive towers. A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machub) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.
In the Caucasus Mountains, clans used these towers to defend themselves against marauders. Though Georgia has been sacked many times, the mountain communities have maintained their unique culture.
Fall colours in the Caucasus mountains
On the road to Mestia
Ushguli
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a community of 12th-century villages in Upper Svaneti—the highest village in Europe, nestled at the foot of the Caucasus’ highest summit, Shkhara. Walking through the ancient cobblestone streets, explore the medieval Svanetian protective towers that dot the village
Ushguli is a 12th century UNESCO World heritage site located at 2,200 metres in the Caucasus.
Ushguli is a 12th century UNESCO World heritage site located at 2,200 m. You can see the peak of the highest Georgian mountain, Shkhara (5,068 m) in the background.
Tbilisi
It goes without saying that you should spend some time in the country’s capital. Spend time walking around Old Tbilisi; visit the 17th-century brick-domed Sulphur Baths; visit the Saturday antique market for art, rugs, swords, and the occasional paraphernalia from the Soviet era; visit the Metekhi Church and the Narikala Fortress, each with incredible views of Tbilisi and the Mtkvari River that runs through the city.
Vino Underground is a tremendous place to learn about Georgian wines.
The Mother of Georgia, with wine in one hand and a sword in the other, keeps watch over the capital city.
Old Town Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital city
Wine and Culture
In the 11th century, Syrian monks founded the Ikalto Academy of wine and arts and Monastery, which was destroyed by the Persians in the 17th century. Now there is just one monk and two servants, and locals still attend Sunday services.
WIne is aged in qvevri (clay vessels) in the ground rather than in barrels, and every family makes their own wine.
Georgian feasts come on platters and are surprisingly vegetarian-friendly.
Chacha is a powerful liquor distilled from the stems and skins that are left over from the winemaking process.
Georgia’s delicious meat-filled dumplings
All photos by Lisa Muirhead
© Poise Publications Inc.
