Akhaltsikhe - Vardzia, Georgia - Gyumri, Armenia

Horsing around at the castle.

The beautiful scenery that we drove by.

Jordan, Koba and John.

The medieval city of Vardzia. 

The ceiling of the church in the complex.

The small chapel.

The exit tunnel back to ground level.

 
Some typical homes as we drove.

Wood storks nesting on telephone poles.

Another abandoned building from the Soviet era.

More incredible scenery.

The Caucus Mountains.

A lovely street in Gyumri.

Bernie the birthday boy, and Marianna our new guide.

Monday, May 19th.

We woke up to more rain and a cool day, so yesterday’s complaint was moot. By the time we’d finished breakfast the rain stopped so John and I explored the fort a bit more before we left. We started off today by driving to an amazing and remarkable medieval cave city, called Vardzia, nestled in the Meskheti region of southern Georgia. This architectural marvel, carved into a cliff face in the twelfth century under the reign of Queen Tamara, offers a glimpse into the golden age of Georgian culture. We explored the intricate network of tunnels, chambers, and the church, marveling at the skill and ingenuity of the builders and imagining life in this community. We climbed all through the complex and descended an escape tunnel from about four stories up back to the ground. Somehow the city escaped being ravaged by Ghengiss Khan but they were overrun by the Ottoman Turks, who being Muslim squashed the winemaking skills of the area and it became abandoned. Much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1800’s but there is still lots to explore. Then we drove to the Georgian/Armenian border over the roughest road we’ve experienced in the country. We saw many big nests with storks in them as we drove through one of the towns. At the border we bid a very sad goodbye to Koba, who was an amazing guide and a great guy. The Georgian customs officers were the friendliest I’ve ever experienced and were happy to talk to us askng us questions about sports and our countries. The Armenian ones were much more officious examining our passports and visas diligently.  After crossing the border at Bavra, we headed to Gyumri, along along a high elevation road where our new guide, Mariana, pointed out the highest peak in the mountains, Ararat, which is actually in Turkey but is a big part of the culture in this area. Gyumri is a city steeped in history and architectural beauty. This charming city, with its cobblestone streets and stately Russian buildings, offers a unique blend of old and new. We arrived about 4:00 and checked into our new hotel which is right beside the huge city central square. John and I have three beds in a large room. We took the opportunity to explore the city centre and take photos while it was still light. Then back to the hotel to join the group and go out for dinner where we had the opportunity to sample some traditional Armenian cuisine, which I enjoyed and was similar to the other countries but somehow different. We had a few small salads, a very earthy smelling soup made of sorrel, a rice pilaf with mushrooms, a large dumpling type thing full of stewed meat and vegetables. It was Bernie’s birthday and Jordan had arranged to have a cake for him. So we sang to him and ate it. Then as usual most of them toddled off to bed while John, Jordan, Pauline, Sherril, myself and our new guide hung around to have another drink. Marianna is a lovely, lively woman who loves to talk, loves Armenia and wants to tell us all about it. While we were talking a group of people at the next table heard us and welcomed us to the country and offered to share some of their special Armenian dinner with us. They were having a whole cow head and offered us the tongue! It was a really nice gesture and we had some fun talking to them. We headed back to the hotel by 10:30.