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Georgia - A week in Georgia

by Bobby Ford

"A week in Georgia" - the second in a weekly series of thoughts, opinions and travel insights on this fascinating, slightly melancholy, and always beautiful ex-Soviet, whose fragile independence is still threatened by the old Russian foe. GoYourOwnWay's Bobby Ford investigates...

Day 2 - Wednesday 29th September – Kahketi Region “Come for the wine, Stay for the people” – Georgian Tourist Board publicity.

This day was always going to be a long one! We had a long drive ahead of us and a night in a guest house which we were all dubious about. First up was the drive to the David Gareja cave town. It was a long, hot and bumpy journey but utterly worth it. Simply put, tranquil and beautiful with a stillness like none of us had ever experienced all set in a stunning mountainous landscape.

The monastery itself was built in the 6th century abandoned and reoccupied numerous times and used as a military base during Russian/Afghanistan war. The rooms are built into the rock face and although you can’t explore as many as you would perhaps like, you can see a number of other doorways set into the rocky peak from the sunbathed central courtyard. Having lent one of the occupants a biro to, we assumed, finish his Sudoku, we ventured into the very plain and simple Chapel. Something about the setting made even the non-religious amongst us calm after the journey.

The frescos and ornaments we had seen in other churches are stored in an inaccessible area but this seemed only to
heighten the spirituality of this monastery. Back in the bus and we drive back down the bumpy roads past a huge
herd of sheep, goats and cattle led by two tired looking donkeys and a similarly tired looking herdsman. Our
guide tells us that they are walking back from summer pastures over 300kilometers away. This journey takes them 3 weeks on foot. They wave as we take pictures and the sheep fill the road!

A bit of a doze on the bus until we arrive in Sighnaghi. We are here to be filmed for a news feature on the equivalent of the BBC 6 o’clock news. But first, another banquet style feast. Now we know from yesterday’s lunch to pace ourselves and instantly recognise some of the treats in front of us. Despite this knowledge we plough on through one delicious plateful after another.

Thankfully the filming crew want footage of us walking around looking at the town before they interview us. This not only gives us a chance to let lunch go down but also to admire the wonderful architecture. The slim bricks used in much of Georgian architecture, here give the town a sort of cobbled street, walled town, chocolate-tin appeal. The huge town hall clock tower, although displaying the wrong time, suggests some Swiss architectural influence if not time-keeping!

Set in the Kahketi region we look over the valley and try not to make eye contact with the camera. Some of us wander off in search of the museum which, incidentally, contains some fascinating ancient artefacts found in the valley below the town and others soak up the incredibly warm local atmosphere. Everyone smiles back. Groups of old men sit playing backgammon joking and flirting with the ladies in the group.

After a lovely afternoon in the sun in this beautiful town it’s a not so quick attempt at buying a bottle of water from the local shop before we get back on the bus. This Photograph by Rama Knight exchange was strangely reassuring – in a town that supposedly has around fifteen hotels, it is good to see that mass tourism is not even in sight.

Now, I fall asleep on bus journeys. I always do. And it’s embarrassing because I am not an elegant sleeper. But at the pace we were getting around the country, it was difficult to stay awake. Waking up as we pulled in to the side streets of Telavi where I knew we were going to be staying I was a little dubious. The houses looked in need of some real repair. The roads were really rough and lined with cows. As usual though, this first impression was blown away by the people.

Dinner was another banquet, but the Shashlik (kebabs) and bread here were utterly astonishing. Our hosts supplied us with home made wine throughout the night and the driver and guide kept the toasts moving nicely. However, as we were being served our fourth or fifth course a Latvian dance group arrived with a local Georgian singing troupe.

We knew about the Georgian singing tradition but we weren’t expecting to experience it in such a pure form. They took
over the toasting and followed each toast with a song. All night they toasted to wine, women, music, love, ancestors and most touchingly to that moment in case we never meet again.

The night before my first birthday in a foreign country was easily one of my most memorable evenings ever - in a wonderfully humble and warm family home with singers from Telavi, our Georgian tour guide and driver, a representative for Ukrainian International Airlines, a Ukrainian ex-BBC broadcaster, dancers from Latvia, travel agents, tour operators and journalists from the UK.

Read the next part in the series next week…