The country of Georgia is blessed with a cool masculine name, yet it shares it with a far-away state in America. This coincidence kick-starts an inevitable conversation as soon as one mentions: “I’m going to Georgia”, which is always followed by “What are you doing in Atlanta?”
However, the journey to Tbilisi is longer than the road to Atlanta. Georgia, the country, is located in a much more troublesome neighborhood than Georgia, the state. Its neighbors include such exhilarating Russian regions as Chechnya and Dagestan and a bit more friendlier Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Georgian history predates the ancient Hellenic myths and outlasts Roman emperors. It survived the Mongolian onslaught, Ottoman yoke, Russian tzars, Soviet rusty grip, revolutions, civil wars and continues to withstand deep social and economic reforms.
Despite the plethora of calamities, Georgia remains one of the most beautiful and diverse places on the planet. Its people are famously hospitable, its mountains and seashore are breathtaking and its food and wine are guaranteed to please the most demanding taste buds.
The early autumn is the best time to visit Georgia – the weather is mild, the foliage is exploding with amazing colors, and markets are full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables. Our small group had crisscrossed Georgia in September of 2012 and made a number of wonderful discoveries during this intense journey.
First and foremost, Georgia felt very comfortable and welcoming to the foreign visitors. This feeling started immediately as we arrived in the country’s main airport near Tbilisi. We had our passports stamped and suitcases delivered in record time, compared most favorably to the two hours we lost upon our eventual return to JFK! Throughout the trip our hotels were clean, modern and well-appointed. The Georgian ATM’s had gladly spewed out the local currency and plentiful coffee shops provided the required fix of high grade caffeine.
Then there was the Georgian cuisine. Having grown up in the Soviet Union, we were already familiar with some of the Georgian dishes that made strong in-roads to the communal Russian table. However, this was our first trip to the former Soviet republic and our first opportunity to taste the genuine article. Our expectations were very high, but we were not disappointed. Each meal was extremely plentiful and more delicious than the previous one. We stuffed ourselves with the Georgian staple dish called khachapuri (leavened bread filled with cheese), pkhali (a wonderful collection of small dishes made with minced vegetables, ground walnuts and spices), tolma (grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice), chicken or salmon served under the delicious satsivi (walnut) sauce, the legendary khinkali (large dumplings filled with spiced minced meat), and, of course, the shashlik (skewered pieces of pork, lovingly grilled over the locally harvested charcoal). Our long table in every restaurant was completely covered with the seemingly endless procession of colorful dishes, usually stacked on top of each other.
This brings us to the subject of wine, which is close to my heart and plays a “front and center” role in Georgian history, culture and social life. One of our major discoveries made on this trip was that the art of grape growing and wine making had originated in Georgia some 8,000 years ago. Even our own word for wine as well as its Latin predecessor – “vino” – come from the ancient Georgian word “hvino”. Another important discovery was that the real Georgian wine is very different from the sweet fortified juice, which was so popular during the Soviet times. During the trip we were lucky to visit a number of professional winemakers as well as regular people making their own wine and taste the result of their labor. I must tell you – the wine was amazing.
My personal favorite was the full-bodied red wine made in the Kakheti region from the Saperavi grape. This variety dates back to 6,000 BC and produces the intense dark-red wine with its distinct bouquet and taste. The wine is made in the traditionally Georgian way, which is very different from the modern production methods used around the world. Since the ancient times, Georgian winemakers press the grape and pure the juice into large clay vessels, kvevri’s, which are buried underground. Then the filled kvevri’s are sealed, covered with earth and left alone for extended period of time, from 6 months to a few decades. One Georgian tradition requires parents of a newborn boy to fill a kvevri in his honor and to open it only in time for his wedding. Note that the winemakers do not add any preservatives to the juice and do not even taste the product until it is ready. What eventually comes out from the kvevri is an exceptional liquid, which the Georgians call the “black” wine, and what I call “an immensely sophisticated and satisfying nectar”.
From the “black wine” country we move to the beautiful Black Sea coast called Ajaria and its capital of Batumi. The ancient Greeks named this region Colchis or Kolkhida, and dispatched Jason and the Argonauts to steal the locally produced Golden Fleece. Nowadays, the coastal area of Western Georgia once again attracts the foreigners, but they are now known as the “investors” and the “real estate developers”. The streets of Batumi are full of cars with the Turkish license plates and many construction sites. Out go the ugly Soviet-era apartment blocks, in come the shiny skyscrapers, luxury hotels, condo’s, casinos, upscale shops and a long Boulevard stretching along the sea for dozens of kilometers between downtown Batumi and the Turkish border. Ajaria is clearly the place on the go!
In conclusion, I’d like to share with you the most wonderful discovery of the entire journey – a few tiny hamlets hidden among the forbidding mountains of the Upper Svaneti region of Northern Georgia. Only 200 people live in this remote and amazingly picturesque valley, which is connected to the rest of the world by an unpaved road, if one can even call this goat trail a “road”. One of the hamlets in the area is named Ushguli and has the distinction of being the highest altitude village in Europe, and a UNESCO Heritage Site, towering at about 2,200 meters above the sea level.
Our 4 wheel-drive to Ushguli was long and bumpy, but it was still better than a day-long trek that my friends, the mountain climbers, had to endure during the Soviet times. The modern times brought to Ushguli electrical power, satellite TV antennas and a school with (surprise, surprise!) a real American teaching English courses. “Globalization is an amazing thing”, I thought as we were chatting with a few 10 year-old girls right outside the small school building.
However, we had soon returned to the 16th century as we started to walk on the crooked unpaved streets of Ushguli. Almost every house in the village had an enormous fortress tower built next to it. It was very clear not too long ago the locals had used them to save themselves every time the next wave of occupiers or bandits would show up on the ridge. These “strong rooms” were the necessity of life in the mountains and had helped to ensure that the local Svans would remain the only unconquered “pure” representatives of the ancient Georgian nation. These people still live here, in this beautiful valley, surrounded by the majestic snow capped mountains, dense forest and springs.
You may think for a moment that you are standing among the Swiss Alps, or that the village below you is the original version of San Gimignano in Tuscany, minus the tourist buses and souvenir shops. But then, you pinch yourself and realize that you are situated in the most unusual, delicious, friendly and amazing place in the world – The Country of Sakartvelo, also known as Georgia!
Photo Albums – Lenka Traveler in Georgia
Keep on traveling!
Lenka info@lenkatraveler.com