Another Day, Another Excursion: Vardzia & Rabati

გამარჯობა მეგობარები!

Hello friends!

Hope all is well wherever you currently find yourself (Since apparently people are reading my blog all over the world?!!  The Blogger website tracks what countries people are reading my blog in and the stats are really interesting to keep track of!).  Once again I had another lovely and exciting adventure this past weekend in this crazy country of Georgia that I want to share with you all! 

On Saturday, a few of my friends from TLG orientation and I got up bright and early (6am!) to meet up with the same woman who organized my trip to David Gareja.  This time though our trip was to two places about four hours away from Tbilisi: Rabati castle in Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia Caves. 

Our first stop was the Rabati Castle in the town of Akhaltsikhe which is about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Turkish border.  The Rabati castle was built in the 13^th century and overlooks the town.  Throughout its history, Akhaltsikhe has been under the control of many different groups of people notably the Ottomans during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, and the Russian empire for most of the 19^th-20^th centuries.  Now, under control of the Georgians once more, it underwent a huge renovation and recently reopened in August 2012.  Now the Georgian government hopes it will serve as a tourist attraction for Georgians and foreigners alike.

The entire site contains a museum, a castle, a church, a mosque with minaret and a synagogue which was really cool to see architecturally side-by-side.  We had a quick tour of the place by a Georgian guide (most of which was understood through a rough translation by all of us).  The final part of the tour included a walk through an impressive museum that contains many artifacts uncovered in the area including pottery, weapons, money, religious artifacts and jewelry dating back thousands of years and discovered right here in Georgia!  Georgia’s history goes farther back than I could have imagined prior to coming here!  After this whirlwind tour we were free to explore Rabati and take pictures:

The view of Akhaltsikhe from the castle area

There were really interesting fountains throughout some of the newer renovated areas

view from outside the complex

A pretty garden, also showcases some of the different architecture throughout the place.

The view from up in the castle

Our second stop was Vardzia caves about an hour’s drive winding through the mountains from Rabati.  It’s Georgia’s most famous cave city.  Back in the day, the Georgian country was ruled by a Strong Independent Woman by the name of Queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213) who was the first (and only woman thus far) to ever rule Georgia.  Considering the state of gender inequality in Georgia now, it’s interesting that she was so powerful and remains a revered ruler in the country’s history.  She faced some opposition coming to power as a woman, yet then showed everyone how great she was by then guiding Georgia into one of its most prosperous time periods.

It was during Tamar’s reign that much the Vardzia caves and the monastery were constructed (the 12^th century).  It was created in the side of the mountain to protect monks there from invading neighboring empires such as the Mongols, the Turks and the Persians.  In the sixteenth century the place was finally conquered and the monks were driven away from this safe haven.  It’s been partially destroyed by a few earthquakes so that now only 600 caves remain from an earlier 3,000.  In modern times, Georgian monks have returned here to live and pray, so some of the caves are off-limits to tourists.

View of the caves from the road

The other beautiful view

It really was cold and windy

some of the caves

Paintings that remain by the entrance to the church

Apparently the name Vardzia comes from the story that when lost in the caves Queen Tamar shouted to her  uncle, "აქ ვარ ძია" (ak var dzia) which translates to, "I am here, uncle."

more caves

The weather was a little breezy and cold, but the trip to Vardzia was actually really calming and beautiful.  Some of the only sounds to be heard were the rushing of the nearby river amidst the occasional shout-out to a friend in another cave; there are only a few houses on the outskirts of the area and the views of the surrounding hills and mountains are stunning with the late fall colors.  I find excursions like these are especially awesome in that we get to physically touch and climb all over things that are literally hundreds of years old and are so special to the Georgian people.  You can’t always do that in other places around the world!

Well I’m staying in the village this weekend, but more adventures to come!  Under 40 days left!

Until next time, nakvamdis (“goodbye” in Georgian)!!

Kelsey