Around the World With Uncle Moose: Days 8 and 9--Gudauri, Tblisi, and into Armenia

June 15: Gudauri, Kazbegi and Tblisi, Georgia

When I read my email this morning, I had several messages asking me if I was OK and whether I had been attacked by wild animals. It turns out that the thunderstorms that we had in Tbilisi had caused a creek running through the Tbilisi zoo to overflow and flood the zoo, causing dozens of animals to escape. (Story here, in case you missed it.) This is presumably what caused the traffic detours when we left Tbilisi the previous morning. Several of the animals that escaped were dangerous, including a hippopotamus (which was captured) and several tigers, one of which later killed a man. I assured people that I was still alive and was at that moment about 75 miles from Tbilisi, although we would be returning there.

After reassuring my online friends, we headed from Gudauri to Kazbegi, the main town in the region. The views along the way were spectacular.

A view of the Caucasus Mountains from Gudauri

Houses and ski resorts near Gudauri

Along the way, we stopped at the "Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument", built by the Russians to celebrate the "friendship" between the two countries. Despite this, almost everyone in Georgia hates the Russians. Below are a few shots of the monument, which is falling into disrepair.

Below are some more views from the drive to Kazbegi.

Iron oxide leaching into the rock

Eventually we arrived in Kazbegi, which is famous for the Gergeti Trinity Church, a 14th century church built on a mountain top. Our itinerary called for a "leisurely 2 hour walk up through beautiful valley and woodland" to the church. At this point our group, which was pretty exhausted from the previous days' activity, rebelled and told the guide that we were perfectly happy seeing the church from a distance.

This is as close as we got to the church, but a fine view nevertheless

Gergeti Trinity Church and Kazbegi below

Below is what the church would have looked like if we had gotten closer. (Borrowed from the web-- "Khevi, Georgia — View of Gergeti Trinity Church" by Levan Gokadze)

After our stop in Kazbegi, we headed back to Tbilisi, via Gudauri.

Back in Gudauri

In Gudauri, we stopped at a gas station/mini-mart. Below are shots of the beer and cereal selections enjoyed by the Georgian people.

From Gudauri, we continued on to Tbilisi to inspect the damage from the zoo flood.

On the way back to Tbilisi

From the restaurant where we stopped for lunch

When we got back to Tbilisi, there was no evidence of the flood, nor did we see any escaped animals. The zoo was about 5 miles from our hotel, and the effects of the flood were pretty much limited to the area around the zoo.

June 16: Tbilisi and a Drive into Armenia

This morning, after looking out to make sure there were no wild animals roaming about, we started a walking tour of Tblisi.

The domes are sulfur baths next to our hotel

Our first stop was the Metekhi Church, built in the late 1200's and located across the river from our hotel.

Metekhi Church

Another view of the church

View of the Narikala Fortress and town below it, taken from the church

A closer view of the fortress

After visiting the church, we crossed the river into the Old Town part of Tbilisi.

Directional signs in Old Town

A newer restaurant area in Old Town

Our first stop with the main synagogue of Tbilisi, which was built in 1904. Tbilisi still has about 11,000 Jews and the synagogue is well maintained.

Front of the synagogue

Inside the synagogue there are actually two sanctuaries--one on the main floor and one on the second floor.

Main floor sanctuary

Second floor sanctuary

Jews for a day

We then continued wandering through Old Town.

Sioni Cathedral, built in the 13th century

Inside Sioni Cathedral

Feline convention in the streets of Tblisi

Outdoor restaurants on Erkele Street

Still watching you!

Some unrenovated housing

Anchiskhati Basilica

An entrance to the basilica

One of our tour members had a broken watch, so we stopped at a Carrefour department store (Carrefour is a large French chain) in the Old Town to find him a new one. The store turned out to be mostly a supermarket.

Inside the Carrefour

So we went next door to a small mall to find a jewelry store. Quite a contrast with Old Town.

In the mall

We then went to the other end of Old Town and climbed the hill up to the Narikala Fortress, taking advantage of some nice views of the city.

The Peace Bridge

At the top of the hill, next to the fortress is a huge statue, Kartvlis Deda, or Mother of Georgia. The statue is made of aluminum and is about 60 feet high.

Mother of Georgia

Another view of Tbilisi from the fortress

Fortress walls

A panorama from below the fortress

A square at the foot of the hill below the fortress, across from our hotel

After lunch, we went to the Georgian National Museum, at least part of which had been redesignated as the "Soviet Occupation Museum"

Entrance to the museum

Some jewelry from about 200 BC

The "Soviet Occupation" part of the museum

After the museum, we left Tbilisi and headed towards the Armenian border. At the border we changed our van, driver, and guide, just as we had done going into Georgia.

Our first stop in Armenia was the Haghpat Monastery, which was built in the 10th century.

The monastery contains a number of Khachkars or "cross stones", which date from the 12th century

A cross stone

Inside the monastery

After leaving the monastery, we headed for Dilijan, our stop for the night. On the way, we passed the town of Alaverdi, which is one of the ugliest places I've ever seen. It's an old mining town, filled with abandoned factories, which somehow still seem to belch smoke. It's depressing, even by Soviet standards.