Month: May 2013

Georgia, ReligiousLeave a comment

Mtskheta and Jvari Church, Georgia, 2013.

Rich McClear

Jvari (Holy Cross) Church is near Tbilisi, about a three hour walk or half hour drive.  It looms over Mtskheta.  Before Georgia became reasonably prosperous it used to be a full day excursion, now it a common picnic spot for people wanting to get out of town for an hour or two.  It is the spot where the King Mirian, who was converted to Christianity by St. Nino and, in turn made Georgian a Christian nation (Georgia was a “Christian” country before Rome) erected a cross to mark his, and his nation’s conversion.  The church itself was built to shelter … Continue reading Mtskheta and Jvari Church, Georgia, 2013.

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Georgian Road Trip, May, 2013

Rich McClear

Georgia has beautiful countryside.  In spring rolling green fields lead to the still snowcapped Caucasian Mountains.  Flowers and flowering trees are in bloom.  Between towns there are citadels and castles in varying degrees of decay and on hilltops monasteries and churches.  In contract to the countryside Georgian towns can be less than picturesque, with abandoned Soviet factories, an industrial wasteland, on town outskirts oddly punctuated with massive works of Socialist Realism art, including a huge mural of Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.  Georgian towns, like many former Soviet towns, have utilities above ground, including the pipes … Continue reading Georgian Road Trip, May, 2013