Month: September 2013

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Stephantsminda (Kazbegi), Georgia

Rich McClear

The town closest to the Russian Border on the Georgian Military Road is Stephantsminda.  Most people still call it Kazbegi.  The town itself is not particularly pretty with rundown buildings, jumbles of electric wires and a jungle gym of above ground natural gas pipes typical of old Soviet towns. The natural setting makes up for the open infrastructure.  It sits at the foot of Mt. Kazbeg which rises to 16,512 feet.  However the town’s main attraction is not the mountain but the 14th century Gergetis Sameba (Gergeti Trinity) walled monastery that sits above the town and below the big mountain … Continue reading Stephantsminda (Kazbegi), Georgia

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Jvari Pass, Georgian Military Road

Rich McClear

I rode up The Georgian Military Road 6 months ago in the March snows.  The Russians built it in 1799.  Watch towers on hills provide line of sight communication from the border to Tbilisi.   We drove across Jvari Pass, at 7815 ft.  A Soviet monument of mosaics highlights Russian and Georgian history, celebrating the military road that carried Russian troops to help protect the Georgian kingdom from Moslems, and then helped them impose Russian rule in 1801.  The road was crucial to the economic development of Georgia. The road in the pass is under reconstruction.   Many of the tunnels, lined with … Continue reading Jvari Pass, Georgian Military Road

GeorgiaLeave a comment

Georgian Military Road in the Summer

Rich McClear

tThe Georgian Military Road connects Tbilisi with the Russian Border.  It was started in 1799.  In 1801 Russia annexed the Kingdom of Georgia.  I rode up the Georgian Military Road last March and took pictures of some of the same watchtowers, churches and mountainsides in the snow.  Now you can see them in the summer.  These pictures are taken south of Gudauri, which is the ski area where I traveled last March.  I did not get north of the ski area.  I missed a lot.  The next post has pictures from North of Gudauri Continue reading Georgian Military Road in the Summer

Castles, Georgia, ReligiousLeave a comment

Ananuri Citadel and the Church of the Assumption, Georgia

Rich McClear

Ananuri, a citadel used to sit on a ridge above a river that has been dammed so now sits on a point in the Zhinvili Reservoir.  The town that it towered over is underwater.  The Church of the Assumption was used as a barn in Soviet times and the frescos were whitewashed.  Some have now been uncovered.  The carvings on the outside walls of the Assumption Church include a huge cross visible from the highway and grape vines loaded with fruit.  Nicholas says the reason Georgians greet guests with wine is in commemoration of the Eucharist.  Each greeting is a … Continue reading Ananuri Citadel and the Church of the Assumption, Georgia

Georgia, ReligiousLeave a comment

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mksheka, Georgia

Rich McClear

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mksheka is the mother church of Georgian Orthodoxy.  St. Nino converted the King and Queen there.  I posted pictures from here in May but I had no pics from inside the church.  Nicholas, my cab driver, spoke good English and he arranged permission for me to take pictures if I did not use a flash.  There was a service in progress.  It was conducted in Russian but the choir sang Georgian hymns.  Nicholas pointed out one very strange and old fresco with three concentric circles.  The Trinity sat in the bull’s eye, between the inner and middle circles, the … Continue reading Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mksheka, Georgia

Georgia6 Comments

Tbilisi Funicular Railway

Rich McClear

The key to overcoming jet lag is to keep pushing.  I arrived in Tbilisi at 3 AM Saturday morning and was in bed by 4:30.  I forced myself to get up at 11:30 AM even though it was bedtime in Sitka, (12 hour difference) and tried to figure out something that would keep me interested and awake until bedtime in Tbilisi, which is just when I would be getting my second wind because it’s time to get up in Sitka. I hopped on a marshruka (mini-bus) at Freedom Square and headed up to the lower terminus of Tbilisi’s funicular railway.  … Continue reading Tbilisi Funicular Railway