Cold mud volcanos

These were popping away. One of our group members fell into one when the ground gave away. Good for rheumatism, the guide said.
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Roman graffiti

Today we went for a drive along the Caspian Sea, about 1 hour south of Baku, to see some 2500 year old petroglyphs. We also saw this 1st century Roman graffiti.
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Land of fire

Azerbaijan is the land of fire. Fire is a national symbol, because of the large supplies of natural gas which frequently burn.
Early Azeris were Zoroastrian. Outside of Baku we visited the Zoroastrian Fire Temple. It was a small four sided limestone building in a courtyard. The building had a small dome and four chimneys at each corner. There were arches on each side and the visible center had a burning flame. Originally each of the chimneys on the roof had flames. This is a major Zoroastrian site.
Many Azeris in the Northwest were converted to Christianity and the were called Albania Christians. When the Persians invaded, all of the Zoroastrians and Albanian Christians were converted to Islam.
This is not a picture of the Fire Temple, but a picture of the Maiden Tower, a major site in Baku.
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Baku

Hot. We have definitely arrived in Asia. Azebaijan is Shiite, but it is a secular country. No veils; very few headscarfs. The old town is beautifully restored. They have lavishly used the oil money.
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Yeddi Gumbaz, Shamakha

We stopped at this 18th century royal tomb on our way to Baku. Our tour guide, who has all of the charm of a Russian tour guide (you know what I mean Sophie and Christie), did not tell some of us about it. All we heard about was the Armenians slaughtering Azeris in 1915.
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To Baku

Enough of dancing, we are driving to Baku today. We left our rooms in the caravanserai and headed east. To our left are the snow capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains, lower forested mountains and foothills down to flat, productive farmland. They raise walnuts, hazel nuts, apricots, cherries and lots of other fruits and vegetables. As we head east, the mountains end and the land becomes desert. But the country is affluent. It has oil.
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Dancing

Hi all, Catherine here. I have temporarily taken over the blackberry.

Last night we went out to a local restaurant for a group dinner. We were on the balcony. In the courtyard was quite a birthday party for either the four year old or the one year old. The party included live music and dancing. We were invited to join.

Dad and Cathy went down and I stayed upstairs to take the blackmail photos. While dancing a local man became quite enthralled with Cathy.

Signing off now and there is a chance that Cathy may not let me near the blackberry again.


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Shaki caravanserai

If it was June in Georgia, it is August in Azerbaijan. We saw people harvesting yesterday. Even though this is an oil rich country, they were harvesting by hand with a scythe.
For two nights we are staying at a caravanserai at Shaki in western Azerbaijan. It is quite charming, in brick with a courtyard full of roses. We have a two room suite. Our meals are served al fresco on a patio.
The presence of the caravanserai indicates that Shaki was a stop on the Silk Road.
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Geopolitics V

Nagorno-Karabaugh, a province of Azerbaijan, was primarily Armenian, though Azeri villages were located throughout the province. The Armenians there began to seek independence using violence. The Armenians entered the conflict and war broke out. It was a very bloody conflict with massacres on both sides. In 1994 an uneasy peace was brokered, which remains to this day. But hard feelings prevail.
Thus the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is closed as is the border between Armenia and Turkey (The Armenians just won't give up the G word.) Armenia has open borders only with Georgia and Iran.
Georgia's borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan are open, but not with Russia, although Armenians can cross from Georgia to Russia, because the Armenians have opted to ally with Russia.
All of this is to introduce my next blog entry.
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Geopolitics Part IV

When the USSR began to splinter, nationalism came to the surface.
In 1988, Georgians began to demonstrate for independence. The Russians sent in troops who slaughtered the demonstrators in Freedom Square in Tbilisi.
In 1989, all three Caucasian countries became independent.
Three Moslem provinces of Georgia became semi autonomous. Georgians boast that historically there was no religious discrimination in Georgia. (There is no evidence of antisemitism)
When Edward Shevardnadze, the well thought of former USSR foreign minister, became president, he was able to negotiate the preliminary agreements towards Georgia having alliances with Europe. In addition he was able to get an oil pipeline from Azerbijan through Georgia rather than Russia. This infuriated the Russians. It is said that the violence in South Ossetia was a result of Russian agitation and that Russian soldiers and mercenaries fought against the Georgian army.
Shevardnadze was ultimately forced to resign because of the corruption rampant during his term. (The Rose Revolution.) A vibrant young leader who was very pro-American, Saakashvili, was elected. Georgia became a member of the "Coalition of the Willing", George W. Bush visited and a street was named after him.
In 2008 the Russians bombed Georgia, nominally to protect the Muslims in South Ossetia. It is widely believed by Georgians that it was meant as a warning.

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Geopolitics III

When the Soviets came to power, they fought to retain the lands formerly ruled by the Czar. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbijan became Soviet Socialist Republics.
When the Soviets drew the borders of these Soviet Republics, they sought to suppress nationalistic feelings. Thus areas that were primarily Armenian were placed in Azerbijan, Azeri areas were placed in Armenia and Moslem areas placed in Georgia. The Soviets even gave large areas of Armenia to Turkey, including the sacred Mt. Ararat, because they hoped Turkey would become a socialist state and because it was a blow against Armenian nationalism.

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Geopolitics part II

The Sunni/Shiite difference arose from the question of whether heirs of Mohammed should be the religious and political leaders.
In the Caucasus, for centuries, people from these three religions and cultures lived throughout the region. Armenian churches can be found throughout eastern Turkey, Georgia and Azerbijan; Georgian churches in Armenia and mosques throughout the area.
The 19th century Great Game between Russia and the British was played in the Caucasus as well as Central Asia as Russia sought to protect her Southern flank and
the British sought to protect the Empire's interest in the Indian subcontinent.
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Geopolitics part I

The relationships among the three Caucasus countries are complicated by religious, language and cultural differences and by centuries of subjugation by invading armies.
As previously mentioned, Georgia is Georgian orthodox and Armenia is Armenian Apostolic, both Christian. Azerbijan is Shiite Muslim. This is our first Shiite country. [Iran is Shiite as is one third of Iraq. Hezbollah is a Shiite organization. Most of the rest of the Middle East is Sunni (eg. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Sudan, Palestine).] Like the Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic and Protestant sects, the differences are doctrinal, date back for centuries and have historically caused strife.
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Border crossing- Georgia/Azerbaijan

We picked up our luggage (this is why you didn't need that third piece of rolling luggage Catherine), left our Georgian driver and headed off over the border into Azerbaijan. Six at time we had our passports scrutinized and then stamped by Georgian customs officials. We then marched through the border territory to meet our Azeri guide, Azia. She took our passports and we stood in the sun waiting for the Azeri customs officials to inspect us and our passport pictures. Then we were asked if we had any Armenian brandy or whiskey. We assured him no. Any maps of Armenia? No. The official then picked out JOL and started to look through Jim's carry-on. They looked carefully at his murder mystery and asked repeatedly, "No maps?". They finally let him go. They let a few women pass and then opened up the luggage of a second man, paying special attention to his Steig Larsson novel. No maps. A few more of our group were allowed to pass and they stopped a third guy. Unfortunately he had a Lonely Planet guide to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It had a map of Armenia showing Nagorno-Karabaugh as part of Armenia. They confiscated the book. Ordinarily, this would just be considered a travel expense and a nuisance. But Richard, whose book it was, had carefully kept his trip notes in his guide and they are gone. A travel tragedy close to losing a camera.
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Lunch

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The last church in Georgia

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Telavi

Telavi was a stop on the Silk Road in Georgia, along with Tbilisi, Gori and Uplistsikhe. Silk Road merchants would have sold their wares in this market. These ladies wanted their picture taken. The chickens really didn't care.
DAE would be comforted to know that the Georgian Army marched by our guest house this morning.
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Sighnagi

An 18th century walled city in Kakheti, in the wine country in the east of Georgia.
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Georgian wine tasting

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The trek to Tsminda Samba

was almost 2 hours up and nearly 1 1/2 hours down. We picnicked at the top.
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He made it

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Almost there

Tsminda Samba

From below.
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Prometheus

Was chained in these mountains for giving mortals the gift of fire.
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Georgian Military Highway

DAE will be pleased to know we are a mere 12 km from Russia, North Ossetia and Chechnya, on the Georgian Military Highway. The passage in which this highway is located has been an important trade route connecting Europe and Asia through the Great Caucasus Mountains for millenniums. The highway itself was completed in 1817 by the Russians to aid their governance of the Caucasus. It passes through towering mountains, paralleling a river.
The border to Russia is closed to Georgians, but not to Armenians.
We stayed last night at a ski resort and today we hike to a church, Tsminda Sameba.

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Stalin pullman car

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Stalin museum

Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia in 1879. We visited a small museum there. The presentation was actually quite good. It basically consisted of pictures, with a few artifacts. The guide described the facts of Stalin's life, including listing the high Soviet officials who were shot, the 4 million imprisoned, of those 800,000 shot, the rest exiled in inhuman conditions. There was no glorification.
The duplex, where he lived until the age of three, is on the grounds as is the pullman car on which he travelled to the Tehran and Yalta conferences with Roosevelt and Churchill, and Potsdam with Truman and Churchill and later, Atlee.
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Stalin

The only Stalin statue still standing in the former USSR.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device News update. We have been informed by a group member that since we visited Gori, the Stalin statue has been removed. It will be replaced by a monument in honor of the Georgians who were killed when the Russians bombed Gori 2 years ago.

Uplistsikhe

The earliest of the three cave cities in Georgia, developed 6th to 1st century BC. This was the residence of Georgian kings when Arabs ocupied Tbilisi. Catherine was aided in her climb through these caves by a postcard salesman for a small tip.
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Train ride

An hour and a half train ride, maximum speed of 15 km/hr, through the national park.
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June is busting out all over

The blooms in the Caucasus are similar to June in Chicago. Roses are everywhere. I have seen lilacs, peonies, tiger lilies and rhododendron in gardens. Wildflowers include poppies, daisies, foxglove, clover, dandelion, thistle and Queen Anne's lace. And, as mentioned previously strawberries are in high season.
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Vardzia looking down

Once we got up here the viewing was as difficult as climbing up. We traveled from cave to cave on stone stairways and tunnels. Lighting was not always good and, of course, I left my torch at the hotel.
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Vardzia looking up

This 12th century cave monastery is located 10 km. from the Turkish border. It was originally constructed as a fortified village. Queen Tamara, great granddaughter of David the Builder, turned it into a monastery. The climb (up, through and down) was very warm. It seems Georgia is having heat wave. The temperatures are closer to August temperatures than early June.
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Bakuriani ski resort

We stayed last night in a ski resort near the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. When the Russians bombed Georgia, allegedly to protect the Moslems in South Ossetia, they dropped some bombs in the national park and started forest fires. (Kind of like bombing Yellowstone.) The park is not near South Ossetia.
This is also the village where that Georgian bobsledder who was killed in the winter Olympics was from. The Canadians from our group put Canadian flags in front of his picture on the side of the road.
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Bagrat Cathedral

Yesterday morning before breakfast, Jim and I ventured out to a little store to buy water. The store was closed, so we decided to go for a walk. We got a good pace going and went by a church, turned around and promptly got lost. We were staying at a guest house, so we didn't have a hotel card. Jim tried asking a guy where the guest house was by mimicking sleeping and saying "Lila", the name of the guesthouse. The guy pointed and we went that direction. (I don't think the guy had a clue what Jim was gesturing.) We eventually found our way. We knew we were ok when we recognized a dog who had greeted us on our way out. The store was open, so we bought water and made it back for breakfast.
This morning we loaded our gear in the bus, got on and rode about 100 meters. The guide said we had to get off the bus and walk to the Bagrati Cathedral, an 11th century UNESCO designated sight. We walked for a bit and found it was the church we had walked by yesterday. I don't have a picture though since the Cathedral was covered by scaffolding and closed. It was destroyed by the Turks in 1691 and they have been working on the restoration since 1951. 17th century travelers describe it as magnificent according to the guide. I will post later a picture from my camera of a small restored portion that was visible.

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Animal sacrifice

The Georgians give animal sacrifice. The sacrifice is to thank G-d in cases when someone has survived a tragedy. These children are petting a sacrificial lamb. The lamb is taken to the church and blessed then taken away to be sacrificed. There were two lambs blessed at Cathedral of the Virgin Mary at Gelati Monastery today.

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The Church of St. George at Gelati Monastery

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Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, Gelati Monastery

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Gelati Monastery

Gelati Monastery was built by King David the Builder beginning in 1106. David enlarged the Georgian kingdom until it stretched into present day Turkey and Armenia. He began what is considered the Georgian Renaissance. He is buried there.
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Motsameta Monastery

This monastery is perched high above a river gorge and was previously quite isolated. King Bagrat III built it in the 11th century on the ruins of an 8th century church erected to honor two brothers, David and Constantine, who were tortured by the Arabs for refusing to convert to Islam in 730. (Bagrat III unified Georgia.)
You get your wish if you crawl under the grave and up and down stairs 3 times. Both Jim and I succeeded. We'll see if we get our wishes.
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David and Constantine

Lords killed by Arabs
11th century church built by King Bagrat III. Bones taken by Cheka, secret police in 1923. Eventually returned and you can see the skulls if you know to look.
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Food

The food has been wonderful. Lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, onions and coriander. The bread is fantastic, from Armenian flatbread to Georgian cheesebread with crusty bread in both countries. Lots of fruit, fresh and dried. It's strawberry season and strawberries are everywhere. Lots of grilled meat. Armenia specialized in grilled pork. Georgia has lots of mushrooms. Finally yogurt and cheese. We had a dumpling meal in Tblisi: spicy meat, potato and mushroom. Each group meal we have had has begun with an array of salads: spinach and walnut mixture, spinach and cheese, chickpeas, eggplant, coleslaw, and of course, cucumbers and tomatoes at every meal.
This is Adjariuli Khchapuri or cheesebread from the Adjari region. The topping contains cheese, butter, egg and roe (fish eggs). You stir it and it cooks and thickens. You then break off the bread and dip it. It is a lot like cheese fondue. It is beach food. Note also the dregs from Turkish coffee.
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Weather

The weather in Armenia was pleasant during the day and cool at night. The weather in Georgia has been pleasant at night and hot during the day. The forecast for Batumi today on the Black Sea is a high of 33 deg (x2 - 10% + 32 or 92).
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Black Sea

In a surprise addition to our itinerary we went to Batumi, 20 km. north of the Turkish border on the Black Sea. That is a picture of me swimming in the Black Sea. Do I look like Krushchev or Yeltzin?

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Jason and the Golden Fleece

Jason searched for and, with the aid of Medea, found the Golden Fleece right here in Kutaisi. Kutaisi is located in what was formerly known as Colchis. Kutaisi is located on the Rioni River, which is navigable from the Black Sea- no problem for the Argo. There are flakes of gold in the streams in this area. The locals string sheep skins across streams to collect the gold, hence the golden fleece. But in a surprise addition to our tour, we are off to where the Argonauts fought the harpies. (I'm not sure of this, but they fought someone before they navigated up the Rioni.)
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Mtskheta and the Cathedral of Sveti-tskhoveli

Mtskheta is a holy city to the Georgians. It was for a time the capital of Georgia. It also contains the Sveti-tshoveli Cathedral, built over a grave containing the garments worn by Christ on the mount. It seems that a Georgian man secured the garments in Jerusalem. He brought them back to Georgia and showed them to his sister who was very devout. The sister seized the garments and died in ecstasy. No one could extract the garments from the woman's arms. So she was buried with Christ's garments.
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Jvari Monastery

This morning we visited the National Art Museum and actually saw the icon of Jesus made when a cloth that touched the face of Jesus was left on a piece of wood. Amazing.
The museum also had a icon painted on wood from the manger. How did they know it would be important?
This monastery is important because it was where St. Nino erected her cross. St. Nino was a Turkish Christian who converted the Georgian king who made Christianity the national religion.
St. Nino dreamed of Mary and woke up to find a cross made of grapevines. She used her hair to rope the vines together. That cross was erected in Jvari church. The cross is no longer there, but the 6th century church is lovely. It is situated on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Mikvari and Aragvi rivers, the town of Mtskheta and the Sveti-tskhoveli Cathedral.
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