My host in Mestia, Tariel was a very nice person. He speaks English and German really well. I had a simple, but a good room with shared bathroom, exactly what I booked. I immediately started to socialize with other tourists. I found a Hungarian speaking woman with Russian origin, Linda. We were chatting a lot. She became an integral part of my trip.
Mestia has a lot of defense towers from the middle ages. One of them is secure to climb up. I did it half way only because I felt unsafe of the loose ladders, funny angels and steep climbing.
I visited the Museum of History and Ethnography, which had interesting artifacts, which date back to as early as the 3rd century BC.
After I was finished with the museum I decided to sit down for a bit in one of the armchairs of the entrance hall, next to the cafe, enjoying the amazing view of the town.
Suddenly I felt some cold drops of drops landing on my arm. Then I heard a brisk laugh. Some women, local employees of the cafe, tried to open a bottle of white wine. They succeeded, hence the drops on my hand. The alcoholic liquid was spread all around the place covering a territory of five square meters at least. Nothing happened, of course, it's not like sour cherry, which doesn't remove from your clothes ever. They offered me a glass of gorgeous Georgian wine from that very bottle. The wine was absolutely amazing. I was having some chat with the ladies in Russian.
In the evening I went to have some Kubdari, a Svan style khachapuri, which is stuffed with meat.
In the evening I met some other tourists in the guesthouse. We went up the hill with a car to see the illuminated Mestia from above. For this we drove up another 500 meters of altitude, hitting 2100 meters above sea level. The night view was really worth it. The defense towers look like candles in the night.
Defense towers in Mestia as seen from the guesthouse's terrace. They served for defense from the rival clans.
Mestia. 1500 meters above sea level, located in a valley in the Greater Caucasus.
Night view on Mestia from the mountains around.
The day after I went to a day-trip to Ushguli with Linda, Alex (Linda's friend), and Kakha (their driver). Ushguli is a village, which is located about 44 kilometers from Mestia. The way to go takes about three hours and a half because the road is not paved and occasionally you have to repair it or repair the car, whatever trouble comes first. The authorities are actually paving the road quite fast actually, however, most of the way is not yet done.
Ushguli is located in a pastoral view in the mountains. They claim it's the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Asia Minor, at an altitude of 2100 meters. From there you can see Mount Ushba, with its 4690-meter elevation.
Ushguli itself is a very interesting and contradictional village. It consists of two main parts, both defended by middle age towers. There were two big rival families, each occupying a part of the town, occasionally fighting each other. Luckily, today they don't fight anymore, rather they focus on tourism, which is profitable for all parties.
The village is really poor. Decomposing houses, broken cars, house animals that are walking freely everywhere, no paved streets whatsoever. Unfortunately, this is a kind of attraction to the western tourist. This part I have to admit, I didn't like. Patronizing tourists meandering in the village taking photos of locals working hard, on the fields, with the animals or around their houses. But tourism is probably the most important income of the place. If there is no tourism, there is no development either, like it was until recently, and the place would remain poor and undeveloped. I don't know how to resolve this. I did take photos, but I don't feel well with this a hundred percent.
The road from Mestia to Ushguli. Such puddles can ruin the engine of a car.
Ushguli:
Ushguli rooftops with Mount Ushba in the background:
Ushguli:
The defense towers of Ushgli. Fortunately, they're not in use anymore.
Ushguli with Mount Ushba in the background:
A church's courtyard in Ushguli:
Some of Ushguli's abandoned houses. A lot of people left for cities:
The fields around Ushguli. Breathtaking views:
A street in Ushguli:
Then came Saint Mary's day. This day is celebrated in all Eastern Orthodox communities (following the Julian calendar) on August 28. By the time I got up, the neighbor's calf mysteriously disappeared, just a chunk of meat of the same size was hanging on a hook in their garden. Tariel bought a lamb. The neighbor came over and helped to slaughter it, while I was watching and filming the entire process. I'll not post this movie here. If you're interested, drop me a line and I'll share it with you.
Alex and I went up the hill to see some view of the town:
By the time we came back, parts of the calf and the lamb were ready. Tariel invited us to join them for a lot of meat and tremendous amounts of wine.
Alex, Linda and some locals enjoying calf liver and lungs and lamb meat, with traditional Georgian bread. All fresh and organic.
Tariel (on the left), Dato and other neighbors and friends from Mestia digging in the pots of lamb and calf on Saint Mary's day.
Tariel is cooking the lamb. On the left, someone is serving wine from a huge jar. The really good wines are all sold in big jars like that:
Mestia has a lot of defense towers from the middle ages. One of them is secure to climb up. I did it half way only because I felt unsafe of the loose ladders, funny angels and steep climbing.
I visited the Museum of History and Ethnography, which had interesting artifacts, which date back to as early as the 3rd century BC.
After I was finished with the museum I decided to sit down for a bit in one of the armchairs of the entrance hall, next to the cafe, enjoying the amazing view of the town.
Suddenly I felt some cold drops of drops landing on my arm. Then I heard a brisk laugh. Some women, local employees of the cafe, tried to open a bottle of white wine. They succeeded, hence the drops on my hand. The alcoholic liquid was spread all around the place covering a territory of five square meters at least. Nothing happened, of course, it's not like sour cherry, which doesn't remove from your clothes ever. They offered me a glass of gorgeous Georgian wine from that very bottle. The wine was absolutely amazing. I was having some chat with the ladies in Russian.
In the evening I went to have some Kubdari, a Svan style khachapuri, which is stuffed with meat.
In the evening I met some other tourists in the guesthouse. We went up the hill with a car to see the illuminated Mestia from above. For this we drove up another 500 meters of altitude, hitting 2100 meters above sea level. The night view was really worth it. The defense towers look like candles in the night.
Defense towers in Mestia as seen from the guesthouse's terrace. They served for defense from the rival clans.
Mestia. 1500 meters above sea level, located in a valley in the Greater Caucasus.
Night view on Mestia from the mountains around.
The day after I went to a day-trip to Ushguli with Linda, Alex (Linda's friend), and Kakha (their driver). Ushguli is a village, which is located about 44 kilometers from Mestia. The way to go takes about three hours and a half because the road is not paved and occasionally you have to repair it or repair the car, whatever trouble comes first. The authorities are actually paving the road quite fast actually, however, most of the way is not yet done.
Ushguli is located in a pastoral view in the mountains. They claim it's the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Asia Minor, at an altitude of 2100 meters. From there you can see Mount Ushba, with its 4690-meter elevation.
Ushguli itself is a very interesting and contradictional village. It consists of two main parts, both defended by middle age towers. There were two big rival families, each occupying a part of the town, occasionally fighting each other. Luckily, today they don't fight anymore, rather they focus on tourism, which is profitable for all parties.
The village is really poor. Decomposing houses, broken cars, house animals that are walking freely everywhere, no paved streets whatsoever. Unfortunately, this is a kind of attraction to the western tourist. This part I have to admit, I didn't like. Patronizing tourists meandering in the village taking photos of locals working hard, on the fields, with the animals or around their houses. But tourism is probably the most important income of the place. If there is no tourism, there is no development either, like it was until recently, and the place would remain poor and undeveloped. I don't know how to resolve this. I did take photos, but I don't feel well with this a hundred percent.
The road from Mestia to Ushguli. Such puddles can ruin the engine of a car.
Ushguli:
Ushguli rooftops with Mount Ushba in the background:
Ushguli:
The defense towers of Ushgli. Fortunately, they're not in use anymore.
Ushguli with Mount Ushba in the background:
A church's courtyard in Ushguli:
Some of Ushguli's abandoned houses. A lot of people left for cities:
The fields around Ushguli. Breathtaking views:
A street in Ushguli:
Then came Saint Mary's day. This day is celebrated in all Eastern Orthodox communities (following the Julian calendar) on August 28. By the time I got up, the neighbor's calf mysteriously disappeared, just a chunk of meat of the same size was hanging on a hook in their garden. Tariel bought a lamb. The neighbor came over and helped to slaughter it, while I was watching and filming the entire process. I'll not post this movie here. If you're interested, drop me a line and I'll share it with you.
Alex and I went up the hill to see some view of the town:
By the time we came back, parts of the calf and the lamb were ready. Tariel invited us to join them for a lot of meat and tremendous amounts of wine.
Alex, Linda and some locals enjoying calf liver and lungs and lamb meat, with traditional Georgian bread. All fresh and organic.
Tariel (on the left), Dato and other neighbors and friends from Mestia digging in the pots of lamb and calf on Saint Mary's day.
Tariel is cooking the lamb. On the left, someone is serving wine from a huge jar. The really good wines are all sold in big jars like that:
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