Castles and Cave Monasteries

I awoke this Saturday morning cozy under my covers, all too aware of how cold it was in my bedroom despite a (lousy) electric heater standing in the center of it. After finally gaining the courage to get up and get dressed, I slipped on my glasses and walked to the window.  It was snowing! No wonder why it was so cold. My host brother promises me that if we get enough snow, he will engage me in a snowball fight whether I like it or not.

A snowy Keda!

Last week, the Fulbright ETA's were called to meet with the State Department's regional education director (of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) visiting from Kiev who oversees the Fulbright program and all other government sponsored education programs in the small city of Akhaltsikhe. It just so happens that one of the Fulbright ETA's, Kenny, lives in Akhaltsikhe and so we all decided that this meeting would provide the perfect excuse for a mini-vacation!

On Wednesday, I set off from Keda on the real circuitous route to get to Akhaltsikhe by going via Batumi and Kutaisi. There is a road that goes from Batumi directly to Akhaltsikhe, for Keda is situated along this road, but past the village of Khulo thirty miles east of me, the road disintegrates and becomes one of the most dangerous in Georgia. What Google Maps says would only take three hours is really at least a nine hour mountain pass trek at best with a jeep. I was not about to do that at this stage of November.  So, six hours, three marshrutkas, and a taxi later, I arrived in Akhaltsikhe.

A picture of myself at Rabati Castle.

Thursday was gray, gloomy, and cold - the perfect day for a meeting! First, though, the four of us taught Kenny's 8th grade class with such activities as "two truths and a lie" and "I have never" (much like "never have I ever" just more appropriate). With four teachers plus Kenny's counterpart - class went swimmingly! If only all our classes were that easy. After class, the four of us headed to Akhaltsikhe's American Corner (a small library of English-language materials and the like that are situated in many foreign cities) for the meeting. There was nothing too exciting to report there...the usual things were discussed. I did learn that the Foreign Service Officers Test might be offered in Tbilisi in February, so that is something in which I may take part, after all, I like having a plan and it has been a lifelong dream to be in the Foreign Service. Why not?

Friday morning started off foggy and cold but would later turn sunny and warm. After Destinee and I grabbed breakfast at Smarty's, a grocery store chain that is the finest in all of Georgia and most reminiscent of any I have seen in America, we met up with Shawn. The three of us headed to Rabati Castle, which had recently been renovated with shops and a spa in the center, losing its ancient splendor. Nonetheless, it was still beautiful and fun to explore. Destinee and I gushed over some of the Middle Eastern architecture there and over the prospect of visiting Turkey (and maybe Jordan) over winter break. Afterwards, we met up with Kenny and climbed to the top of a hill just as the sun was beginning to set.  The views were stunning!

In the evening, the four of us went to the Rabati spa in the castle for two hours. We experienced several different steam rooms of varying temperature, a pebble foot bath, a lukewarm jacuzzi, and much more! It was equally gratifying and delightful to feel so warm and so clean. It was also a blessing because when I got back to the hotel, I decided to wash my hair.  That shower ended up being one of the worst I have ever taken...no water pressure, the temperature was either scalding or freezing, and the spout would not stay on the wall. Needless to say, the shower was quick and filled with periodic expletives.

I think this may have been a mosque at one time. Inside Rabati Castle in Akhaltsikhe.

Inside the mosque.

The Georgian flag.

Beautiful Middle Eastern architecture.

The castle really does look like the Western concept of a castle.

Rabati Castle

View of the surrounding mountains in Akhaltsikhe.

Saturday was much like Friday, warm and sunny, perfect for visiting Vardzia Cave Monastery! I have now been to three of Georgia's top cave-city attractions (the others being Davit Gareja and Uplistsikhe in 2012) and while all beautiful and special in their own right, Vardzia was by far the most elaborate. Vardzia was built into the cliff face/slopes of Erusheti Mountain along the Mtkvari River (which also runs through Tbilisi) in south central Georgia about an hour outside of Akhaltsikhe. The Church of the Dormition, built in the center of this grand structure, is still active and just as with Davit Gareja, there are still monks who reside in the caves.  The sections where they lived were roped off from tourists.  Soviet-era excavations and research determined that people had been living in Vardzia since the Bronze Age (somewhere between 3600 - 12OO BC) and records state that it was largely abandoned during the Ottoman takeover in the Sixteenth Century. Today, the Georgian government is working hard to try and have Vardzia declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  As for Kenny, Destinee, Shawn, and I - we had a grand old time exploring the various rooms and caves and tunnels that made up the site.

Vardzia!

Frescoes at the Church of the Dormition

Vardzia featured some of the most questionable stairs I have seen
in Georgia. They were uneven and weaved haphazardly through
dark tunnels with no lights!

Stairway from heaven to earth!

Sunday it was time to head back to Keda. There is nothing too interesting to report here except for that when I arrived in Batumi, a middle-aged taxi driver followed me for a good ten minutes shouting in Russian: "You and me drink wine! I live alone! No wife!" I swear, I am not good at keeping away the creepers.

This past week, I again started feeling pangs of homesickness. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this will be my first time I will spend Christmas without my parents.  Thanksgiving here in Georgia was very low-key, I ended up having my students draw "hand turkeys" and write about what they were thankful for. I also explained to them what Thanksgiving was. I shared with them the unfortunate "tradition" of Black Friday and said, much to their amusement, "Only in America could you be thankful one day for all that you have and then the next rush out to buy even more stuff."

That is all I have for now! I am just wrapping up grad school applications and considering where to go for winter break.