Our path to the origins of Christianity Part 1.
Our path to the origins of Christianity Part 1.
General personal impressions.
Georgia and Armenia are countries worth visiting. This is the history of civilization, antiquity, the beauty of cities, valleys, mountains, these are friendly people, delicious food and the feeling that you are still at home, and not abroad, despite the fact that you will not find inscriptions in Russian.
There are a little more of them in English, but practically they are not there either. Except in the subway.
The Armenian part was very well thought out, compact, and turned out to be a discovery for many. People went to Georgia, which is now fashionable, and to Armenia at the same time, because it is nearby. But Armenia liked, surprised and conquered everyone.
Group - 24 people, half - young people up to 30, half from 40 and older. Interests were different, young girls were endlessly photographed at each cross and icon, in the evening they ran to night discos. Well, they have everything ahead of them, and they will be able to visit these countries more than once. The older generation wanted to see the maximum, because it is not known whether this will be the very next time.
The group was very unorganized, they never met on time (guess who was always late? ), but no one heard an apology either, on the contrary, grumbling against those who were late caused a surge of aggression: “You are always unhappy with everything, woman! We've come here to relax! " As if punctual tourists came to serve their duty....
I always wanted to be lucky, and I went as part of a small group, but alas! However, all my past groups of 45 people were a model of punctuality and mutual respect.
Much depends on the personality of the attendant. We got a very nice sweet girl, but absolutely devoid of organizational skills.
The tour was the first on this route, it was very eventful, all the more strange that they sent a person who had not previously taken a group on his own.
There are no complaints about the bus and drivers, the drivers (two Yury) are professionals, very pleasant in communication, just great! Odessans.
There are no complaints about hotels and breakfasts, everything is at a good level, as in Europe.
In Georgia, Masha is a young girl with a good Russian language, at first she gave out information in a very dosed way, but then (after our requests) she got into a conversation and led excursions well. She was with us everywhere in Georgia. But the first day of the guide's services disappointed us.
In Armenia - Garik (all three days from border to border), a man of Soviet education, encyclopedic knowledge, a patriot (with some bias towards chauvinism), told a lot and interestingly. Understands everything: history, art, religion. Compared to Masha on the first day - super. Masha then corrected herself.
A very nice touch - the Armenian company presented everyone with souvenirs and a photo of the group against the backdrop of Ararat.
Thinking about self-tourism after this trip.
I want to return to Tbilisi, I didn’t have time to see much there, and just wander around the city. It’s unlikely, of course, that there are museums and places that are interesting for me, but you can (and should) get to Tbilisi on your own, but it’s problematic to get to Armenia. But we must hope for a change for the better.
The first day. Departure from Donetsk was at the beginning of the 9th, after the arrival of the Kiev train. Everyone else was already loaded onto the bus and waiting for the start. There were residents of Odessa, Kharkiv, Kiev, several people from the Donetsk region, from Zhytomyr. The western regions were absent. They are closer to Europe.
In Donetsk, we stopped at the Donbass Arena, looked around, took a photo. Liked.
Further the border - Matveev Kurgan, at about one o'clock in the afternoon we were already driving along the Russian highway, very, very good.
The program says “Arrival in the region of the Caucasian Mineral Waters. (Russian Federation) Dinner. Spending the night in Mineralnye Vody ”In fact, we arrived in the city of Essentuki at half past eleven at night. But they really fed us dinner, they gave us several sandwiches and tea.
Second day .
According to the program: “Excursion around the region “Caucasian Mineral Waters” Transfer to the Russian-Georgian border. Departure to Tbilisi. Overnight at the hotel in Tbilisi. ”
After a modest breakfast in a very nice hotel cafe, we leave for Pyatigorsk for an excursion. The tour is designed for 2 hours, but due to the reason voiced above, it ended at about one in the afternoon. Pyatigorsk, it turns out, is not so called because it stands on 5 mountains, but because there is only one mountain, but five-headed, hence the name. The tour was good, we saw all the main sights, even tasted some water. It's good to rest there.
Then the road to Upper Lars (border with Georgia), on the way we pass Beslan, Vladikavkaz, the names are known and "dangerous". We cross the Russian border in an hour and a half, line up with open suitcases, present all the medicines, we are diligently sniffed by an amazing little spaniel. We get on the bus, start moving... and stop. A car was stuck across the road, apparently, was overtaking. There is no man's section of the road, rocks on the right, Terek on the left. In half an hour we start again, drive 50 meters and again! This time I tried to overtake a car moving towards it, almost crashed into the one being fired, hot horsemen jumped out and started a fight. But our bus, moving slowly, passed this trouble. Then the drivers admitted that they were even a little scared themselves.
The second bad luck is already after passing the Georgian border, either the road is being repaired, or an accident, but the cars pass only one lane. We are waiting for an hour until we are allowed to move. As a result, we check into the hotel after one in the morning, respectively, we will leave for the tour at 10 am.
Funny moment. There were no navigators in Georgia or Armenia. Maybe they don't exist in nature. So we got lost on the way to the hotel. At first, my vigilant husband noticed this (he followed his map), the guys taxied to the right road, but then again lost their way. Our escort jumped out to ask the taxi driver for directions. He, without hesitation, put her in the car and drove ahead, and we were already behind him. This is Georgian hospitality.
We are in Tbilisi!
According to the program “After breakfast, sightseeing tour of Tbilisi (old city).
Visit to the ancient capital - Mtskheta: Jvari Monastery (6th century) and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century)"
We go to the center, where the guide Masha is waiting for us. She is 22 years old, she knows Russian and English well (thanks to her mother-teacher), she is an economist by education. At first, he speaks very sparingly and reluctantly.
We start from the Metekhi temple, a very famous monument of antiquity (XII century), standing at the very edge of the rocky shore of the Kura. In the past, it was a fortress and the residence of Georgian kings. Under the vaults of the Metekhi temple, the first Georgian martyr, Queen Shushanika, who was killed by her fire-worshipping husband in the 5th century AD, was buried.
And right in front of the temple there is a modern monument - a bronze equestrian statue of the city's founder Vakhtang Gorgasali.
And the walk through the old City begins, where there are wonderful streets, famous Tbilisi balconies, countless restaurants, funny monuments. We reach the Bridge of Peace, which was presented to Tbilisi by the European Union. The Kura River surprised me, wide, full-flowing, for some reason I expected to see a fast small mountain river.
Then we visit the ancient church of Anchiskhati - this is still the oldest stone church of St. Mary, built under the heir of Vakhtang Gorgasali - Dachi Udzharmeli in the 6th century. It is called so because the Anchi icon was kept here until the end of the 19th century. Now she is in the Museum of Art of Georgia.
Then we want to Mtatsminda - the mountain of St. David, which stands across the City. We sit on the funicular (a miracle of technology) and reach the middle. There is a small church of St. David (XIX century) and a small cemetery - the Pantheon of prominent figures of Georgia. Masha is not going with us, and the caretaker does not want to let us in without a guide, and also does not want to tell who is buried where. Although only something: to read what is written on the tombstones. A. S. Griboedov, his wife Nina Chavchavadze, Ilya Chavchavadze, poets Nikoloz Baratashvili, Akaki Tsereteli are buried here. Veriko Anjaparidzhe and Stalin's mother we got to know ourselves.
Retreat. It is very difficult for an independent tourist to navigate in Tbilisi! You are tormented by asking passers-by to read the name on the monument or the name of the street. Moreover, it is necessary to choose the right passer-by. Young people, as a rule, do not know Russian at all, although they study it at school. I suspect that the situation is the same with English.
The top view is very beautiful. We ate to the top of the mountain - there is an amusement park, several people in their free time went there to ride the Ferris wheel
Then they take us by bus to another mountain - there is a statue of Mother Georgia and the Narikala fortress. Mother Georgia - rear view, why they went - it is not clear. We went into the fortress ourselves, there is the church of St. Nicholas, but there is no time, we go down to the bus, we have to go to Mtskheta - the ancient capital of Georgia. But a cool view down - below us are sulfur baths.
It is not far, on the way we land to see the ancient monastery of Jvali.
Mtsekhet is simply amazing. At first, we, as if spellbound, look down from the mountain, where the Kura and Aragvi rivers merge. Svetishoveli Cathedral is something amazing, a majestic and beautiful place. There is still time to walk a little along the deserted streets of Mtskheta, it is already getting dark, and we still have to return.
According to the plan, we have Rustaveli Avenue, most of the group is eager to get into the restaurant. We are also not averse, but we must look for free places, it's a pity for time. It was decided that we would buy khachapuri on the way (they turned out to be no worse than the torn ones! ) and hit the road!
What we saw on the avenue.
The Church of St. George (Kashueti), built in 1910, is a copy of the masterpiece of Georgian medieval architecture of the Samtavisi church (XI century). Despite the late hour, you can go there and see the virtuoso painting of the altar, frescoes and stone lace.
The Vorontsov Palace is the oldest building on the entire Rustaveli Avenue, built in 1868 as the Palace of the Tsar's Viceroy in the Caucasus.
Opera and Ballet Theatre. Z. Paliashvili is a very spectacular Moorish-style building with turrets, arches and stained-glass windows.
The Government House in Tbilisi is a modern building (1953), but I really love our Soviet monumental architecture. And this is its brightest example.
Russian Drama Theatre. Griboedov and the Shota Rustaveli Theatre.
How to distinguish one from the other? If the poster is in Georgian, you are at the Rustaveli Theatre.
And many more beautiful houses, and even tiny figures on both sides of the street - such is modern art. I didn't want to go home at all!
However, the path is not close, you need to buy tickets for the metro and figure out how and where to go.
It turned out that in the metro you need to buy a card, then pay for the fare (you can use one card) and choose the right direction. Since I memorized the name of our station in advance, and there are only 2 lines in the metro, the direction was chosen quickly and correctly. But then a policeman came up to us and asked if we needed his help. A woman from the queue at the ticket office told us in detail how the travel system works in Tbilisi. Still, the Georgians are another attraction, very nice and sympathetic people!