Georgia- Mtskheta, Gori, Uplistkhe, Kutaisi, Motsameta Monastery

Georgia- I made it and I planned another road trip for the first 2 weeks. I opted to go to Mtskheta first. They call it the second Jerusalem, due to all the holy relics and historical monuments here, and it's Georgia's ancient capital. It's also home to UNESCO's World Heritage site, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, built in the 11th century. Present-day Georgia was one of the first places where hominins settled out of Africa.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral(Pictures from all 4 sides, plus the convent)

It was Sunday morning and mass, so I couldn't go inside. I peaked in, pretty austere...

Goergian war hero statue and Bebristsikhe-Abandoned fort.

Uplistsikhe Museum and cave city. This was absolutely amazing! We learned about people living in caves in the Caucasus mountains...this is one of those cities! This is the oldest settlement in the Caucasus. First mentioned in the 7th century.(pictures above and below)

I continued on to Gori- the dictator Stalin's birthplace. Georgia war monument and fort and views of the town from the fort. I found the cutest bed and breakfast in town. I got free wine and a massage!

I'm outside of Gori now at a winery/guesthouse. Got to taste some great Georgian wine, locally made cheese and bread, local honey and, I swear, the best apples I've ever had! Yes, I bought wine and honey. Not sure what will make it back to the states -lol!

Made it to Kutaisi, which was the capital before Tbilisi. Quaint little town! Used to be the capital. Just walking around city center and the Rioni River .

Lower left is statue of Ekvtime Takaisvhili archeologist/academic/public figure. It's unfortunate that graffiti is ruining these Soviet sculptures...

The Motsameta Monastery and surrounding area. The Caucasus mountains are beautiful! They were in prayer, so I couldn't take pictures inside. But what's most interesting is all the pictures of Jesus and some saints are clearly black...just like in Russia.

Driving to Akhaltsikhe through Borjomi which is a town with mineral springs that Russian's used to frequent when this was still part of the Soviet Union. Quaint little town in the mountains.

I made it to Akhaltsikhe and went to Rabati (Akhaltsikhe) Castle. It's amazing it's been so well preserved!

Gazebo and church

Entertainment room and beer bath, plus more pics of the grounds.

You can just imagine this when it was in use. Huge castle, really a whole city. Again, I still can't believe it has been so well preserved.

OMG! I had the best local dish today. Chkmeruli, chicken in garlic, butter cream sauce. It's a specialty of this region 😋

Now I'm heading back south to Tbilisi, the capital.