Kazbegi, 20 – 21 November 2010

Soon the mountains will be covered with snow, and it is time to bring the livestock down to the lowland




Still some livestock is grazing on the meadows in the mountains


A view form the so-called Soviet viewing platform build in 1983 to celebrate 200 years of cooperation (some may call it occupation) between Georgia and Russia


We spotted a fox close to the Soviet viewing platform


Kazbegi is on the other side of the Caucasus


We took a walk up the mountains


Mount Kazbek (5,033 m) is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus located on the border of Kazbegi District of Georgia and North Ossetia. It is the third highest mountain in Georgia (after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains. The summit lies directly to the west of the town of Stepantsminda (the official Georgian name of Kazbegi) and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area.


The Gergeti Trinity Church is famous for its scenic location. Its isolated location on top of a steep mountain surrounded by the vastness of nature has made it a symbol for Georgia. In times of danger, precious relics from Mtskheta, including Saint Nino's Cross were brought here for safekeeping. During the Soviet era, all religious services were prohibited, but the church remained a popular tourist destination. The church is now an active establishment of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church


Mount Kazbek


The bird of the day


Vlado persuaded Dima to join our second walk Sunday. Here he talks with a woman from one of the villages we passed


Pig siesta


My colleague from Denmark, Birthe, who is managing our Carl Bro part of the Kura project, was in Tbilisi over the weekend, and wanted to se some nature so Vlado proposed that we went together along the so-called “Georgian Military Highway” to the Greater Caucasus and stayed overnight in the town Kazbegi near the border to Russia.

We have had a long period with very stable nice weather here in Georgia, and this weekend was no exception.

Bolnisi, 19 November 2010, 3 churches, 3 carriages and a mosque

According the map the name of this church is Kvemo Bolnisi


Bolnisi Sioni
According to the old inscriptions at Bolnisi Sioni the cathedral was built in 478-493. The appearance of the church is simple and laconic. The walls are faced with smoothly hewn, large tuff slabs of deep and intensive turquoise colour. In this early period of the development of Georgian architecture designers did not set themselves the aim of artistic quality of the facades. They paid more attention to the interior design. Bolnisis Sioni Cathedral is famous for having an inscription of the oldest written Georgian to have been found in the country.


Inside the Bolnisi Sioni










According the map the name of this church, with the nice view, is Tsugrugasheni


A detail from Tsugrugasheni

Our team went on a trip in the direction Bolnisi. Eka who had planned the trip was not able to participate, so in the best Georgian traditions we had to improvise. Fortunately we had a map with us with the main tourist attractions, and we spotted some churches on the map.

The people living in this part of Georgia is mainly Azeri, which you can se from the shape of the houses and the way women dress. Also the Azeri villages tends to be better maintained and with less garbage than the Georgian ones.

From the main road along the Mashavera river we went up the in the foothills of the lesser Caucasus to visit some churches. You may ask why churches when the majority of the population is Muslims, but it illustrates how people is this region has moved around, and when the churches was build it was a Christian dominated area.

Biological sampling in Mtkvari River, 12 November 2010

Upstream view from the sampling site


Downstream view from the sampling site


Sampling is done by kicking in the gravel in front of the net to get the animals into the water and to the sampling net




The animals are collected from the sample



The result of our hard work


Some nice cranefly (stankelben) larvae


More nice larvae this time of mayflies and caddisflies


When our friend Irakli, responsible for biological monitoring in the Department for Environmental Pollution Monitoring, invited me to join the sampling trip to the Mtkvari (Kura) River just vest of Tbilisdi, I immediately said yes.

We have had a long stable period with nice weather and it was a good opportunity to get out of Tbilisi, and off course also to support the work on biological monitoring.

Wine trip to Kakheti region, eastern Georgia, 16 – 17 October 2010

The Chavchavadze estate
Large tracts were owned by the Chavchavadze of Tsinandali, and their estate is a museum today. Tsinandali park and its beautiful gardens were established by Prince Garsevan Chavchavadze


View over the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus Mountains from the Chavchavadze estate


One of the rooms in the Chavchavadze estate


The Chavchavadze estate had also its section for wine tasting and wine buying


Next stop the Alaverdi Monastery. The Alaverdi Monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery located 20 km from Telavi the main town of the Kakheti region. Parts of the monastery date back to 6th century. The present day cathedral dates to the 11th century. At a height of over 55 meters, Alaverdi Cathedral is the second tallest religious building in Georgia.


New technologies provides improved connections to the Almighty


October in the main wedding month in Georgia.


We were invited to Telavi the main town in Kakheti by Zurab, but as he was busy, so his farther had to take over, and he did a very good job, first showing us around at the Chavchavadze estate, and then serving us a delicious meal with excessive amounts of home made wine


We visited the big wine produces "Kindzmarauli Marani" which uses modern technology and control methods


Also at "Kindzmarauli Marani" there were time for wine tasting and wine buying


Next stop the small town of Sighnaghi - Some squirrels were playing next to one the roads.
Sighnaghi is situated the elevation of about 790 m above seal level. The town has a well preserved defensive wall around a big area. The wall was build of the settlements in the valley, so people could seek shelter when invaders came. It has been restored and is a popular holiday resort.


In Sighnaghi there is a museum with a small exhibition of paintings by the famous Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani. He is famous for his paintings of the Georgian supra, portraits, pictures of animals, scenes of rural life and landscapes.


Both his mother and his father died when he was young. Here they are in the wine field.


Wine and Supra or feast is a central part of Georgian life. In the best Georgian traditions our team went on a weekend trip to Kakheti region, eastern Georgia, a rich valley of vineyards nestled in the mountains east of Tbilisi. Georgians claim that wine-making was invented in Kakheti. In any case, in-the-ground clay vessels for grape fermentation were found near Ikalto which held 30 000 liters, dated to around 3000 BC.

During Soviet times Georgian wines were quite poor, despite what every Georgian claims. Only very recently have modern methods been introduced, and now there are some estates that produce competitive wines for the European market.