Vardzia

This past weekend we went with the embassy CLO on a trip to Vardazi, a cave monastery.  King Giorgi III built a fortification here in 12th centry and his daughter, Queen Tamar, established the monastery.  Vardarzi is huge.  There are 119 cave groups, 409 rooms, 13 churches and 25 wine cellars.  A major earthquake exposed the caves in 1283 and its new vulnerability caused the monastery to decline.  Today the monastery has been reestablished and some of the monks still live in the caves.

At the embassy we boarded a large bus which was much nicer than our last embassy trip.  We were able to each have our own seat and Mara was free to move around.  Thankfully the morning ride was uneventful and we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in Akhaltsikhe, the town our hotel was located in. Lunch was pretty generic Georgian fare.

After lunch we headed up the road to the Sapara Monastery. The monastery is located in a picturesque region of the mountains.  It is perched on a cliff side far off the beaten path.  We were able to explore the church and the surrounding complex.

From there we headed to our hotel.  We were staying in the Rabati part of town in a renovated fortress.  We had a ton of time to check in and explore our surroundings.  We met up with the group for a complex tour.  Mara was a tad cranky so I only got to see the museum before heading back to our room to relax.  That night we grabbed dinner in the hotel family style with the rest of the embassy crew.

On Sunday we headed to Vardarzia for our tour.  Along the way we stopped for some photo opps at Tmogvi and Khertvisi Castles.  I was a little nervous for the tour as Vardzia isn't very kid friendly.  Thankfully Mara did really well in the back pack and Josh was able to carry her most of the way.

We toured most of the caves ending in a tight climb to the pent house on the 13th floor.  The view was great!  After finishing up with the caves we grabbed lunch by the river right at the base of the mountain side.

The next day we had a slow start and left for Tbilisi around 10.  On the way we stopped in Borjomi to taste the mineral water the town is famous for.  Josh indulged but I decided the sulfur smell was too much.  The town was pretty quaint and definitely worth a follow-up visit on another weekend.

Overall we had a great weekend.  The tour was tiring with all the hiking and stairs but well worth it.  I love that this country is so steeped in history and that there are places like Vardarzi to explore.