10th September: Telavi, Georgia
A slightly frustrating start to the day trying to figure out why every time I fixed one thing with the blog, 3 others would break! Maybe it’s working now, although with slightly iffy and very unplanned formatting. It’s probably just me being ill and confused. Breakfast of tea, walnuts, plums, and bread was at least very tasty and set us up to head out.
Erekle II’s Palace inside the Batonis Fortress was built during Persian rule and had recognisably Shirazi style. It possessed the same Shebekee windows we saw on the Sheki Khan’s Palace, however the design here was beautifully liveable. Large, deep-set verandahs on all four sides, led to four inside-outside corridors. Four double-height domed corner rooms were multi-purpose, one behind where King Erekle II was both born and died. The grandeur of one large double-height central throne room was emphasised by low entrances and an oversized red seat on a platform for the ruler. The corresponding history museum of Telavi was also architecturally sympathetic. Being set predominantly into the ground, on the face of it was a very different structure. However, the flow of light mirrored that of the air through the corridors of the palace just enough to tie it to the older structure. A hugely impressive complex and the palace one of our favourite buildings we’ve seen anywhere.
Telavi is the capital of Kakheti, famous for its wine. We saw multiple quarry trucks repurposed and full to the brim with grapes on our way here yesterday. The traditional technique of fermenting wine in giant clay qvevri has been employed here for centuries. This was also the epicentre of Soviet wine production. Most vineyards are busy with the harvest right now but, after wandering down people’s driveways, we found a small wine cellar who had time to let us in for a degustation. This is where things get hazy. Multiple tastings of three local qvevri wines was followed by four different chachas (effectively grape vodka/brandy), two incredibly strong brandies, more wine, and two ports. In less than an hour, whilst somehow getting 20+ mosquito bites. Luckily it was only a short walk back to the room and the bed, which had somehow started spinning in our absence.
We made it back out for a beautiful sunset and to find some food to soak up the wine. Mchadi and lobio send like a good idea again. This time we preceded it with Phkali, which is balls of a paste made of walnuts, garlic and various vegetables such as spinach, carrots, or beetroot for different colours and flavours.
