20th September: Batumi, Georgia to Akhaltsikhe, Georgia
We awoke to torrential rain. The casino lights opposite were twice as dazzling as usual as they reflected off huge puddles. The bus station was only a 15-minute walk, but sitting on a marshrutka for 6 hours with soaking wet trousers wasn’t really either of our ideas of fun! For 3 Lari we were able to book a taxi, which seemed like a fantastic deal. We were the first to arrive for the 8:30 to Akhaltsikhe, and only 3 of the other seats were taken at all before we left. The driver would go on to ignore almost every potential passenger who tried to flag him down along the way and surely must’ve lost money on the journey. So much for marshrutky only leaving when they’re full!
It soon became clear that we were taking the much longer route around the mountains. Very few minibuses take on the passes and rough roads of the Adjarian hinterland and ours wasn’t going to be an exception. Whilst it would’ve been cool to see the mountains, the flatter route was probably for the best in this weather. Kaja was very glad, having suffered with the long and twisty route to and from Mestia. We shared the road with the usual multitude of vans still proudly displaying the branding and contact details of their original owners in Germany, the Netherlands, or elsewhere in the EU. As we took a shortcut across Kolkheti, truck traffic from the Black Sea ports came to dominate. Eventually, we pulled off for lunch. Remarkably, we were at the same cafe our coach to Kutaisi had stopped at just over a week ago. This time we astutely avoided the over-priced salad, and were instead ripped off for a lobiani!
We also encountered the same long stretch of dual carriageway under construction as we’d seen westbound. However, this time I was able to take note that its countless double portal tunnels and viaducts were being built by Chinese State Construction and the Hunan Road and Bridge Company. Not at all uncommon of course these days in vast swathes of the world, but another interesting geopolitical quirk in this complex region where the focus is on Russia and the ‘West’ vying for sway. For us, it was just interesting to see the incredibly efficient Chinese infrastructure behemoth at work a month or so in advance of when we expected to.
Finally, we turned back south towards Akhaltsikhe, rising back up to 1,000 metres above sea level. Interestingly, despite having travelled almost through the centre of Georgia, we’re back 18 kilometres from the Turkish border. Pretty much where we started this morning, except for it being dry! Akhaltsikhe will be our final stop in Georgia (for now) before crossing into Armenia. That border is also just over 100km away and our incredibly hospitable hotel hosts explained, over the two cups of tea we had on arrival, that they were actually Armenian themselves. The landscape here is already beginning to look slightly more desolate, in the way that I imagine the high altitude plateau may appear.
Akhaltsikhe means ‘new fortress’ and we had enough daylight left to stretch our legs by exploring said fortress. The Rabati complex was just up the hill from of our accommodation and dominated the skyline. As we arrived, the heavens opened and we scarpered into a tower. Even from there, we could see that this place was special. The complex was at once sprawling and intimate. Persianate influences were immediate in the connecting walkways, verandahs, and balconies.
Rain having passed, we ventured through the citadel walls. Inside, myriad styles merged around central ponds, somehow combining to be greater than the sum of their parts. The gold-hued dome of a mosque sat opposite an austere Orthodox church; a towering stone castle overlooked a delicate white pagoda; rounded decorative archways framed angular ramparts; beautiful gardens and fountains sat in contrast to the bare rocky hills beyond. This feels like our sort of place.
As an aside, I managed to get a good enough internet connection to upload a few days worth of blogs but have had to turn down the photo quality. Hopefully most of them should still look OK but I’ll check when we’re in a place with some proper signal.