Georgia

As I walked through the ancient church, ‘The Svetitskhoveli,’ one of the most beautiful churches in Georgia, ornate gate walls of the church, a mix of fresh greenery and rusted church smells hit me like a dream. The vivid hues of pink and green were balanced out with mere shades of brown. The large, gold cross on the top reflected off all of the rays of sunlight into oblivion. When creating this church, architect Arsukidze clearly knew what he was doing. Unfamiliar looks of aging limestone and granite made the church look even more unique. With the utmost precision, tiles were placed on the floor like pieces fitted into a Jigsaw puzzle. Rising majestically into the sky, was the central dome, creating an awesome aura. The interior of the church was unmatched to the outside. The entire interior was covered in bright paintings that represented the story of the Bible, each one having a different meaning than the other.  The once sparkling bell rang, which symbolized the time that people gathered and prayed. With each bell ring, the vibration rang through the air

The ride to this Monastery was a long one, with roads that weren’t developed as much as the ones in the city. However, once we reached the rocky mountain top, the view paid off of the ride. The church was 656 meters above sea level. What made it even more interesting was that the church was isolated away from civilization it appeared above and away from the Earth. As I looked over the church wall, I could see a huge valley which looked as if a blanket of trees covered the entire thing. At the foot of The Valley, the Mtkvari and the Aragvi rivers met, which caused a confluence of the two rivers. The river resulted in a hazy greenish-blue color, which was probably from soaking in all the greenery from the valley surrounding the river. Ancient, rusted steps welcome you to the church, giving a picture of how old this church was.The Jvari Monastery is a sixth-century Georgian Orthodox Monastery near Mtskheta. Pale and wooden doors of the monastery were cracked and ruptured, so I could tell what the interior of the church would look like. As I stepped into the church, a cooling breeze brushed past my face. The darkness of the church took a little while to accommodate, but after my eyes adjusted, the beauty and height of the church caught my eye. The church was colossal, and the vivid paintings on the wall  were depicting different scenes in the Bible. The interior completely juxtaposed the exterior. The inside looked really bright and modern, as if it was built not too long ago, however, the outside looked as if someone had physically wrecked the monument and left it as it was. 

As soon as I arrived in Kakheti, one of the most thriving Georgian wine regions that occupies the easternmost part of the country, a strong gust of wind that blew past my face ; it smelt like wine. Even if you don’t know anything about this place, the smell of wine and grapes makes you feel like you have entered a wine factory. I came here to explore one of Kakheti’s most popular wine cellars called Khareba Winery. Georgia is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world. This winery was built through a tunnel in the mountain, to maintain the temperature of the cellar. Once you arrive, the dark, cold and damp tunnel which seems to be going on endlessly can be seen to be surrounded by lush greenery and towering mountains. I walked towards the entrance of the winery where everyone seemed to be taking lots of photos. When some of the crowd had gone away I took a glimpse of what everyone was fawning about. Heavily laden with a wide array of flavors, the atmosphere inside the cold tunnel, was intoxicating. The smell was taking over my brain like a virus. A large barrel that seemed to be rusted and old had wine in it. This barrel was almost 100 years old! Without wasting any more time, I started walking through the tunnel. As I was walking, it got darker and darker and colder and colder. At one point, the temperature dropped from 32 degrees to 12 degrees. Goosebumps started forming on my skin and my hair stood up on ends. My bones caught the chill creeping up inside of me. However, a light started appearing from one end of the tunnel- a light of hope. Excitement grew larger and larger and so did the suspense. Once I got to the end, I saw what the lights were for. Four lights lit up four barrels with wine bottles on top of them. Each wine had something special about it.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi may have been the largest and most elegant cathedral I have ever been in. Only built in 2004, this church does not show any signs of age. There were three buildings to this cathedral- which is why the name of the church is called ‘Holy Trinity’. Flights of stairs welcomed us to the cathedral with five crosses on each side of the stairs directing us to the church. The church grew more colossal at each step we took. The roof of the biggest dome of the church was gold, reflecting all the sun’s rays into space. The cross on the roof may even be bigger than me! One building to the left of the cathedral was a bell building. The bell was at the very top of the tower, which was probably twice the size of a normal bell. I can’t believe someone used to go up there every morning and ring that massive bell. The third building to the right of the church was another entrance to the cathedral, only bigger and welcoming. It was a gate in the shape of a double arch and was about 20 feet high up in the air. The gate was the only building in this compound that showed some sign of age. It had some cracks and rusted paint on it,  the rest of the building looked as new as a baby. I wasn’t allowed to go inside the church because of what I was wearing, but from the outside, I could tell that it would be just as elegant and beautiful as the outside. There was an aura of purity and sublimity about the church which made it appear out of this world. 

‘The Bridge of Peace’, which was about a five minute walk from our hotel, connected the Old Town of Tbilisi with the central part of Tbilisi. There were steel ropes attached to large metal poles in the shape of a bow. During the night, the glass on the sides of the bridge got  illuminated with numerous lights. The lights get reflected off the Kura river into the sky, producing a light show that one could never miss. On the other end of the bridge, a park sat in a valley with lush greenery and salt air everywhere. Every morning, I embarked on a new journey: the autumn chill refreshed me ; and the gold leaves left a satisfying ‘crunch’ after you walked on it. I would want to sit there forever, watching the yet to grow Wisteria flowers bloom right in front of me.While walking on the bridge, I had a chance to admire the panoramic view of the old cobblestoned old town that takes every tourist back into the ancient world. It was the kind of cold that fogs up glass, but I felt it once I walked towards the other end of the bridge.

As I walked inside the beautiful, handmade Sulphuric Bath, the first thing that hit me weren’t the colorful mosaic tiles around the whole Bath, but the arid smell coming from the sulfur. It was almost like I couldn’t breathe, and that smell was enveloping my brain like a virus. After what seemed like an hour, the smell vanished, which soon revealed the beauty of the bath. The concrete slabs of the Bath were as smooth as butter and as shiny as gold. The water flowed gently and gracefully over the concrete like a waterfall. The cloud of steam and mist which floated in the air above the hot water grew larger and larger every second. It was most fascinating to see how ancient the Bath was as it had been made during the reign of Vakhtang Gorgasali in the second half of the 5th century. The most impactful site was the fine, intricate and artistic mosaic work done on the ceiling which was semicircular in shape and created using finally cut small tiles of different colors. The concept of health and artistic beauty revealed in the Bath is a memory I shall carry with me forever. The medicinal value of the bath was brought out through the mixture of hot and cold water springs.