Kostava's Garden

Visit Mtskheta, one of the oldest towns and the cultural and religious center of Georgia. Historians date the town back to the 2nd millennium B.C. Mtskheta was the capital of Georgian Kingdom of Iberia between 500BC - 500AD. Here Georgians accepted Christianity in the beginning of the 4th century. The town and its architectural monuments are listed as the World's Cultural Heritage sites by UNESCO. Visit Jvari Church, a true architectural masterpiece of the early Medieval Period overlooking the confluence of Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers from the top of the hill, and Svetitskhoveli, the main cathedral of Mtskheta and a sacred place where the robe of Christ is being kept. Drive to Gori and visit Stalin Museum. The museum includes more than artifacts, the tiny house where Stalin was born, and impressive bulletproof train Stalin used to travel to Yalta and Potsdam. Explore cave town Uplistsikhe dating back to Hellenistic Period and notable for unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures and the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture. Overnight in Borjomi.
Wir starten heute um 09:00 und haben ein volles Programm. Als erstes besichtigen wie auf der Passhöhe einen deutschen Soldatenfriedhof (Kriegsgefangene in der Sowjetunion). Danach besichtigen wir die „Jvari Church“* oberhalb der Stad „Mtskheta“und haben eine fanatische Fernsicht auf die Stadt und sogar auf den schneebedeckten „Mount Kazbek (5047m)“*.

Mittags ist endlich ist auch wieder „kurze Hosen Zeit“. Wir besichtigen die Stadt „Mtskheta“ (450 müN) und „Svetitskhoveli, the main cathedral of Mtskheta“. Die Kathedrale ist sehr imposant. Am besten war aber die Eiscreme mit Rotweingeschmack, die ich vorher hatte. Sorry, aber bin nun mal ein unverbesserlicher Kirchen- und Museumsbanause. Die kolossalen Bauwerke von Kirchen und Moscheen beeindrucken mich durchaus. Aber der Kult, der darum gemacht wird ist mir ziemlich egal. Am Nachmittag besuchen wir das „Stalin Museum” in „Gori”. Das Museum ist aber eine Enttäuschung. Es erzählt absolut nichts über die Gräueltaten, die Stalin an seinem eigenen Volk begangen hat.

Wikipedia:
*Jvari Monastery (Georgian: ჯვრის მონასტერი) is a sixth century Georgian Orthodox monastery near Mtskheta, eastern Georgia. Along with other historic structures of Mtskheta, it is listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Jvari Monastery stands on the rocky mountaintop at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, overlooking the town of Mtskheta, which was formerly the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. According to traditional accounts, on this location in the early 4th century Saint Nino, a female evangelist credited with converting King Mirian III of Iberia to Christianity, erected a large wooden cross on the site of a pagan temple. The cross was reportedly able to work miracles and therefore drew pilgrims from all over the Caucasus. A small church was erected over the remnants of the wooden cross in c.545 named the "Small Church of Jvari". The present building, or „Great Church of Jvari“, is generally held to have been built between 590 and 605 by Erismtavari Stepanoz I. This is based on the Jvari inscriptions on its facade which mentions the principal builders of the church: Stephanos the patricius, Demetrius the hypatos, and Adarnase the hypatos. Professor Cyril Toumanoff disagrees with this view, identifying these individuals as Stepanoz II, Demetre (brother of Stepanoz I), and Adarnase II (son of Stepanoz II), respectively. The importance of Jvari complex increased over time and attracted many pilgrims. In the late Middle Ages, the complex was fortified by a stone wall and gate, remnants of which still survive. During the Soviet period, the church was preserved as a national monument, but access was rendered difficult by tight security at a nearby military base. After the independence of Georgia, the building was restored to active religious use. Jvari was listed together with other monuments of Mtskheta in 1994 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, over the centuries the structures suffered damage from rain and wind erosion and inadequate maintenance. Jvari was listed in the 2004 World Monuments Watch list by the World Monuments Fund.

*Mount Kazbek (Georgian: მყინვარწვერი, Mqinvartsveri; Ossetian: Сæна, Sæna; Chechen: Башлам, Bashlam; Russian: Казбек, Kazbek), is a dormant stratovolcano and one of the major mountains of the Caucasus located on the border of Georgia's Kazbegi District and Russia's Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. It is the third-highest peak in Georgia (after Mount Shkhara and Janga) and the seventh-highest summit in the Caucasus Mountains. Kazbek is also the second-highest volcanic summit in the Caucasus, after Mount Elbrus. The summit lies directly to the west of the town of Stepantsminda and is the most prominent geographic feature of the area. Mount Kazbek is the highest peak of Eastern Georgia. The name in Georgian, Mqinvartsveri, translates to „Glacier Peak“ or „Freezing Cold Peak“. The Vainakh name Bashlam translates as „Molten Mount“.

*Stalin's house, *Stalin Museum, *Stalin's railway carriage:
Enshrined within a Greco-Italianate pavilion is a small wooden hut, in which Stalin was born in 1878 and spent his first four years. The small hut has two rooms on the ground floor. Stalin's father Vissarion Jughashvili, a local shoemaker, rented the one room on the left hand side of the building and maintained a workshop in the basement. The landlord lived in the other room. The hut originally formed part of a line of similar dwellings, but the others have been demolished. To one side of the museum is Stalin's personal railway carriage. The green Pullman carriage, which is armour plated and weighs 83 tons, was used by Stalin from 1941 onwards, including his attendances at the Yalta Conference and the Tehran Conference. It was sent to the museum on being recovered from the railway yards at Rostov-on-Don in 1985.

Editiert am 29.04.2019
Text von Wolfgang
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