In the morning Sophie, our guide, was supposed to take us by cable-car to the castle and then walk down the hill into Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. The cable-car was not working this morning so we walked up the hill instead. Narikala Castle has existed from the 4th Century in various forms and.has St. Stephens church within the castle walls.
In the afternoon a group of us went to the sulphur baths. I were scrubbed with a pan scrubber; washed with the pan scrubber and what smelt like washing up liquid; flushed clean with buckets of hot water; stood under and sat in pools of water hotter than normal bath water then straight into freezing water, submitted to a time in a very hot sauna; and when finished needed hours to get over everything and still stunk of sulphur. I did feel clean though!
I went to post some postcards (11 in all) for myself and others off the truck in a little shop near the sulphur baths. For whatever reason the lady there would not let me stick the stamps on the cards. She worked out the placing of each stamp before wetting it and sticking it down with a huge thump of her fist. I was even given a chair to sit on while I waited, nearly 15 minutes to do all this. Men obviously cannot be trusted to stick stamps on anything in this country! One of our lot, to be nameless, bought up the complete stock of Mars bars in a big supermarket. He had so many that he needed help in carrying them to the truck, didn't you I...! We learnt today that a 72 year old man has been made to leave a similar trip to this run by Dragoman, a similar overland company. Apparently he was not able to keep up with the others when walking or doing things around the camp sites. I now have to put up with the banter from the others about my age. It does give them something else to have a go at besides my being Welsh.
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| Looking up at the castle |
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| The same view at night |
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| St. Stephens Church |
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| Inside the church |
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| Inside the church |
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| Inside the church |
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| The bread and the wine pots |
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| Tbilisi from the castle |
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| Inside Bethlehem Chrch |
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| Inside Bethlehem Chrch |
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| An old door |
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| A wave |
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| Old Tbilisi |
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| Marionette Theatre Clock |
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| Artwork on the clock |
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| Midday movements |
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| Midday movements |
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| The tops of the sulphur baths |
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| Inside the sulphur baths |
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| Inside the sulphur baths |
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| Nearby river |
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| Mosque |
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| Old Tbilisi |
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| Waterfall |
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| New Tbilisi |
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| New Tbilisi |
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| Freedom Square |
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| Flats built on the top of the old city wall |
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| The old Parliament House |
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| Tbilisi at night |
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