22 to 25 May – Signaghi to Zemo Khodasheni (Georgia), Sheki and Gobustan (Azerbaijan)

On a wet morning we left Signaghi for Gremi and the Church of Archangel (1565) which was changed to a royal palace in 1639 as a seat for the Georgian kings. I was surprised to learn that this was a Christian country at the time. Gremi was a crossroads on the Silk Road between Persia and Europe and was known at the time as the country of Kakheti, now Azerbaijan. During renovation and repair of the castle Stone and Bronze Age artefacts were found on the site. While there one of the Georgian wardens said that I looked like Earnest Hemmingway.

Gremi Church

Gremi Church

Frescoes

King Giorgi 1

Queen Kelevan, tortured to death for her faith

Chain mail

Life on the truck is never boring! When we arrived at the camp site the truck became stuck on the wet grass so help was needed to get it to move, including marsden mating under the wheels.



After putting up the tents we went to a local winery for wine tasting and then a meal in the owner’s (Mr. Petriashvili) house. The food was home cooked by the owners mother who was 79 that day. Without doubt this was the best meal we have had this trip, agreed by all. Wine flowed during the meal and I must admit I drunk my share of a very good red wine. The owner, had an antelope horn from which some of us drunk. When we did eventually leave to find our tents it was raining hard, very dark and we had problems finding the field let alone the tents. I had visions of us spending the night under a very wet hedge but Suzanne saved the night and found the field though some did have problems finding their tents as well. A good night was had by all. Tom did try to get Suzanne married off to Mr. Petriashvili thinking that he could then have free wine for life. Suzanne was reluctant to stay there (tempted maybe!)

Wine jars of 1300 to 1900 litres in the ground ready to be filled

The group

Mine host showing how it should be done

Having a try

  The following morning we visited the Temi Charitable Community Special Needs School. This was set up by a Swiss lady to help orphans and special needs adults, people who the community did not want or who had some form of disablement and no means of looking after themselves. One of our leaders, Helen, had a serious accident in Georgia a year ago. People from this school were at the hospital in Tbilisi looking after a boy who was in the same hospital and when they heard about the foreigner who was ill they immediately arranged for a young woman who spoke English to stay with Helen in the hospital and translate for her. They would not take no for an answer!  It was because of this that Odyssey Overland has come involved with the school and why we visited. We had a good look round the school which had workshops and a small winery (to be extended as they are in the wine growing region of Georgia) with the object of some day be as self sufficient as possible. They build as much of the buildings themselves and produce wooded items for sale to the local people or make to order. There are over 70 adults and children in the school and one family where all the family require special needs of some sort. Some people deserve all the help they can get and this is one such place.

Part of the school

Wine jars in the ground

Showing the size of the jars

The new winery building

The discussion later on over a small meal

Two bikes being given to the school

From here we went to the Ladodekhi Nature reserve for the nights camping, only to have the truck stuck on the way in. Brute force helped again!

Push my hearties

Camping in the forest, and no rain that night.

Looking towards the mountains

During the night two dogs were running round the tents (so I was told as I go to bed to sleep and not listen to dogs playing) waking people. Suzanne, (oh why is it always Suzanne!) needed to get up for the toilet then started to think there may be bears and wolves outside her tent so, to be polite, waited for daylight before leaving her tent. Before we left in the morning the rear of the truck was filled with wood scavenged from the forest as we would not be able to obtain wood in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan as they are mainly desert.

Shock, horror, we had to be up at 6.30am ( normal time is about 8am) to be at the Georgia/Azerbaijan border for 9am, giving enough time for problems crossing the border only to clear both borders in 90 minutes. We were told that all bags will have to be removed from the truck only to be told later it was not necessary and to have a good time in Azerbaijan.

Georgian sense of humour!

 The road was not very good to say the least but the buildings looked modern, big supermarkets and plenty of electronic shops, all prosperous and in what looked to be a green country. Onto Sheki and the Karavansaray Hotel where a quick shower and clothes put to soak before going to see the Khan’s Summer Palace, now a museum. No photos were allowed to be taken inside, such a pity, as the 18th century frescoes were beautiful, the whole building was really something to see. Sheki was famous as a silk centre and an important stop on the Silk Road. During the Russian occupation there was a factory employing 7000 people here. Silk production continues in small private workshops. Agriculture is more important now with grapes, tobacco, grain, nuts being grown with cattle supplying milk.

The hotel

Reception area

Visitors in the coffee shop

My room

The hotel courtyard

Local craft knitting stalls

On the 25th, a Sunday, I went early into the hotel courtyard to access the internet as this was the only place in the hotel where it was available. I and 11 others had the same idea! Leaving the hotel at 9am the scenery changed to flat dry ground with low hills behind.

Local scenery

A town in passing

Local scenery

We camped for the night in Gobustan (Qobustan) an area of active mud volcanoes. Azerbaijan has the most mud volcanoes of any other country. They are caused by pockets of gas forcing it's way to the surface, sometimes igniting and causing explosions. They indicate the presence of oil and the mud produced is used in chemical, construction and pharmacology.

Wait for us, it's hot, dry and the hill is steep.

My tent with a volcano behind

Mud volcanoes 

A baby mud volcano

The red hot running chef preparing the delicious evening meal

At about 10pm it started to rain so Rogan had to move the truck down the hill shown in the first photo of this section in-case the road became so slippery that the truck could not be driven down the hill in the morning. It stopped raining soon after.