Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Kumistavi & Okatse

  1. Rezo Gabriadze, founder of the Puppet Theatre, returned to his native Kutaisi thanks to the efforts of Indian muralist Afzan Pirzade.
  2. The 11th-century Bagrati Cathedral. Blown up by the Turks in 1691, shelled by the Russians in 1770, finished off by Saakashvili despite UNESCO.
  3. The cathedral stands on a high hill overlooking Kutaisi and the Caucasian Range.
  4. The ruins of the 6th-century Ukimerioni fortress on the same hill. The lower part of the flanking tower is fairly well preserved.
  5. A mural on Rustaveli Avenue commemorates 26-year-old Tamaz Nikitin, killed in the 2008 war. His son Saba recently turned 17.
  6. They’ve been threatening to restore the abandoned Soviet sanatorium “Savane” in Tskaltubo for several years now, but luckily, they haven’t yet.
  7. To my shame, I’ve never even heard of it, although I adore such places; the incomparable Davit himself suggested we stop by.
  8. A room with a view.
  9. Bright future.
  10. Continuing my fascinating route. An unearthly dragonfly (with a butterfly’s proboscis, for some reason) is on duty at the cave’s ticket counter.
  11. The Kumistavi Cave was discovered only in 1983, and arranged for visitors thirty years later.
  12. The name “Prometheus Cave” appeared thanks to the efforts of Saakashvili, a great expert in international marketing.
  13. A more natural reference would have been to the cave story of the ancient Georgian epic hero Amirani, but Greek characters sell better.
  14. And god (any, to your taste) sees everything!
  15. Kumistavi is the largest cave in Georgia. Visitors can only see a relatively short section (1 km out of 11), but it’s still impressive.
  16. I’d also note the calm, soft lighting enhancing the natural beauty of the minerals. Yup, Sataplia, that was possible.
  17. The next stop is Okatse Canyon, with a narrow metal suspended road over a life-long green abyss.
  18. Natural bridge.
  19. Okatse Canyon is about 50 meters deep, with Okatse River flowing along its bottom.
  20. Blue expense.
  21. An unnatural bridge for those who survived the suspended road.
  22. Below, it looks like this.
  23. Restroom by the exit.
  24. View of Okatse from another bridge, lower down.
  25. Caucasus hellebore is damn poisonous, but beautiful.
  26. The late Soviet memorial has been rededicated to თამთა, possibly to the young Kutaisian Tamta Liparteliani who died in the Utøya mass shooting.
  27. Monplaisir in Kutaisi: a mascot heroine by French artist Vinie, and Mother Language Day by Georgian ones Musya Qeburia and TamOonz.
  28. Another work by Musya Qeburia is for World Vision, an organisation that helps homeless children (with air-cons, for example).
  29. A charming cable car over the Rioni River. It was built in 1961 and seems to have not changed since.
  30. Lampreduzo-meduzo! Sculptor Temur Pkhakadze recreated the Picasso boy from Rezo Gabriadze’s film “Extraordinary Exhibition”.