Day 22 14 May Road trip from Azerbaijan into Georgia

Photo above - soviet era truck and building in Georgia.

Road to Georgia

Today we are continuing our drive west crossing over the border from Azerbaijan to Georgia, and from Asia to Europe. We set off at 9am, to find it is quite misty and cool. There was a big rainstorm last night.

The road to the border went through a lot of flat agricultural land. Crops grown in the country include cotton, wheat, barley, corn, grapes, pomegranate, walnuts, tea, and oranges.

We went through a succession of small towns, and at one we were randomly stopped by the police for about 10 minutes. They did a few checks with the driver, then we were allowed to continue after a small cash payment!. As we approached the border it became a bit more hilly and forested.

Border crossing

After two hours, we reached the border crossing at Mazimcay. We had to show our passport to get into the border area. Then walked up loads of steps in a long corridor with concrete wall, before getting to a room where our bags were scanned. Then we had to show our passports again and Azerbaijan visa, then another long corridor with high walls and lots of steps. Another passport check, then a walk over a bridge to the Georgian side. A final passport check and we were through.

First stop a few yards from passport control was a money exchange to change Azerbaijan currency into Georgian, then we were off.

Arrival in Georgia

Georgia has 3.5 million population. Twenty percent of the land area is not under effective control of the Georgian government, rather Russia has control. Most of the population are endemic Georgian, however there are also significant numbers of Azerbaijani, Armenians and Russians. Russian immigrants have tended to form their own enclaves, don't learn the language and don't send their children to Georgian schools. Georgia's flag is the second oldest flag in the world having originated in the 14th century. Only Denmark’s is older.

A large proportion of the country is covered with forest. The country is in the top 5 producers of Hazelnut. The main resource is water and hydro resources. There are 26,000 rivers in the country! Copper, gold and manganese are also significant resources.

We have entered the Kakheti region of Georgia which is famous for its wineries. The road runs along the foothills of the greater Caucasus on one side, and the massive River Alazani river valley on the other. Across the valley in the distance were the lesser Caucasus. As we continued through the valley we went through a large area with vineyards on either side. It is a very lush green area. We saw some strawberries being grown. We also saw a shepherd on horseback driving a huge flock of sheep down the road onto higher pastures for the summer.

Lunch at a local farm

For lunch today, we went to a local farm at Kvareli, where we had food provided by the farmer in her home. All the food was made with produce harvested from the host's garden, including amber wine, and cha cha, a 55% volume spirit, like grappa. As we were eating on the balcony of the family home, it started to rain.

Georgian orthodox churches

Back on the bus we drove about another 30 minutes west to Gremi fortress perched on a hill overlooking the valley. Built in the 16th century, it was once the centre of a thriving town, but after various attacks by persians it was abandoned.

Afterward, we drove on to the 11th-century Alaverdi cathedral, a Georgian orthodox church. There are about 10 monks based there. As we entered the church, there was some sort of reading going on, and ceremonial lighting of candles. There are a lot of frescoes on the walls but most are barely recognisable due to wear.

The roads have been good quality, and as we have passed through the towns, we have seen lots of buildings that look like soviet era buildings, most in bad need of repair. I have not seen so many Ladas today though. Lots of villages have thin pipes that run across the front of the property and then continue to the next property - these are gas pipe lines taking supply to each individual house.

We are staying tonight in the hills above the town of Telavi (pop 20,000). Tomorrow we have a look around the town then we drive to the capital Tbilisi.