Ninotsminda Cathedral, Sagarejo - as our pilgrimage draws to an end

Ninotsminda

Someone sitting behind me on the coach groans - oh no not another church today! We are on the last full day of our pilgrimage to Holy Caucasian Georgia and we have just had a fantastic trip to the David Garedzha monastery complex in the desert close to the Azerbaijan border. It's fair to say we are all exhausted. It has been very hot and those of us who took the strenuous climb up to the higher Udabno (desert) monastery are truly whacked! We have seen amazing frescoes and a glimpse into the lives of the many monks who once lived and worshiped in this incredible setting. We have marveled at the dedication of the few monks who still occupy the Davitis Lavra monastery, founded by St David, one of the Holy Syrian Fathers, in the 6th century.

poppies in pretty gardens at Ninotsminda

We fondly believe that we are now heading back to Tbilisi and our final night before heading for home tomorrow. So imagine our dismay to be told that there is another sight on the itinerary for today before we can have that welcome shower and drink at the hotel!
I guess it is the relative familiarity of a return journey that always makes it feel shorter than the outward trip. It therefore seems but a short time before we arrive back in Sagarejo, and somewhat rested after the coach journey, we do somehow find the energy and enthusiasm to explore Ninotsminda Cathedral, (not to be confused with the Bodbe convent also sometimes known as Ninotsminda near Signaghi).

within the chapel at Ninotsminda

This is now ruined as a result of earthquakes in 1824 and 1848, but it is very impressive for all that. It was built in AD 575 but there was a church used here for Christian worship from the 5th century. It is an interesting building because it is built in the cruciform style, predating the Jvari Church in Mtskheta which we visited earlier in our week.

There are the remains in the eastern apse of a fresco of the Virgin and Child, vandalized with bullet holes by bandits in the 18th and 19th century. The defensive walls were built around the cathedral in the 16th and 17th centuries and are well preserved.
There is further detailed information online at eurasia travel for example.

Mid 16th century Bell Tower Ninotsminda

Just 3 or 4 nuns now live here, and they are the friendliest nuns we have met on the whole pilgrimage! They maintain beautiful gardens which enhance the ruin, and we are told that it is possible to take a retreat here, at the nuns' discretion. A small chapel is built into the walls and there is a service in progress as we arrive. The chapel is quite busy, and even very young children stand quietly with their parents, aunts, friends; the girls wearing neat little headscarves like the adult women. There is an equally friendly monk welcoming everyone who enters, and the whole atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful (As I stand their alongside these families I wonder to myself why in the UK do we think we need special "all-age" services which often fail to please either the young or the old?)
Many of us take advantage of this opportunity for some Orthodox liturgy and spirituality, standing quietly and discretely at the back, and we soon find we have been given far too little time there before we have to hurry back to the coach for the final stretch of the journey back to Tbilisi. We agree that we are so glad with hindsight that we paused for a while here.

the Ministry of Internal Affairs building

posters in Tbilisi for 15 June local elections

It is now clouded over and considerably cooler - and as we journey on towards Tbilisi the sun becomes murky in the sky and the atmosphere becomes sultry and humid. It feels like a storm may be brewing. The main road here is attractively undulating and scenic, with smallholdings dotted along the route. We cross the river Iori again (further back we saw people paddling in this same river). There are small calves tethered in the fields - presumably destined for the veal market. At least their short life is a happy one, grazing the lush pastures. Further over in the middle distance I had already spied long low sheds and feared that these may be for intensive pig farming, as pork is very much on the Georgian menu and I had seen no pigs at all outside in the fields during the whole week. Several little streams flow down through these meadows from the mountain range to our north, and beautiful yellow broom once more covers the roadside slope. But still, sadly, there is always that unsightly litter. Soon we enter Tbilisi, past the all-glass building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We are told that normally at this time of day, between 6 and 7pm, there would be bad traffic jams, but today, Saturday, many families go out of town or stay at home for rest and relaxation. It is election day tomorrow, June 15th, in Tbilisi, and there are posters everywhere!

the Virgin and Child Fresco in the apse
Ninotsminda

We all enjoy a group supper at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel and our final packing! This for many of us has been the highlight day of the pilgrimage, but our tour is not quite at an end. Tomorrow we will celebrate a final Eucharist all together in the hotel…

The Davit-Gareja Monasteries - the highlight of our pilgrimage to Georgia

the entrance to Davitis Lavra

This visit to the David Gareja complex of monasteries is for me the highlight of our pilgrimage, organised by McCabe Pilgrimages and led by Southwark Diocese.

dramatic monks' cells in the rock face!

Bronze Age tombs and pottery found in this area show that it was populated at least 4 millennia ago. In the 1st millennium BC iron smelting led to the eventual deforestation of the area and its gradual desertification. When we are there in May the area is transformed by the bursting into bloom of the many wild flowers which are simply wonderful, and often covered with clouds of beautiful butterflies. We are warned to watch out for the poisonous vipers, on the walk to the top caves and within the caves themselves, but fortunately we see none. The heat is intense and bottles of water are an essential part of the kit. But we are rewarded for our strenuous climb by the most stunning views and some very beautiful frescoes in the various cave churches and other cave chambers at the top.

inside the Church of Transfiguration at Lavra

The Lonely Planet website has a very good description of the two main sites which we visited, the lower Davitis Lavra monastery, founded by one of the Syrian Fathers, St David, in the 6th century, and the Udabno or Desert Monastery constructed between the 8th and 10th centuries, to which we climbed. As with much that we have seen in Georgia, these monasteries have had a turbulent history, their worst moment being when the Persian Shah Abbas' soldiers killed 6000 monks and destroyed the artistic treasures, which they had amassed in their role as an important center for the development and teaching of the techniques of fresco painting.

the lower courtyard, looking up to
church of St Nicholas

In the Lavra Monastery we visit the Church of the Transfiguration or Rock Church, where David and Lukian are buried. In the lower court here there is a spring of water known as the Tears of David.

looking down on the Lavra monastery 

gazing out at the top towards Azerbaijan

Tragically this whole area was used as a Soviet artillery training range in the late 20th century, and the monasteries often became the direct targets for their firing, sustaining bad damage. The practice ceased after the end of the Soviet war with Afghanistan in 1989, and after nationalist protests, but ironically the Georgians themselves used the area for similar training in the late 1990's until this was stopped after protests from civilians in Tbilisi.
This is now one of Georgia's most popular tourist and pilgrim sites and we are told that there will be many Russian, Ukrainian and local tourists here. There are certainly many people, and the car park is soon full of dozens of coaches and minibuses. But the climb to the top gets us away from the crowds!!

the monastery is now a long way below us!!

note the deer - reflecting how close the
monks were to nature

butterflies on bush

fresco within cave church at Udabno (Desert)
monastery - note icons left by visitors/pilgrims

more beautiful cave frescoes

beautiful cactus

the trek up with Azerbaijan below us

the Last Supper fresco in the refectory in the Ubadno
monastery complex

note the indented individual places for
each monk in the refectory 

We meet and chat with a young German couple right at the top of the climb to the cave churches, looking out over towards Azerbaijan, under the half hearted gaze of a Georgian border soldier and his dog. The couple share my horror at the quantity of unsightly and polluting litter everywhere. In Germany, they tell me, there is a 25c deposit on bottles, which helps to prevent a litter problem. When life is harsh and involves a struggle for survival from day to day, then it is easy to see why litter is of no consequence to most people. But with the arrival of independence, peace and relative prosperity perhaps this wonderful country with its hospitable citizens will wake up to the importance of keeping its beautiful countryside and its towns and villages free from the ravages of litter pollution. Many tourists from overseas will come to expect this and may well be deterred unless there is a clean up. I was pleased to observe a few small indications that some citizens care about their environment - elderly women sweeping the pavements in front of their own houses, an old man picking up litter in a lay-by, for example. May this continue and develop into a wider civic pride so that Georgia may capitalize on its natural beauty and its many cultural treasures.