Georgia & Caucasus

Near Gutauri is the Georgia - Russia friendship monument, erected in 1983 along the Georgia Military Highway to commerorate peace between then Soviet Russia and Soviet Georgia.

An old soviet monument on a hill in Tbilisi converted to a climbing wall.

Located at https://goo.gl/maps/wdu2jdogwVPtYyF79

Worshippers at sunday prayer beneath a single ray of light piercing the dome of the beautiful, thousand-year old Nikortsminda Cathedral in lower Racha, Georgia. The colourful frescoes inside date to the 17th century.

I spent a few days in 2020 seeing some amazing sights in Georgia with Karavanly (www.karavanly.com), a hop on/hop off travel company who took us to some outstanding experiences, many of which were truly off the beaten track.

the unfinished, stunning Capsian Waterfoot Shopping Mall in Baku, Azerbaijan is an exception. It's modelled after the emblem of Azerbaijan, and looks like a space-age version of Sydney Opera House.

Tskaltubo, an semi-abandoned sanitorium town in Georgia now populated by IDP’s, is also a very popular photo destination for Georgian newlyweds.

I spent a few days in 2020 seeing some amazing sights in Georgia with Karavanly (www.karavanly.com), a hop on/hop off travel company who took us to some outstanding experiences, many of which were truly off the beaten track.

An elderly ice cream seller, Guria, Georgia. He announces his presence as he walks through the village with the honk of a horn - slightly different from the loudspeaker jingle I ran after as a kid.

I spent a few days in 2020 seeing some amazing sights in Georgia with Karavanly (www.karavanly.com), a hop on/hop off travel company who took us to some outstanding experiences, many of which were truly off the beaten track.

June 20th marked the one year anniversary of a violent police crackdown of an anti-government protest demanding election reform.

One of a series of cars, particularly Ladas, still roaring around the Caucasus.

Vardzia by night is insanely beautiful.

Vardzia is a huge cave monastery complex in Southern Georgia dating to the twelfth century. Walking around and through the intricate and well-preserved caves and tunnels is a memorable experience. To give you a sense of scale, the complex is 19 stories (!) high.

I spent a few days in 2020 seeing some amazing sights in Georgia with Karavanly (www.karavanly.com), a hop on/hop off travel company who took us to some outstanding experiences, many of which were truly off the beaten track.

One of the smaller climbing walls in Chiatura, Georgia

Kazbegi in June has flowers blooming absolutely everywhere; it’s stunning.

Armenia in winter is hazy, beautiful and bleak. This is Hrazdan thermal power plant, a gas powered plant about 1 hour from Yerevan.

An exhibition by Reza Deghati outside the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. The photo in-frame is titled The Scream, and was taken during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the disputed Karabakh region.

January 7th is Georgian Orthodox Christian Christmas. The day is marked by the Alilo Procession, which winds through the city streets before ending at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.

Blessed are the cheesemakers.

Mzia is one of the last remaining tenili cheesemakers, from the remote village of Andriatsminda. The cheese is entirely hand made and is, frankly, incredible. If you ever get the chance to visit the village i wholeheartedly recommend it.

I spent a few days in 2020 seeing some amazing sights in Georgia with Karavanly (www.karavanly.com), a hop on/hop off travel company who took us to some outstanding experiences, many of which were truly off the beaten track.

Georgians in Tbilisi protesting police brutality, using Putin's face as markers for social distancing.

Inside the abandoned cable car station on Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia.

A Soviet monument completed in 1982 by Artur Tarkhanyan

Part of a set of photos taken during quarantine (with approriate social distancing), showcasing how people were dressing when social interactions were almost zero.

The Metekhi Church and statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali overlooking the Mtkvari River during blue hour.

This 40m limestone column holds the now-renovated ruins of an early medieval hermitage from the 9th or 10th Century. It is accessible only by a metal ladder

No longer used as a sanitorium, the building is now partially occupied by IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia.

Geghard Monastery, a UNESCO site first built on in the 4th century by Gregory the Illuminator, although this particular chapel was built in the 12th century. Surrounded by cliffs, the Monastery is partially built into them.

The interior of Geghard Monastery is very reminiscent of Balin’s Tomb in Moria from The Lord of the Rings.

About 10km from Gori, this is one of the oldest settlements in Georgia. It’s earliest physical structures date to around 1AD.

We asked two gentlemen what the building was; one answered a training hospital, one answered a seminary.

The view from the Chronicles of Georgia monument, looking towards Tbilisi national park.