Mtskheta, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Gori, Georgia (September 2019)

Today, we traveled to the west from the base of Tbilisi. It was gloomy and later rained.

Mtskheta was our first stop of the day. Inhabited since before 1,000 BC, Mtskheta was once the capital of the early Kingdom of Iberia (Eastern Georgia today). We drove up to Jvari Monastery, a Georgian Orthodox monastery built on a hill. Shortly after the adoption of Christianity, an enormous wooden cross was erected on this site, named the Holy Cross. In the second half of the 6th Century, a small church was built with the Holy Cross now inside the church. The church complex has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994

When we visited the church, the holy communion was being carried out.

This is the Holy Cross.

Georgian Orthodox Church has its bell tower separately from the church building. This place has a few bells even outside the bell tower.

Two rivers merge at this point.

Next up was a visit to Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. It started raining heavily when we arrived there. This Christian center dates back to the 6th Century and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. This place is so revered by Georgian Christians that it is called the second Jerusalem. We saw Georgian architecture and the tombs of Tbilisi's founder located inside the cathedral.

Gori
After Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, we continued our journey further to the west to the town of Gori in Inner Kartli province. This Georgian town is famous for being the birthplace of Joseph Stalin. We saw his life at the Stalin Museum. 

With Lenin, his mentor

Stalin was mentored by Lenin and spent a good amount of time with him until Lenin passed away. 

He played a significant role with the world leaders during the World War II. Pictured were Winston Churchill and D.W. Eisenhower.

But, he was no exception to the human destiny of death.

Gori residents are mostly proud of Stalin who ruled the Soviet Union for decades as a dictator. At least, they benefit from selling many products that picture him.

In the vicinity of Gori, there must be several places of interest. I did not have a chance to visit them, but they looked quite attractive.

While we were traveling, we were briefly explained about the lost territory of Georgia in the aftermath of the 2009 conflict with Russia. The following map shows the lost territory indicated in red.

The following day, we traveled to the south to cross the border. At the border control, the sign of Georgia was saying farewell to us wishing us to return soon.

We will see. Lord willing. - Jeffrey