The Thursday after I started at the
organization, it had a birthday. To celebrate, the whole office closed, we
piled on a marshutka, and we drove a few hours north into the mountains to a
place called Kazbegi. Kazbegi is the home to Mount Kazbeg and a mountaintop
monastery named Gergeti. Every time I researched Georgia, I saw pictures of
this place. It’s world famous and for good reason. It was quite a hike to get
there, but when I got there, I was breathless for a different reason.
My words can’t do justice to how beautiful
this place is. We were so high in the mountains that we were literally in the
clouds. We could see them below and as the wind passed, it would obscure the
church for a minute or two. The church was built right at the peak of a
mountain among the mountains. I was blown away (not literally, even though it
was windy), and I never wanted to leave. This place made its way into heart and
my list of most beautiful places I’ve ever been (on that list includes Guilin,
China and Havasupai, Arizona.) Since my words fail me, I took lots of pictures.
Look at them instead.
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| 360 Degree Pano |
Afterwards, in proper Georgian tradition,
we feasted. There was mtsvadi (Georgian barbequed meat), khinkali, salads,
watermelon, and even s’mores! No Georgian supra is complete without toasts and
laughter. We even danced. This was a wonderful way to get to know my coworkers
better and experience the incredible beauty of the Caucuses.
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