Uplistsikhe & Gori

Uplistsikhe, literally the ‘lord’s fortress’ is a cave town – an ancient city built into the rocks, just outside of Gori around 90 minutes drive from Tbilisi.  The drive is quiet and I admire the mountain scenery, picking Sergo’s tour guide brain about all the best places to visit and things to see.  There is a long list of recommendations!  He rattles off names of towns, mountains and historic and scenic sites faster than I can work out how to spell them as he hands me his phone to check out photos of this city or that scenery as if to prove just how much more there is to see.

In between discussions of the best places to add to my ‘next time’ list I excitedly spot some snow on the ranges and this region of Shida Kartli, with views to the beginnings of the snowy mountains, as much as the Kakheti Region, with its vineyards and greenery, reminds me of home.  I make a mental note to bring my mum here one day.

As I spot the caves in the distance, I jump out of the car on a bridge straddling a rocky river bed and snap a few shots.  We arrive at the site and begin walking up the rocky hill as the rocks, shaped my men so many years ago, unfold around us.  There are clearly steps carved in the particularly steep areas and I marvel at the manpower it would have taken to achieve a city out of stone.

I spot signs for the ‘inner city’ and ‘main tower’, the ‘grand gate’ on my way up to the ‘Hall with Cassions’ and the ‘Round Barred Hall’.  This place is incredible and I try to use my imagination, placing people, furniture, cooking stations around the rooms as we walk through them.

Thought to be one of the oldest urban sights in the Caucasus, it reminds me a little of the Qal’at al Bahrain site, a similarly incredible example of early urban civilisation.  Uplistsikhe dates inhabitants back to as early as 3,000 BC, and although the first caves are believed to have been carved around the 10th century BC, most were cut during the time known as classical antiquity (8th century BC to 6th century AD).  This is the same era as the magnificent Parthenon in Greece and the Colosseum in Rome.

At the time, Uplistsikhe was a centre for pagan worship and many temples, including the three walled temple can be found here.  There is a large hall called Tamaris Darbazi and ritual pits and places for pagan sacrifices.  I can almost feel the fires burning.

There are also more functional buildings marked on the map – a bakery, an apotheke (pharmacy), a prison and something all good towns should have, a wine cellar.

Regarding the hall marked Caissone, it is a little unclear what it refers to and I wish I have the audio guide that seems to be referred to by numbered markers around the site.  I guess that it either refers the the large holes in the ground used to store water (caisson) or perhaps the decorations in the ceiling (although how this refers to a storage chest, I am not entirely sure).  The Round Barreled Hall most certainly refers to a hall with round, pipe like decorations carved into the ceiling, though nothing like the ornate carvings of the caissone.

Jut over the other side of the mountain is the old abandoned village of Uplistsikhe, the village, the ‘new’ village, now located on the other side of the river.  I dare not ask how ‘new’ the new village is.

Many of the cave rooms have connections, like doorways or deeper tunnel like connections.  In fact the exit to the site is through a large though secret tunnel that leads down to the river.  Hidden in the mountainside, it would have been more like a slide than a tunnel without the rickety step build for tourists.  Sergo remembers the tunnel from before the steps were built and it would have been used as a strategic exit mostly.  I sort of feel like I have been spat out on the river bank when we get to the bottom, the tour most suddenly over.

As we walk back to the car I realise that the 9am pick up was worth it as two or three bus loads of tourists have pulled up and are lined up at the ticket office where, an hour ago, there was no line.

This means we have time to check out Gori Fortress on the way back.  There is a slight detour on the way to the fortress as Sergo stops at a family run vineyard and cellar to say hello and show me around.  I wish I could stay for lunch.  Yesterday there was a group of 30 here enjoying a home cooked meal and lingering over some of the award winning wine that is produced right here on the site.

Sergo proudly points out that his cousin made all the wooden furniture, shelves and panelling.  It does look beautifully made and gives off a rather nice subtle fragrance that mixes with the earthy tones of the wine and the cellar itself.

There is work being done to extend the cellar and storage and I am taken around the back of the house to check out the grape vines.  We depart with some freshly picked raspberries (just like mum’s!) straight off the vine and the most delicious sun warmed cherries that I have ever tasted.  I note the name for next time.

Back to tourist business and we find Gori Fortress and climb to the top.  The site, unlike a lot of others, has not been restored but the crumbling remains of layers of walls speaks volumes in terms of its defensive nature.  I climb some of the ruins and peer over the edge.

After a little walk around we’re done and in any case, it’s time to go.  There’s not enough time to stop for lunch so I am introduced to phichini, a Georgian (or in this case Gori) takeaway delight.

It’s a bit like a thin bread encrusted meat pie but the meat is more dry and fragrantly spiced and not gooey or gravy soaked like the Aussie ones.  It’s certainly filling and washed down with cold water from the fountain across the street it certainly hits the spot.  My dessert is a crispy pastry delight and deliciously sweet but a bit too heavy for post phichini so I put the rest away for later.

There’s a very quick stop at Stalin’s birthplace for a few photos of the house he spent his first years in (0-4yrs) before it’s time to head off.  As the airport is on the far side of Tbilisi we need to allow a couple of hours to get back, plus a bit of buffer time for traffic.

I bid Sergo a final madloba at the airport, glad for the built in buffer.  The traffic through town was busy and leaving it any later could have been a gamble.  Sergo certainly knows his way around and the ebbs and flows of the city.  As it turns out I have enough time after checking in to do a little work before my flight.  I do sneak in one last new experience before boarding the plane – a little taste of chacha, drinking any more than the taste I have, I decide, is better saved for a more suitable occasion than the airport.

With this in mind I fly out of Georgia with some incredible memories, almost looking forward to a day at work tomorrow in order to rest.  Almost.

Good To Know

Sergo will tailor your day trip to suit you.  After incredible tours to the Kakheti Region and Mtskheta, I knew this was a must see for me.

Do check ahead for expected opening times to avoid disappointment and allow extra time for traffic and other delays if you have a deadline to be back in Tbilisi.

Contact Sergo Tabatadze for more details (and please mention that you have been referred by Dukes Global Adventures).

Would I Return?

Yes.  Gori is most famous for the Stalin museum which I ran out of time to explore.  There are many more interesting and beautiful sights around Georgia to explore – top of my list for next time is the Martvili Canyon.