Lasīt tālāk
08.Jun
TWENTIETH DAY. THE FASCINATING BERTA MONASTERY.
06 Jun
- 2015 -
Author
Andis Pikāns
The day before yesterday we rolled into a village called Saboe, it’s located 7 km from Akhmeta. It’s hard to find a place to spend the night around here, so the house on the banks of Ilto, where a Chechen woman called Iza is kind enough to offer a place to stay, is worth mentioning. 20 lari for a bed, 40 lari if you choose to also have a tasty dinner and breakfast and 50 lari if you also want wine with your dinner. A lot of wine. 1 eur-2,50 lari.
The view from the terrace to the river is amazing. Our motorcycles are put away safely in a lockable backyard. The hostess is kind and caring. This is a place to recommend- Iza 0995 599967179.
Iza works at the KRDF organization which was founded with the support of EU. The organization helps Chechen refugees living in the Pankisi valley integrate in the Georgian society.
The Pankisi valley has been populated for a long time by the Kistins, whose ethnical homeland is Chechnya. During the war between Russia and Chechnya (1995.-1999.), Georgia accepted 12000 refugees and most of them were taken to the Pankisi valley. Russia frequently showed their unhappiness with the situation, saying that there were many terrorists- Wahhabit radicals between the refugees. This probably wasn’t without a cause, because in 2002., the U.S. sent 200 specially trained soldiers for eliminating terrorism to Pankisi, because the it was completely controlled by mafia and terrorists and the government had no say in this region. The leader of ISIS in Syria, Abu Omar Al-Shishani, was born in Pankisi. He was once a sergeant in the Georgian army.
The main house of the organization is a 30 minute ride away from Izas home. When we enter Duisi village, it is obvious that we have entered Muslim environment. The women are dressed differently and some are wearing a hijab.
The men are bearded so we don’t look too alien with our own beards. The coordinator of the organization, Nana Baghakashvilli, greets us kindly and tells us about the mission of KRDF in Pankisi.
At the Alaverdi monastery not far from Akhmeta, giant sized hail surprises us. Georgians are also surprised. We try to arrange permission to film in the monastery, but father Josif kindly refuses. There is a certain system around here.
We are in the Kakheti region, where the vines that grow in the valleys of Alazani and Lori produce 70% of the country’s wine and brandy. Not far from the wine road that can be found in the map, a winery called Twins Marani is located. They also have a hotel and a museum. The attitude towards guests is very commercial – you can enjoy the mainstreamness of the tourism industry here.
