Mtskheta

Mtskheta is the spiritual capital of Tbilisi. Christianity was declared the state religion of Georgia here in 337. The town served as the capital of the ancient Georgian Kingdom of Iberia, and at times served as the capital of Eastern Georgia when Tbilisi was under threat. The town now serves as the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox Church, and the town itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, or the Living Pillar Cathedral, was built in the 11th century, and is still the second biggest church in Georgia. Christ's mantle is supposedly buried here.

We saw a baptism and a wedding while we were in the cathedral.

I'm not sure why there is a zodiac in the church.

There is a miniature version of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in the cathedral.

Jvari Monastery, or Monastery of the Cross, was built in the 6th century.

The view of Mtskheta from Jvari Monastery was something to behold.

Now here's a door I wouldn't want to open.

Tbilisi Tangent Time: What were the citizens of Tbilisi protesting on March 9, 1956? Georgians idolized Stalin, and they were horrified when Khrushchev denounced Stalin and began de-Stalinization. This plaque commemorates the violent dispersal of a peaceful pro-Stalin rally. Wrap your head around the ethics of that.

Armenian Wedding

My host family's relative got married a few weeks ago, so Sarah and I got to see part of the two days worth of ceremony.

The first day the elders share a drink and agree to the marriage. Then the couple shares a drink and receives gifts of gold.

There is then a feast to celebrate the unification of the two families. This was the first course.

The waiters danced with meat on skewers before serving them.

This traditional Armenian dance involves putting your arms in the air and swaying back and forth. This is a good option if you don't know any of the more complicated Armenian dances, or you are plastered.

The couple's throne

The second day began in my host family's house. The families of the bride and groom must buy their new in-law all of their clothes for the day, so the groom's family brought the bride's dress to our house.

Food and drinks were once again shared by the elders.

The groom's family danced outside before my least favorite wedding tradition: driving the family's cars through town honking and making as much noise as possible. The wedding ceremony and legal proceedings took the entire day.

A couple days later we had a lot of alcohol left over, so we played a traditional Russian drinking game. First, you drink a lot. Then you play a group version of Go Fish; the last person with cards gets a charcoal mark on his face.

There were no survivors.

Ishak Pasha Palace

Ishak Pasha Palace

Ishak Pasha Palace is 6 km outside of Dogubeyazit, a Kurdish city 35 km from the Iranian border with spectacular views of Mount Ararat. We had to travel from Kars to Igdir to find a bus to Dogubeyazit. All the shops in town were closed the last day we were there to honor the three PKK leaders killed in France. This is the view from our hotel room (yes, that's Mount Ararat in the background).

Dogubeyazit was located on the mountain next to Ishak Pasha Palace until the 20th century when it moved into the adjacent valley. All that's left of the old town now is crumbling buildings, a fort, and a couple mosques.

Ishak Pasha Palace was built from 1685-1784 by the Kurdish rulers of the Ottoman Beyazit province.

Milk wouldn't have been my first choice.

Assassin's Creed leap of faith?

Palace Mosque

Come play with us.

Ani

The gates of Ani, the City of 1001 Churches. Ani was founded in the 5th century by the Armenian Kamsarakan Dynasty. Ani served as the capital of the Armenian Bagratuni Kingdom from 961 to 1045. At its peak, Ani housed a population of 100,000-200,000 people, a little smaller than Constantinople at the time. After it was captured by the Byzantines, it was subsequently ruled by the Seljuk Turks, Shaddadid Kurds, Georgians, Zakarid Armenians, Mongols, Kara Koyunlu Turks, Tamerlane's Timurid Dynasty, Persian Safavids, Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, and finally, the Republic of Turkey. The city's strategic location between empires made it a wealthy hub of trade, but ultimately led to more bloodshed than good.

Ani is a 45 minute drive from Kars and is located on the border of Armenia and Turkey. We saw Mount Ararat along the way.

Ani was hard to traverse in deep snow.

The Turkish-Armenian border

The border gorge around Ani contained many cave dwellings.

The Church of the Redeemer was built in 1035 to house a fragment of the True Cross.

The Church of St. Gregory was built in 1215. During this time Armenia, including Ani, was a fief of the Kingdom of Georgia known as Zakarid Armenia. A wealthy Armenian merchant named Tigran Honents funded the church's construction.

Frescoes still survive on the outside and inside of the church.

Ani Cathedral was built in 1001 by Trdat, the greatest architect of the Bagratuni kings of Armenia.

Minuchihr Mosque, built in the 11th century, was the first mosque built in Turkey by the Seljuk Turks. The Kurdish Shaddadids helped the Seljuks conquer the Caucasus, and were made rulers of a vassal state that included Ani and Tbilisi. The Mosque was named after Minuchihr, the first ruler of the Shaddadid Dynasty.

The mosque has the most beautiful view in all of Ani; unfortunately, I couldn't capture it.

Ani Fortress

The Church of St. Gregory of the Abughamrents was built in the 10th century and served as a private chapel for the Pahlavuni Armenian noble family.

King Gagik's Church of St. Gregory was built in the 11th century and was modeled after Zvartnots Cathedral

Zoroastrian Fire Temple

Lion Gate

Quite the trek.