Tag: Georgia
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Tskhinval, South Ossetia
The breakaway “Republic of South Ossetia” was a major focus of the 2008 Georgian-Russian war. The border with the rest of Georgia is closed to foreigners, but it’s possible to visit from Russia. You need advance permission from the South Ossetian authorities. They don’t issue a visa or even provide an authorization letter, but instead…
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Abkhazia and Sukhumi
Before I arrived in Georgia, I had applied to the Abkhazian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sukhumi for a visa to visit Abkhazia. After a little toing-and-froing I was assured that my visa would be waiting in Sukhumi and my name would be on the “approved list” at the incoming border checkpoint. I took a…
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Gori's Stalin Museum (Revisited)
Despite the 2008 war, neither Gori nor its famous Stalin Museum seem to have changed much since my previous visit in 2007. The tall statue of Stalin still dominates the town square. The Stalin Museum still provides a positive narrative of Stalin’s life with a focus on the great Soviet WWII victory, and no mention…
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Tbilisi Ateshgah (Restored)
The Tbilisi Ateshgah (aka Atashgah or Fire Temple) was under restoration when I visited it in 2007. That work is now complete and, mercifully, the restorers have been gentle. The old brickwork has been cleaned, and in a few places discreetly repaired, but has largely been left “as is”, without any gross tampering. A perspex…
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Batumi's Stalin Museum
The Stalin Museum in Batumi is much more modest than the imposing Gori Stalin Museum. It comprises three mid-sized rooms, in a former worker’s hostel which housed the young Stalin when he was organizing workers in Batumi. However, the Batumi museum provides a much more personal and enthusiastic touch than in Gori. Your 3 Lari…
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Tbilisi's Atashgah (Fire Temple)
On my third try, after much searching, I finally found Tbilisi’s Atashgah, or Fire Temple. The two Lonely Planet maps show slightly different locations for the Atashgah, both of which are close but slightly too far East. You can’t access the Atashgah from the path to the Narikala fortress; rather you must come to it…