Georgia's position at the crossroads of the eastern and western worlds put her into contact with the countries of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, the Hellenist and Roman empires, Iran, Turkey, Russia and Europe. Georgian culture is a synthesis of these varied influences, and is thus a unique expression of the many worlds around her. The color and richness special to Georgian art are expressed in soaring architectural monuments and splendid wall paintings that inspired poetry, polyphonic songs and elegant dancing.
Along with the abundance of national art, Georgia is also home for many different ethnic groups, with dialects and traditions all their own. To explore Georgia is to explore a world within a world, bordered by mountains of majesty and flowering with distinctive character and legendary hospitality.
Land of the Golden Fleece
In the 6th century BC, the tribes of western Georgia formed the Kingdom of Colchis, lying along the east coast of the Black Sea. Colchis is the land where the epic legend of the Argonauts was acted out. The legend tells of the courageous Hellenes led by Jason, who crossed the Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorous and reached the shores of Colchis. Here the powerful King Aeetes reigned, and the Golden Fleece was kept. Ancient Colchis held the secrets for obtaining gold; discovering these secrets and acquiring the Golden Fleece was the Argonauts' quest.
In this tour we shall explore the lands of this ancient legend. We will visit the provinces of Georgia connected with the adventure of the Argonauts, including Svaneti where dwell the Svan ethnic group, cut off from the outside world by high and inaccessible mountains. Their medieval watch-towers, the unique technology for obtaining gold, the ritual of worshipping spirits, the fertility cults, the wolf and the bull, and not least the poetic muse of Svans, Dali, the golden-haired goddess of hunting… we will experience this mystical and fascinating world for almost an entire week. Yet we'll still have time to visit Batumi, one of the oldest cities in Georgia, inhabited from as early as the third century B.C.
Availability
May through October
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Tbilisi
Day 2: Tbilisi -Kutaisi (Vani Archaeological Museum)
Day 3: Kutaisi -Mestia (To Svaneti)
Day 4: Mestia (Regional center of Svaneti)
Day 5: Mestia - Ushguli (highest village in Europe; 12th century Lamaria church)
Day 6: Ushguli - Mestia; (Ethnographic museum, Bronze Age treasures)
Day 7: Mestia - Becho (Church of St. Kvirike and waterfalls of Ushba)
Day 8: Becho-Batumi (Travel)
Day 9: Batumi; (one of the oldest cities in Georgia)
Day 10: Batumi -Tbilisi; (Travel)
Day 11: Tbilisi (City sights)
Day 12: Departure
For more information on eco-tours in Georgia, visit Caucasus Travel.
