K'ala, Svaneti, Georgia, late July 2010

This is a small 9th-century family church in K'ala, along with some of its interior - an angel fresco, middle, and icon, of the Virgin Mary and her Son, below

Mtskheta, Georgia

Salt lake near Jvari Monastery, Lali's cousin Gio and I

Picnic at the salt lake

Tree with prayer rags at the Monastery

Mtskheta, Georgia

View from Jvari Monastery window to the confluence of Rivers Aragvi and Mtkvari

Jvari Monastery itself

A copy of Nino's cross of vine branches

Mtskheta, Georgia

Welcome to the first Moroccan visitor! Country number 118!

March this year, a trip with Lali and friends to the capital of Georgia from roughly 500 BC to 500 AD, the place where Christianity got its start in the country via Saint Nino of Capadocia. Here, the ancient Jvari (Cross) Monastery (6th century), overlooking the city from above. (The angels in the bottom shot, like all the stonework on the church, were defaced in ancient times, presumably by iconoclastic Muslims.)

Alaverdi & Gremi, Kakheti, Georgia

Georgia's tallest church until the new Tsminda Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral was built in Tbilisi; and another famous old church of unique character, both not too far from Lali's parents' village

Jgurag (St George's) Church, Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Top 2:  Some of the church's many St George icons; I especially like the style of the top one

Bottom 2:  details of the carved wooden door, a masterpiece - I must find out how old it is

Jgurag (St George's) Church, Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Never know what you'll find in church.

Altar

Sheep and goat heads with their all-important drinking horns

A stick with marks down its length which I THINK are  recorded answers to prayer

Wonderful old carved wooden door - details to follow

Ushguli, Svaneti, Georgia

Top 2:  What a men's prayer breakfast looks like in Ushguli - pass the moonshine, khachapuri (cheese bread), leg of beef and liver too; watch out for falling snow, and take your hat off as briefly as possible when it's this cold

Bottom 2:  Birthday party for one of my colleagues from the school and her daughter - lots of great food, plates on top of plates as usual in Georgia, toasts made either by the glass or by drinking-horn

People of Georgia

More from Tbilisi's monuments and other art, top to bottom:

St George killing the dragon, watched over by Mother Georgia and her sword/winebowl combination ("Drink this wine, dear guest, or I'll cut your throat!" goes the joke, though the sword is supposed to be for enemies...). This combination of two far-apart sculptures had to be lined up quite carefully from near Freedom Square

Chased copper icon of Jesus, from the doors of Anchiskhati Church

A huge stone woman's head with an enigmatic smile, outside another of the Old City's very many Orthodox churches

The muse of theatre, near the Philharmonia

Etim Gurgi, poet who wrote in Georgian, Azeri and Armenian

Gelati, Georgia, August 2007

I've run out of Svaneti video clips for now - though I'm off to Ushguli again on Oct. 25 for 9 days... Meanwhile, here's one from the Gelati complex near Kutaisi, a side chapel off the main church, ancient paintings of Georgian and Bible history.

Ushguli, August 2007

Mt Shkhara... Lamaria Church... and, above, a church bell.

Ushguli, August 2007

For such a small village (c. 50 familes or 200 people), Ushguli sure has a lot to offer as far as views go. Changing weather and light add to the variety, as with everywhere. Learning to SEE the differences is key. This comes with thousands of frames, with many reshoots until one gets the desired result. Another, unexpected result (at least for me) is that one's eye becomes the camera, always seeking the image wherever one looks.

The bottom shot is an offering left outside one of the village's 8 churches.

Ushguli, August 2007

Bottom: One of the village's churches.
Middle: The school where I plan to teach English this winter, starting in early November if my Georgian visa comes through.
Top: Lamaria Church and Mt Shkhara at the top of the village. Every day new weather, new light to show off the familiar in new ways.

Larnaca, Cyprus, July 2007

First views (cellphone camera) of the city where I'm holidaying with my younger sister and her husband, who is from the island.

Bottom: views from our apartment window.

Middle: the Sea...

Top: The Church of Lazarus. http://www.planetware.com/larnaca/st-lazarus-church-cy-la-laza.htm has this to say about it:

"In the old town of Larnaca is St Lazarus's Church, with the relics of the Saint.
"Saint Lazarus is the patron saint of Larnaca. After his resurrection by Christ, he lived here for another 30 years. He was ordained Bishop of Kition by saints Barnabas and Mark.
"His relics are located in this church, created in his honor.
"The church was built in the ninth century by Emperor Leo VI and was faithfully restored in the 17th century, and the iconostasi is an excellent example of Baroque woodcarving.
"Its white painted belfry is highly distinctive and escaped the Turkish ban on such structures.
"It has four domes over the nave and the roof is supported on four sets of double columns. The pulpit is uniquely placed in one of these columns and is lavishly decorated in gilt. In another column there is a silver icon from 1659, with a picture of St Lazarus. There are also good paintings of the Virgin and Child and St George and the Dragon. The iconostasis or screen between the altar and the main church is a good example of wood carving in the Baroque style.
"Eight days before Greek Orthodox Easter, the icon of St Lazarus is taken in procession through the streets of Larnaca."

Time for a break from Venice.

Metekhi church and the Mtkvari River, Tbilisi, December 1999