Batch 25 — The Great Sojourn — theNOSTOMANIAC.com

143 - Independence Day (Tbilisi, Georgia)

May 26th is Georgia's Independence Day celebration, though it doesn’t commemorate the event you might think, i.e. the country's liberation from the Soviet Union on April 9th, 1991. Instead, it celebrates the first liberation from Russia in 1918, a result of the Russian Civil War. Freedom was short-lived. The Red Army marched on Tbilisi in 1921. The U.S.S.R is no more. The Cold War is dead. Someone should’ve told the Kremlin.

I’m no geopolitical wonk, but allow me to summarize. After the U.S.S.R fell, Georgia, along with the Soviet republics under Russia’s control, declared independence in 1991…

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 28, 2019Georgia, Tbilisi, Russo-Georgian War

144 - Roei, Frode, & Dodo (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Roei was three years into a four-year, 66,000 km, bicycle expedition across the globe. He began in Alaska, heading to the tip of Patagonia where he hopped a plane to South Africa, made his way to Europe via East Africa, and then onto Asia. He concluded his trip in Australia before returning to Israel. As the only Israeli to attempt such a thing, he was a celebrity back in the homeland and had been featured on news broadcasts worldwide. He made the local news in San Diego when he was robbed at gunpoint in Baja California and then given a lift back to the US by American surfers to replenish his stolen equipment…

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 27, 2019Georgia, Tbilisi, Roei Sadan

145 - Joey Stalin and Arsukidze’s Right Hand (Gori to Mtskheta, Georgia)

Mtskheta, the one-time capital of the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia, sits thirteen miles north of Tbilisi at the junction of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, a once bustling trading port. At the center, you’ll find one of the most sacred churches in Georgia, the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Church of the Life-Giving Pillar). The church’s history is rife with religious intrigue.

There once was a Jew from Mtskheta. Elias the Jew decided, for reasons unknown, to become Elias the Christian and just happened to be in Jerusalem during Christ's crucifixion…

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 26, 2019Gori, Georgia, Mtskheta, Joseph Stalin, Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

146 - Kazbegi & Hurricane Olef (Kazbegi to Tbilisi, Georgia)

Under Tsarist Russia, and later the U.S.S.R, religious services were banned, though it remained a popular tourist attraction. Evidence of Russian control remains on the outer walls a la Russian language graffiti. I found dates as far back as 1887 carved into the stone. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the locals dismantled a cable car that once ferried lazy day-trippers to the church, deeming the contraption a sacrilegious emblem of oppression. I wondered how they felt about the military helicopter filled with what appeared to be tourists that landed nearby. Somebody knew somebody important… heathens….

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 25, 2019Kazbegi, STEPANTSMINDA, Mt. Kazbegi, Gergeti Trinity Church

147 - Random Tidbits and David Gareja Monastery (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Want to make a statement in Georgia? Go on a hunger strike. In a land where the supra reigns supreme and counting plates after an obnoxious celebratory feast is considered a barometer for familial wealth, refusing to eat is like refusing to breathe. Tsotne Gamsakhurdia, a man arrested for espionage and the son of the former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, gave it a go. He claimed to eat or drink nothing for 120 days. Sure, that’s impossible (at least as far as water goes), but he got his point across… I think. Not sure what his point was. I can lie about eating? People are serious about food. And drinking. Burp…

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 24, 2019Georgia, Tbilisi, David Gareja monastery complex, Udabno Monastery

148 - Return to Kazbegi (Kazbegi, Georgia)

The myths and legends associated with this extinct volcano are as thick as the mist we encountered on the way up. A cave near Betlemi Hut was the prison of choice for Amirani (Georgia's version of Prometheus), the insolent son of a goddess who dared to share fire with mortals. The cave is also reputed to have housed Christ's manger, Abraham's tent, a golden cradle, a monkey paw, Merlin's cap, and Excalibur. (I may have added the last three out of a childish sense of blasphemy.) Only the pure of heart may view these objects. All others perish or go blind. I had no desire to do either, so I postponed my visit until I could purify my sins…

Georgia, Batch 25by Mr. Nos T. O'maniacDecember 22, 2019Georgia, Gergeti Trinity Church, Kazbegi, Mt. Kazbegi