5th week: Beautiful Drive Through East Anatolia to Ruins of Ani, Good Bye Black Sea, Hello Georgia, Paulis Birthday

Last Days in Turkey: Black Sea to Ani Ruis and further to Georgia

(look how vegetation changes)

[Torsten starting …] By now we have left Turkey and went to Georgia. Since we have now only occasionally internet connection our blogs will slightly delay (Currently we are already in Tiblisi, where we got internet access)
About a week ago we left the valley of Çamlıhemşin with the direction of the Ruins of Ani the former Armenian Capital some 1000 years ago. This meant at the same time that we also left the coast of the Black Sea, which was not easy for us. Opposite to the rest of Turkey which becomes more developed from the East to the West, the Black Sea Coast appears more better off when travelling from West to the East. We spent two wonderful weeks discovering all the variety of nature, authentic small villages, very nice people, delicious food and so many hours of playing in the water at lonesome beaches. We saw for the first time in our lives hazelnut covered mountains, rice fields, tobacco farmers and how tea is grown and harvested. All of us fell in love with this beautiful region and it was hard to say ‘good bye’.

Çamlıhemşin: water games before departure

Anciant bridge in Çamlıhemşin valley

Çamlıhemşin: doing some laundry at a water place

At Hopa we turned right and continued into the mountains. Since we did not have an altitude profile we were not aware of what we asked from Emma: from sea level to 2600 m height. Going along the barrier lakes with its dams (one of it 250m high) and the marvellous green-turquoise water (w/o places to swim :( ), where the carved valleys had been heavily shaped by the engineers, still presenting a beautiful scenery. Then turning on a road into a canyon driving next to a wild river before reaching the Alp-like landscape and climbing up to the mountain-tops. From the crest we had a wonderful view at sunset over the high plateau (appeared like a gigantic plate) with its mid-size town Ardahan (the place where in July the shadow of hill shows projects the outline of the portrait of Kemal Atatürk). Just afterwards we found out that the road from Hopa to Kars is known to be one of the most beautiful drives in Turkey staring from the green shores of the Black Sea to the barren countryside of East Anatolia.

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan (cont.)

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan (cont.)

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan (cont.)

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan: last village before 
reaching the mountain top

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan (cont.)

Impressions along the way along the way from Hopa to Ardahan
Reaching the crest at 2600m

Impressions along the way from Hopa to Ardahan (cont.): high platteau @ 2500m

The itinerary took longer than expected so we were looking for place to stay around 100 km before Ani. So I pulled off the road and asked in a little village whether we could stay for one night. With an overwhelming friendliness and hospitality we were welcomed, drank some tea together before going to sleep. The people here live under very hard conditions, heating with dried cow dung and many still live in simplistic stone houses covered with grass – and all that after being some hours ago still at the Black Sea Coast. Although it appeared as an extremely poor region most of the farmers equipment, specifically tractors were new - a contrast which we did not understand (some kind of massive development program?).

Pauli loves Sausage

close to Ardahan: village where we stayed for the night

close to Ardahan: Kids playing in the morning

close to Ardahan: Kids playing in the morning (cont.)

close to Ardahan: our hosts love our Emma

close to Ardahan: our hosts show us around at their stables

close to Ardahan: typical houses & cow dung (for heating) in the north-east Anatolia

[Susanne continuing …]
Next morning Paul, Antonia and Johann started early playing with the kids before we were heading on to the ruins of Ani, which still in Turkey but at the border line of Armenia. 1000 years ago this was the Armenian capital with around 100000 inhabitants, destroyed in several wars and finally through an earthquake. Today remains an impressive field of ruins, some of them rebuilt in the last 50 years. The city lies on a high plateau between two river canyons, so only one side needed to be protected by a wall. With a bit unlucky timing we arrive at noon, when the heat is at the highest. We dress for our expedition, grab a lot of water and explore Ani. We are surprised about the many remainings especially of the fortress wall. Johann climbs up and down and explores the ruins, Antonia is not very happy with the heat… We see churches and a mosque and the Armenian border. The border between Armenia in Turkey is closed, because Azerbaijan demands that from Turkey, since they supply Turkey with oil & gas and are at the same time in conflict with Armenia about Nagorno-Karabakh. Recent politics in Caucasus in one sentence… For us that means a bit more driving, we have to go back North to go through Georgia to Armenia.

Ruins of Ani: Lions port to the former capital of Armenia

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani:
foreground: ruins of Ani in Turkey
backgrond: Armenian observation tower of border control 

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani: remainings of the wall

Ruins of Ani: Johann checking out the area

Ruins of Ani: Johann checking out the area (background: underground caves)

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani: North Palace

Ruins of Ani: North Palace

Ruins of Ani:Watch your steps! No-go-area for Paul!

Ruins of Ani: discovered the entrace to the basement of the North Palace

Ruins of Ani: basement of the North Palace

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani

Ruins of Ani: River forms border Turkey-Armenia

Ruins of Ani: River forms border Turkey-Armenia

Ruins of Ani: River forms border Turkey-Armenia

Ruins of Ani: Johann exploring (cont.)

Ruins of Ani: Johann exploring (cont.)

Ruins of Ani: enjoying the (expensive)  ice crea ;)

Underground caves at ruins of Ani.

Underground caves at ruins of Ani: let's check them out

Underground caves at ruins of Ani: let's check them out

Underground caves at ruins of Ani.

Underground caves at ruins of Ani: wesps in the rocks

Underground caves at ruins of Ani: view to the North Palace

leaving the ruins of Ani: endless Anatolian platteaus

leaving the ruins of Ani: endless Anatolian platteaus

Monument for Turkish victims of Armenian masakers:
... haven't seen monuments for Armenian victims 

Copilots ;)

The evening we drive back halfway to the Georgian border and ask at a nice little house for permission to park for the night. It turns out that we stay with a family from Istanbul whose ancestors came from this area. Nowadays they use the old farmhouse as vacation domicile and we meet them in their last week of vacation. The daughter of the family speaks English and we are happy to chat a long evening about Turkey and politics. She studies in Istanbul and tells us about the last years in Istanbul, her University being in the middle of the protests around Gezi. The whole family is interested in politics, an uncle has been member of the Turkish parliament for a left wing party. They ask us in the middle of the discussion to which “political wing we actually belong”…. J

We have a great, delicious breakfast together and then we leave towards the Georgian border. We pass the border very quickly and change the rest of our Turkish Lira into Georgian Lari. Antonia resumes: “Ah, we just have to exchange two letters, rest stays the same”.

Driving north into the sunset: [no words]

Spending the last Turkish lira: Dinner in a village

doing some laundry at our hosts: marvellous scenery

doing some laundry at our hosts: marvellous scenery (cont.)

breakfast at our hosts

breakfast at our hosts (cont.)

breakfast at our hosts: Pauli just loves it

time to say good bye. Many thanks 

In Akhaltsitse we stop to get local currency and food, we want to park in the Borjomi Nationalpark for a couple of days. No sightseeing, just trees and rivers. ;-) It is always so strange to see when you pass a border, how quickly things look totally different, from small oriental narrow villages in Turkey all the sudden we feel as if being in Russia: four story houses, hugh lanes, wooden fences and individually welded ports.

In town we are stopped by police for wrong parking (we stopped as everyone else in front of the bank to get money, but only we are being fined L)

We have some discussions with the police man but end up with a ticket that we have to pay at a bank cahiers, police is not allowed anymore to receive any cash money. Strange welcome to Georgia.

We drive on in a small valley towards the national park and experience for the first time quick and rough Georgian driving: cars are passed on small roads not taking care of the traffic of the lane on the other side, so often there are three cars side by side driving on a two lane road.

The place to park in the woods of Borjomi Nationalpark is wonderful: just trees, a river, meadows, fire places and (for Pauli) some cows. There is a little summer camp of baptiste churches from Russian and former soviet countries. They receive us very friendly and in the next couple of days they share with us fruits and homemade food. Families also from Germany arrive, families that had been living in Russia before. And it turns out that we met parts of their family in 2012 in Kirgizstan, when we visited the old German village Rotfront (former Gruenthal). Back then we had met Heinrich and his family showing us around in the village and the “Bethaus” and now we meet his brother who lives in Bielefeld since 2012; he had left Rotfront one week before we arrived. We have a long talk about how it feels to live in Germany now. Apparently the church and family members help each other best they can, a lot of Russland-Deutsche have returned to Germany since the early 90ties. The German we hear has preserved some words and expressions we only know from fairy tale books. J

Visiting German village Rotfront duirng our Trip to Kirgistan in 2012

Kirgistan 2012: Heinrich, one of the last Germans in Rotfront

Georgia 2015: meeting Heinrichs' brither in Borjomi National Park

Borjomi National Park: Chaple nearby

Borjomi National Park: Chaple nearby (cont.)

Borjomi National Park: Litting a candle

Borjomi National Park: ... closing teh doors.

Borjomi National Park: Wedding couple likes our Emma

Borjomi National Park: ... and wants to take pictures

Borjomi National Park: ;)

Borjomi National Park: Pauli makes fun with wedding couple 

Borjomi National Park: Breakfast with the wedding couple
the morining after their party. 

Borjomi National Park: Fire places 

Borjomi National Park: chill time

Borjomi National Park: Pauli loves sausages

Borjomi National Park: Taking a bath

Borjomi National Park: Hiking with the kids

Borjomi National Park: ... enjoying the view.

Borjomi National Park: Antonia too fast for my camera shutter

Borjomi National Park: Adventure playground

Taking a break in Borjomi National Park: family hair wash at the water place

Taking a break in Borjomi National Park:Pauli loves playing in the water for hours and hours and hours...

Taking a break in Borjomi National Park: reading books

Torsten hikes 2km down to the little village every morning to get fresh milk, kefir and bread. Russian is not always helpful, since it seems to disappear more and more in Georgia. Signs are always written in Georgian and if we are lucky we find an English translation. The word for “bread” I recognize already, but have no idea how to spell or speak it, I just recognize the order of the written waves.

food supply in the morning from the village nearby

Kids consider ice cream also as food ;)
Nice Soviet Eskimo Ices Cups. Delicious!

All great here, we hang out for a couple of days doing nothing, putting on a fire every night. For lighting the fire we burn our Turkey travel book, it was outdated and as we found too negative in its descriptions  (“…the Ataturk Museum in Samsun is very boring for foreigners, better to skip…”) so why carry this thing through China etc, we will not use it again.  

It is weekend and the meadow next to us is used for a wedding party. A rock band plays all night and they party until sunrise… Our car is wanted for wedding pictures, Antonia impressed by the beautiful bride and we are even invited to join the party and after-parties J. Long hours of great conversations and unforgettable moments.

And, of course we celebrate Pauli’s 2. Birthday!!! Jippiieeehhh, two years, how fast time goes by. We have some little presents and he is impressed by a plastic “Bagger”. Johann and Toni have built a little shelter in the woods, they put his favourite fruit, a banana at the entrance to catch Pauli’s attention and inside he finds all his presents… J

Borjomi National Park: Paulis Birthday

Borjomi National Park: .. and we all celebrate

Borjomi National Park: Johann and Antonia show Pauli
the birthday 'house' which they built for him

Borjomi National Park: Paul discovers ...

Borjomi National Park: ... his presents ...

Borjomi National Park: ... and is excited!

Borjomi National Park: Paulis Birthday (cont.)

Borjomi National Park: Paulis Birthday (cont.)

There are a lot of ants running around in the wood, he calls them “mameis” (DE: Ameise). Since they also bite a bit and that is stichy he uses the words “Mama mameis!” also for a telling about a full pampers and a sore bottom. J

After Borjomi we drive on to Chiatura and further along the South-Ossetia border to Gori to visit Stalin…. To be continued.

Antonia made a calandar, so we can keep track