Getting up and out in the cold was not easy this morning, but knowing that there would be some embers left from yesterdays fire to quickly start a new fire helped. Frost covered our tents and then water in then bottles we left outside was partially frozen. It was chilly while we had our breakfast and like cold blooded reptiles we sat there a bit stiff waiting until then sun would hit us again.
The ride into then valley of Vardzia was great. The up and downs got a bit more frequent and steeper but since we advanced well yesterday, we only had few kilometres left. At a small shop the chatty owner poured me some chacha and passed it with a cookie to chase, this interesting combination I could not refuse even though it was quite early for a schnapps.
We ate lunch next to then underground city of Vardzia, before starting exploring then many caves of the place. The matter was quite similar to the vulcanic sandstone we already had seen in Kapadokia and the traces at the walls of the caves indicated similar tools that were used to dig into the mountain. Most of the caves lay open but there were also some tunnels that were spared by the erosion. It turned out to be the most interesting of the cave architectures from the first millennium I'v seen so far. The bigger caves and higher tunnels letf me suspect that this one is not as ancient as the previous ones.
Back in the valley we met a monk who spok a bit english. He explained that the cave city was actually an abbey hosting some 700 monks and that not only erosion dug away half of the this construction but also earthquakes destroyed a lot of it. However it was restored back in time and even today, the chapel is actually used and the mess is held each Sunday. Furthermore we discovered that the abbey is currently still inhabited.... by swallows...
After we got green light from the monk to camp a night, we chose the field just beneath the monastery next to the river to pitch our tents.
The ride into then valley of Vardzia was great. The up and downs got a bit more frequent and steeper but since we advanced well yesterday, we only had few kilometres left. At a small shop the chatty owner poured me some chacha and passed it with a cookie to chase, this interesting combination I could not refuse even though it was quite early for a schnapps.
We ate lunch next to then underground city of Vardzia, before starting exploring then many caves of the place. The matter was quite similar to the vulcanic sandstone we already had seen in Kapadokia and the traces at the walls of the caves indicated similar tools that were used to dig into the mountain. Most of the caves lay open but there were also some tunnels that were spared by the erosion. It turned out to be the most interesting of the cave architectures from the first millennium I'v seen so far. The bigger caves and higher tunnels letf me suspect that this one is not as ancient as the previous ones.
Back in the valley we met a monk who spok a bit english. He explained that the cave city was actually an abbey hosting some 700 monks and that not only erosion dug away half of the this construction but also earthquakes destroyed a lot of it. However it was restored back in time and even today, the chapel is actually used and the mess is held each Sunday. Furthermore we discovered that the abbey is currently still inhabited.... by swallows...
After we got green light from the monk to camp a night, we chose the field just beneath the monastery next to the river to pitch our tents.
