Indurta

tusheti-idurta, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Tusheti

Tusheti. Hans Heiner Buhr 2005, Litho


Treck. Hans Heiner Buhr 2005

In search for Alaia

Alaia on the right

Last October while crossing the Abano pass with local shepherders I lost at nighttime my female dog Alaia, probably she got frightend by strange shepherd dogs of a nearby camp we had to pass. As I sat on horseback she could not find my trace by nose either and she went back to Cesho some 30 km away. I hoped she would find us the same night or the next morning, but not. In the winter local villagers from Cesho told me, that she returned to Cesho on her own, and then maybe joined a camp of border guards near Girevi. This year the passes to Tusheti opened 12 days ago. I hope to be in Tusheti around 18th of July. If she survived the winter, then she probably gave birth to a bunch of puppies. If you, dear reader, find my dog by accident, drop me a comment on where did you spot her.

Alaia is originally from village Arkhoty, Akhieli in Khevsureti, where Dshardshi gave her to me in July 2004 for present. As a puppy she crossed with me Roshka-Pass and Datvis Jvari-Pass to Shatili. I really hope to find her this summer alive in Tusheti. She is now 2 years old, and a very kind dog.


Alaia as a puppy of 2 month

Join our Journey to Tusheti in July 2006

It's not your last chance, because you can still join us on the very last moment of departure to Tusheti around 18th of July.

We start from Tbilisi, the capitol of Georgia. Two other Guys from Switzerland will arrive on July,16th in Tbilisi. We spare a day for the town and start the Journey on July, 18th, with a trip through the wineyard of Georgia, Kakheti to the Winter settlement of the Tushetians, Alvani.

We will have a good typical Georgian dinner there with some good wines. On 19th we start the difficult road via the Abano-Pass of 2900 m to Tusheti, with a short stop in the biggest village Omalo. This road takes us 8 to 10 hours, depending on the weather conditions, but the scenery of the wild mountains will indeed impress you.

We follow the Tusheti Alazani River to Dartlo, where we stay at the Guesthouse of Manana. Next day we make a short walk to the next village Cesho, and further on to the villages Parsma and Girevi with its impressing ancient Defendstowers.

Here we saddle our horses and cross the mountain range to Tsova Tusheti, a beautiful wide valley with sheep and dogs and rough herdsmen. We camp with the herdsmen and try to catch some Brown trouts in the evening. If you do not like horse riding, you of course may hiking. We take your luggage on the horseback.

We follow the tiny pathes to Jvarboseli and the Eagle-nest-like small village of Dochu on the rock with a magnificent view down the river. We cross the range again to Cesho and change horses to a 4WD to go to the Northern villages of Shenako and Diklo close to the Dagestanian border.

We have to be back in Tbilisi on August, 1st.

Join the freedom of Tushetis mountain world with us.

Further details on this Journey via http://www.kaukasus-reisen.de

Price: USD 1380.00 from/to Tbilisi, including full board, accomodations, all transports, guides, horses etc.

Best regards, Hans

Join the Cattle Drive Tusheti Georgia 2006

Descending to Kakheti from Tusheti

In September 2006 we again go on the Cattle drive with Tushetian herders and their sheep, horses and dogs over the Greater Caucasus Range in Georgia. Join this outstanding adventure journey with Kaukasus-Reisen, further details here

Some facts on Tusheti

Some information on the location, the flora and fauna of Tusheti can be found at a site of the Georgian Parliament here.


On 2900 m in Tusheti

Tushetian Faces

Murtazi and his wife, Tchesho


4 Tushs and 1 German


Father and son, Hegho


Giorgi


Dog


Natia


Kamaz-Driver


Boy with his donkey, Girevi


Sasa


Dog


Grandmother, Zemo Alvani


Gogita


Maja with Reso


Kacha with horse near Omalo


Horse, Girevi


Boy, Girevi


Mother and son Dato, Zemo Alvani


Mother Nino and son

The Bats

Until the middle of the 19th century, the Bats lived in Tushetia, the mountain region of Northwest Georgia. The Tsova Gorge in Tushetia was inhabited by four Bats communities: the Sagirta, Otelta, Mozarta and Indurta. Later they settled on the Kakhetia Plain, in the village of Zemo-Alvani, where they still live. Administratively they are part of the Akhmeta district of Georgia. There are some families of Bats in Tbilisi and other bigger towns in Georgia.
Bats belongs to the Nakh family of Caucasian languages. Most speakers of Bats live in the village of Zemo-Alvani, on the Kakhetia Plain, in the Akhmeta district of Georgia. There are some families of Bats in Tbilisi and other bigger towns in Georgia.

Bats, or Batsi, Batsbi, Batsb, Batsaw, is the language of the Bats people, a Caucasian minority group, and is part of the Nakh family of Caucasian languages. It had 2,500 to 3,000 speakers in 1975. There is only one dialect. It exists only as a spoken language, as the Bats people use Georgian as their written language. The language is not mutually intelligible with either Chechen or Ingush, the other two members of the Nakh family.

See the whole Article at Wikipedia here

Pridon Beroshvilis Images from Tusheti

I am very proud to show some of Pridons impressive photographs from Tusheti, ununsual images from for me unknown Tushetian areas. Pridon lives in Tbilisi and is married to his wife from Tusheti. It seems, that we have some common friends from Gergeti and Tusheti. I am looking forward to a meeting with Pridon in Tbilisi in the following weeks.


Photo by Pridon Beroshvili, Tbilisi, Georgia



Photo by Pridon Beroshvili, Tbilisi, Georgia



Photo by Pridon Beroshvili, Tbilisi, Georgia



Photo by Pridon Beroshvili, Tbilisi, Georgia

Pridon, it would be very kind, if you could write a comment on those images.

Impressions from the Caucasus/ Tusheti

Yes, we came back, after 5 days heavy wodka-drinking in the Tushetian Mountains. And the hospitality of our hosts Gogita and Sopho in Cesho was great. We come back in the End of September for the Cattle Drive back from the Mountains. Here are some images:



A road



A landscape



Me at the pass



Mountainview



A village in Tusheti- Dartlo



A fisher- Bidsina Tsadsikidze



2 Brown trouts for dinner



A Georgian Picknik



A cleaning bath



Way home...


See more on the Caucasus at my Kaukasusblog

View on the Pirikitis Alazani, the Village far in the background must be Dano 

Location of the Tushetian Highland in Georgia 

We in Tusheti in 1998 

Tushetian shepherders I met, but this was in 1998 

Kallta, A Tushetian dog, age 1 year, female