Mtsketa Cathedral, Jvari monastery and Samtavro transfiguration church
Start 12pm, end 4.30pm, cost 50 Gel
Our first half day tour out of Tbilisi was hilariously bad.
Crammed into a mini-bus our tour guide yelled in Russian, non-stop.
The Russian tourists on-board were clearly delighted with his style as
they nodded and laughed.
The English speakers were ignored. We plugged in earphones and
listened to our favourite tunes to drown out the yelling guide.
During the tour we visited the cathedral in Mtsketa and mercifully
an English speaking guide took over for this bit.
Apparently Georgian kings liked the idea of people walking over their tombs.
One had his tomb located at the front door so everyone had to walk over him.
Shorts were allowed for men but women had to cover their heads and
wrap a shawl over their shorts. Fortunately, shawls were provided.
Jvari monastery had stunning views and the strongest of winds blowing.
The Samtavro transfiguration church and women’s monastry of Saint Nino
would have been interesting if we weren’t wearing shorts and therefore denied entry.
There was however a small and interesting museum displaying a couple of religous artifacts.
