September 19, 2013

Sighnaghi
Moved to Maja's Guesthouse 25 lari pp including breakfast, shared bath

Today we moved to Maja's guesthouse. In hindsight, we just should have stayed where we were at Iza's homestay to linger on her long veranda with its bird's nest views over the wide expanse of the town and valley. Now at Maja's, the views are not that great and eight guests share one bathroom. I guess we were lucky because last night she had 18 guests sharing. It was Maja's wifi which drew us down. We had been without in Tusheti and needed to be connected.

We had asked David L why Sighnaghi was called the City of Love. He said it was merely the tourist bureau's theme for promoting the village. But, he admitted, it could be because they issue marriage licences 24 hours a day.

And Sighnaghi is a peaceful and extremely picturesque village. It is built on a plateau above the Alazani valley, the lovely church being the crowning centerpiece. It has plenty of great restaurants and cafe's so no shortage of great wine and food.

According to our LP, this town (now with 2100 people) was developed (over earlier ruins) in the 18th century by King Erekle II, Three-quarters of its houses still date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries and a large part of its 4 km long defensive wall (restored) still stands.

The towns buildings and streets have been refurbish and, for the most part, any signs of a Soviet era hangover are gone. It doesn't reek of antiquity but evokes hints of charm like a European village. The shops though, are strictly Georgian, with many small shops with limited choices all selling similar items. It was pleasant to stroll in the village. 

In addition to taking in the wonderful views of the Alazani valley, we could have gone in the well regarded museum, or visited an organic qvevri winery. We could have walked 2 km out of town to visit a notable ancient convent where pilgrims come to splash themselves with the holy water. We've had our quota of museums, monasteries and wine tours for now. We were content to linger in the Golden Lion restaurant, or on Maja's varanda, or walk the old lanes in the high cool clean air of pretty Sighnaghi.