July 12th was when we took off for Vardzia. Vardzia is a very large cave city "built" in the twelfth century.

A castle en route.

Mako with the castle en route.

There is a smaller cave city, Uplitsike, near Gori which is older, but Vardzia is very much larger (about 400 rooms). It was once significantly larger, but an earthquake in the thirteenth century destroyed much of it and the Turks sacked what was left when they defeated the Georgians in 1551.

A view of Vardzia from across the valley.

Gill in Vardzia.

Gill and Mako in Vardzia.

Another view from inside.

Gill and Mako with the marshutka driver, his wife and daughter.

On the way back, we stopped at the Green Monastery. It’s a curious place with nothing in particular that’s colored green. As in many other places in Georgia, they are restoring or replacing the murals that were defaced or destroyed by the communists and/or the Turks.

The Green Monastery has some new murals.

Waiting to drive home.