Date: March 26th, 2016
Distance: Rest Day (79 km)
Song of the Day: ???

So much for being a rest day. It turns out I did almost 80 kilometers. At least I didn't have my panniers to drag around.

There were two spots I wanted to visit near Yerevan while I was in town. The first was about 30 kilometers out of the city, the Garni temple. Done in a roman style, it was built about 1700 years ago. Originally it was built for the worship of Mithras. Of couse, what you see today was rebuilt during the 70s. So, yet another example of things not really being what they were. Still, I kind of liked it. For many of the ancient places I have been to, it is hard to understand what the buildings must have looked like using just a pile of rubble. The rebuilt temple seemed to make the history come alive for me much more, since I was looking at the place almost like the people who built it would have seen it.

The next spot I wanted to see was the Geghard monastery. I had heard it was nice, but didn't know much more than that. It turns out this place was amazing. To start with, the monastery is literally at the end of the road. It was deliberately placed at the end of a narrow gorge to be hard to get to. The monks who live there wanted seclusion, and you can still see evidence of their cave dwellings all around the site. Some of them are located in places that seem practically inaccessible. I am not sure how some of them were able to get food.

The monastery itself consists of a stone perimeter with a courtyard inside. In spite of the secluded location, the place was a frequent target of invading armies, hence the wall. The cliff face above the courtyard is honeycombed with little chambers that the monks would live in. None of them were larger than a twin bed, and most didn't even have the space to fully lie down in. Almost all of them did have a small altar to pray at, though.

At the heart of the monastery is the church, which consists of five main rooms. The first two rooms, the sanctuary and a large entrance hall, are built just like any other rooms in a stone building. The other three rooms are where things get really interesting. They are caves carved out of the rock that Geghard sits on. I say caves, but that conjures up images of dark and ugly places. These may be dark, but they are certainly not ugly. In fact, it is the craftsmanship and the amazing attention to detail that I found so fascinating. Each of the three caves have domed ceilings, but none of them are the same, all carved in their own unique styles. The walls were made to look like columns and supports in an imitation of a freestanding structure. In reality, they are all cut from one large stone. The first of the caves holds a small spring. The water was worshiped duirng pagan times, and that is part of the reason the monastery was built here. The other two were built as sepulchers. Even more amazing, they were built from the top down. An oculus was cut straight down, and then a dome was made from that. All the stone being chipped away was then hauled out the hole in the roof. It is almost like sculpting a statue, but in reverse. Instead of chipping away at the outside of a stone, these artists cut away the inside of the rock until they had a piece of art you can stand in. Any way you look at it, this was an impressive feat of engineering.

One thing that made it even better was the fact that there was a service going on in the sanctuary. It was "Zatik" after all. That is Easter, for you folks who don't know Armenian. The smell of incense was in the air, and there was chanting and singing from the sanctuary that could be heard throughout the complex. I don't care how religious you are or what you believe in, you could not help but feel something extraordinary about the place when I was here.

The experience was so amazing that I stayed a bit too long. When I left Geghard I had less than two hours to go 40 kilometers before sunset. Normally, I would have thought that was crazy, but today with no panniers, I charged straight at it. It was one hell of a sunset. For once I was going right towards it. What a beautiful end of the day. I even got back to Yerevan with just a little daylight to spare. I love dropping through town and weaving through all the traffic.

When I got back to the hostel I was going to head back out again and find some food. My host stopped me, though. She said they were having an Easter dinner and all of the guests at the hostel were invited. The meal consisted of a lot of barbecued chicken and liver, baked potatoes, salad, and some amazing rice with raisins in it. Things wouldn't have been complete without a little tea, wine, and vodka of course. We also had hard boiled eggs, colored just like in America. The only difference was, before you could eat the egg you had to crack it end on with an egg from another person. Life brings me to some crazy places. There are very few that I have felt so welcome.



-Dravis

Date: March 25th, 2016
Distance: 173 km
Song of the Day: Lighting the Way - Superdrag

As I went to bed last night I was thinking about the place I had selected to stay in, the ruined village and empty houses. What had happened? I wondered if it was related to the war. As the Soviet Union was breaking up twenty-five years ago, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody little border war. Most of the fighting was in the south around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, but some of it was in the north here. This morning I found some evidence to prove my suspicions true. Behind the empty house was a broken and rusting artillery piece lying in the dirt next to a long trench. The village was once on the border between the two countries, but not anymore. According to the map on my phone, the house I was in was supposed to be just inside Azerbaijan, but the imaginary line that is shown on maps doesn't represent the reality these days. I don't know where border is today, but it must be further east than what is shown on paper (or the internet, for that matter). I have crossed a dozen borders on this trip so far. Some have been an invisible line only marked by a rusting sign on the highway. This place isn't really any different, just that people died and are still dying over where this line should be. I can't help but think how pointless it all is. People killed or burned out of their homes, and for what? To have a little more space to graze sheep? It just seems like such a tragic waste to me.

It didn't take me long this morning to pack up and get on the road. Nothing else about the day was fast, though. I spent most of the morning climbing up a giant ridge. It was tough work, but a least there were some great views.

The only really frustrating thing was the honking. It was like almost every car on the road wanted to honk at me. Sometimes a happy honk, sometimes an angry honk, but always blasting in my ears. It gets old quickly. In the end I put in my headphones and turned up my music to block it out a bit. I also found a new candidate for the type of car with the worst drivers. Move over BMW, and watch out for the Lexus SUV with Russian plates.

After climbing all morning, the road dropped down into this river valley. There was a slight uphill grade to it, but that wasn't bad. All around me were these big cliffs and snow covered mountains. Spring has also arrived here. The trees are starting to bud and make everything green again. The only annoying part was that the wind was being a total bastard. The valley walls were channeling every little breeze right into me. I knew it was going to be a long day and this wasn't helping. There isn't much you can do about it, though. I just kept turning the pedals and trying to enjoy the scenery around me.

After Dilijan, the road became quite steep. The river next to the road had diminished to a narrow stream cascading down the mountain, and hydrology is always an important clue about what lies ahead. The larger rivers tend to have a much more steady grade to them. Riding against the flow of a rocky creek is an indication you are about to climb a mountain pass. If you're lucky, it's a low saddle between two mountains. If you aren't, then the road is heading into a box canyon. This was the latter. The road just kept going up and up, then I hit the first of the half dozen switchbacks. At least on the switchbacks I had the wind going with me half the time. It was still pretty brutal. I would have enjoyed the view more, but every time I looked around I would see more switchbacks above me.

It turns out my luck today isn't that bad, though. There was a 3 kilometer tunnel that cut off another 200 meters of climbing. I was so ready for that. On the other side, the temperature was much colder. Snow covered the mountains on both sides of the road. The wind was also stronger on this side, which wasn't terribly pleasant. Pushing hard to do 18 kilometers an hour down a steep grade is quite frustrating.

The road lead down very quickly to Lake Sevan. I thought the lake was going to be much further off, but I forgot that the lake is way up in the mountains. It is beautiful and cold enough that I could throw a snowball into the lake.

In Sevan I stopped for some dinner. Very important. The trip up the mountain had taken just about all the calories that I had. I found a place that serves khachapuri. This is local bread, usually with cheese in it. The guys in the shop were very excited about me being there, so my meal also came with two shots of homemade vodka, cheese, and some pickles. They were trying to get me to drink more with them, so I had to explain that if I drank any more I would fall off my bicycle. That seemed to be a good enough answer for them.

The sun was setting by the time I left Sevan and I still had about 50 kilometers to go. Plus the wind was back and worse than ever. This made it a long slog to Yerevan. The first 30 kilometers were rolling hills, the the last 20 were all downhill to Yerevan. Pretty steep for most of it, too. By the time I got into the city I was feeling great for having made it. I had such a blast ripping through the Friday night traffic. Nice way to end the day.



-Dravis

Date: March 24th, 2016
Distance: 115 km
Song of the Day: Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin

Today I am off on a side trip. I am heading to Armenia because I have another week or so before my visa for Azerbaijan is ready. I know I could just hang out in Tbilisi, but my life hasn't afforded me many opportunities to visit Armenia so far, and I am not one to squander a chance like this. The border is less than one hundred kilometers from Tbilisi anyway. Of course, it isn't exactly flat, but what do you expect from the Caucasus?

Traveling south from Tbilisi is pretty amazing though. It helps to have good weather on my side as well. The new shoots of spring are popping up everywhere and adding a bright splash of green to the dark hills and blue sky. Almost all the hills are topped with jumbles of stones. The pictures I have don't do it any justice, the countryside was gorgeous. It made for really great riding except for one small detail...

I hate the drivers in Georgia. So many of them are just awful. It isn't just being an aggressive driver, but being stupid about it, like passing three cars on a blind corner to pull in at a gas station just ahead. Or trying to pass a slow moving truck only to slam on the brakes before hitting a speed bump. They do ridiculously dangerous things that don't save any time. It makes me want to scream. What idiots. It's like these guys watched the 'Fast and Furious' franchise and not only missed that it had nothing to do with reality but also thought they could be Vin Diesel, except they don't really know how to drive. Even more infuriating is that the only time the center line on the road seems to be inviolate is when someone is overtaking me. It is a clear day, the road is open all the way to the horizon, why in holy hell are you passing me with just a couple of inches to spare? Beyond that, what are you honking about? How do you find the time to honk, but can't seem to figure out how to move the steering wheel 4 degrees to the left? The only thing it's doing is giving me tinnitus. I am already on the shoulder, where else should I be? If you want to tell me what a moronic jackass you are, newsflash: I figured that one out myself. I am usually a caring and peaceful person, but I might have a hard time stopping to help if I saw one of these idiots flying off the road.

There is also a pattern emerging about who the worst offenders are based on the type of car being driven. Sure, there are a few outliers in every category, but in aggregate the drivers of some makes are worse. Topping the list, people in BMWs. They have worked so hard to be here. In every other part of the world taxi drivers are the worst, but not here. Then again, to be a taxi driver here all you need is a car that sorta works and a sign that says "taxi". The poor state of taxi vehicles here may reduce the top speed of their stupidity. God help me if I ever meet a taxi driver in a BMW. Next on the list are the drivers of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. A few are as bad as BMW drivers, but mostly they just don't have it in them. In the middle are the drivers of Ladas. Most of these are so old they can't go very fast, but that also means the drivers don't care that much about a few extra scratches on their bumper. The bottom of the list are the Asian cars. The guys in Hyundais almost always give me space. They also rarely honk, and when that happens it is usually a friendly "beep-beep". Take a note, all other drivers. Anyway, enough kvetching from me.

Getting closer to the border, things were a bit different. Crossing into Georgia from Turkey, the road was lined with shops for beer signs for casinos. Leaving Georgia for Armenia, the road was lined with shops for... soap. Laundry detergent, dish soap, hand wash, car wash, you name it. Each one is set up on the side of the road like you would sell fruit, but with soap. I have no idea why, either. Does Armenia not have soap?

Crossing the border was a snap, no problems. But while the border crossing was easy, the terrain was not. Armenia has hills, lots of big hills, and nary a flat road in sight. In the first town I got to the road lead up through a narrow draw. At the top was a bridge connecting the two sides of the town. I guess this is where the old men hang out and watch the world go by, but there isn't that much excitement around here either. As an example, later in the day I was stopped by a car full of teenagers and I wasn't sure what they wanted. The first thing the driver said to me was, "Hello," but the second word out of his mouth was, "Selfie?" So yeah, I took some pictures with them. It was kinda fun, but I don't really think I should be the most exciting thing to happen in a town. Certainly not enough to give a car full of teenagers a thrill.

At sunset I found a village that had been destroyed. All that was left of the houses were the foundation stones. On the other side of the ridge, a little way off the highway, was a line of newer houses that had also been abandoned. I'm not sure why. But it was a quiet spot, away from everything with a good view of the area. I set up camp inside one of the derelict buildings. Tonight I am the owner of a two story fixer-upper.



-Dravis

Date: March 23rd, 2016
Distance: Rest Day

Today was a boring work day. I spent most of it doing repairs on my bike. I had a couple of screws pop out on the rough roads and I needed to replace those. After that, I was updating the blog here all evening. Tomorrow I will have something more interesting to post about. Have a nice picture the Peace Bridge in Tbilisi.



-Dravis

Date: March 22nd, 2016
Distance: Rest Day

I spent the day walking around Tbilisi. I am shocked in many ways by how different the capital is from the rest of the country. The streets are cleaner, the buildings are newer, or at least more of them are being taken care of, and construction is going on everywhere. One of the main shopping streets in town is undergoing a complete facelift. The city is also a showcase for modern architecture. I guess the last two prime ministers have been trying to out-do each other in how architecturally innovative they can make the city, and this competition is actually pretty fierce. The new prime minister cancelled some of the unfinished projects that the old prime minister started, no matter what stage they were in. The new concert hall (pictured) is all but complete, and sits empty.

Bizarrely petty politics aside, it does make for a beautiful city. I guess not much around the city is older than 200 years. Being sandwiched between empires for a few thousand years can be harmful on the infrastructure. The last time the city was burned to the ground was in 1795, but there were at least a dozen other times in history when the city was razed before that. This has lead to a city center that is mostly neoclassical or art nouveau, now with a few modern glass and steel buildings thrown in.



-Dravis

Date: March 21st, 2016
Distance: 85 km
Song of the Day: Hopeless Wanderer - Mumford & Sons

I left Gori today and was back on the road heading east. My first stop wasn't Tbilisi, though, it was the town of Uplistsikhe. This is an ancient town and fortress that was cut into the rocks above the Mktvari river. Some of the caves date back thousands of years, and as a history junkie this was a pretty cool place. These aren't just dark holes in the ground, and they aren't really hobbit holes either. Many were carved to mimic the columns and coffers found in arches and stone buildings. One room was carved to look as if the ceiling was held up by round logs. The site also spans the pagan and christian periods, so there are places that were built as temples near to places that were built as churches. Of course, many of the structures lie in ruins these days. It is hard to make something that will last for thousands of years, even if it is built out of stone.















After leaving the site I wanted to head east to Tbilisi, but the paved road headed west, back the way I came. I am not a big fan of going backwards, so I figured I would take the non-paved road. I am not sure if this was a good idea or not, but it was a bit fun and different. The road wasn't great, rocky and not much fun in parts. After a bit it became, well, just a field with a couple of ruts in it. I passed a few cattle herders who gave me some weird looks but they confirmed that I was at least going towards Tbilisi. The rough roads popped one of the bolts off of my pannier. Fortunately, the rough road didn't last that long and soon enough I found my way back to the highway.

While the road is smooth, there is a certain problem with the roads in Georgia: the drivers. For a bit of background, in the last ten years Georgia has become a much safer and less corrupt country. The police force was reformed and bribery is just not an issue these days. This was done through a campaign of strict, and probably abusive, legal enforcement. In general the crime rate in the nation has dropped, however there is one place where the police are still quite lax in their enforcement of statues. This is, of course, traffic law. While I was appreciative of the care most Turkish drivers seemed to take, Georgian drivers do not seem to share this care when driving. This is quite apparent with the number of cars on the road that lack bumpers. More have dents, or obvious and shoddy repairs. The drivers are often far too aggressive for the conditions of either the road or their own vehicle. Today bad driving was brought to a new level, though. I had two different drivers who would see me and swerve into my lane. Then they would drive off waving and smiling like it was the best joke ever. One of the guys (of course it was a guy) almost ended up driving himself off the road doing this. Ugh. Well Georgia, you have surpassed Serbia for worst drivers on this trip and are really trying to be worse than Ugandan drivers. Well done.

Those incidents aside, the rest of the day was not too eventful. Sunny, but I was paying for that with a strong headwind. There was also a long slow climb over some hills. It came with a nice descent at the end, though. After that the rest of the day was along the beautiful Mktvari river, really quite charming.

Traffic got much heavier coming into Tbilisi. I'm actually impressed with the city. It doesn't appear run down the way other cities in the country have been. Instead, there's gleaming modern architecture and new buildings going up. Frankly, it is a very pretty place, a modern capital city to rival any of the ones in Europe.



-Dravis

Date: March 20th, 2016
Distance: Rest Day

I spent last night working on some visa issues. It looks like everything will be ready for me and done online, so I guess I don't have anywhere to be until that is ready. It is a weird feeling and I took another day off to plan a bit more what I would do, plus walk around the city of Gori, which I thought would be more exciting than it is. Yes, there is a castle here, but there isn't much to it. It looks impressive from below, but really there are just ruins now. It's a steep climb up to the top. Once you're there it isn't much to look at, it's just an empty green field. The walls are only a few feet high. It isn't very exciting.

The coolest part is actually the barbican. This is a little tentacle of the castle that extends down to the river Liakhvi, and exploring it is not for the faint of heart. It is a sketchy and creepy climb down. The path is well worn in places, but it also goes over boulders, through low doorways, and down a set of steps that is half gone. There are about five different rooms in the barbican. Judging by the trash laying around, the main use seems to be drinking alcohol. Still, it was a fun experience. This was the only part of the fortification that really felt like a castle. I climbed all the way to the bottom and found a little orthodox shrine. There was a picture of St. George, and the place was clean. I don't know who comes here, but apparently there are more than just drunken teenagers who come down here. I couldn't help but imagine a few old Georgian women coming down here to pray.

In the afternoon I walked around Stalin Park with my host. For those who don't know, Joseph Stalin is Georgian and the native son of Gori. I am not sure that I would be proud of that fact, though. He is certainly an important historical figure, and rose to be one of the most powerful men on the planet. But he was also responsible for the deaths of millions of people inside and outside of the Soviet Union, so I'm not sure that I would glamorize his life the way it seems to be here. The rustic cottage that he supposedly grew up in is preserved inside of a regal marble pavilion. There is also a museum about his life, and even a supermarket with his face on it. It just ended up seeming like a really weird place.



-Dravis

Date: March 19th, 2016
Distance: 95 km
Song of the Day: Secret Country - Minus the Bear

Today was nice and sunny. I was in no rush to head out so I took my time packing up, just enjoying the morning.

Unsurprisingly, the road had not improved overnight so it was lots of rough dirt roads again. I cannot complain too much about this though. I mean, everything around me was amazing. The river gorge cutting through green hills, remote villages dotting the way. In the background were tall, white-capped mountains. I kept stopping to enjoy the scenery. The road wasn't flat either. There were a lot of ups and downs, but mostly the road went up. I could see the river flowing the opposite way, so I figured I had a bit of a climb ahead of me. 'A bit' turned out to be 40 kilometers up dirt roads. By the end of it I was pretty happy to see the other side of the pass.

I picked up the paved road again in Surami. That felt great, I was flying all the way to Khashuri. Okay, it helps that it was downhill. I stopped for some food, and by the time I was finished my rear tire was flat. Urgh. So I spent an hour repairing the tire and the tube. I discovered two more metal splinters in the tire like the one I found in Sarajevo. I wonder if I ran through a bunch of them along the way somewhere? It's only when travelling on really rough and rocky roads that they poke through, though. That is a disconcerting feeling. I wonder how many more little slivers are in there waiting to work their way through...

Once the tire was repaired things were going well. The rest of the day was fairly flat, nothing too exciting. I left the main highway to take a shortcut through Agara in order to find some food, and that turns out to have been a mistake. The town seemed dead. It looked like all of the businesses in town were either closed or derelict. No one had seemed to inform the residents, either, as there were a few people just standing on the street, listless. The only place I could find to buy food was a little stand on the side of the road. I bought a few bran cookies, and the owner invited me to have some "cha-cha". This is a local grape liquor. Next to the cookie stand was a little shack with two other guys, with not enough room for all four of us to sit inside. Still, they gave me a little cup of liquor which I tried. I can't say this is something I have a taste for. They also offered me a few sardines which were much better.

I arrived in Gori just as the sun was setting. I hung out for a bit and met up with a local host. I have been meaning to meet with more local people as I travel. Well, it turns out my host is from Lithuania, so I guess not really a local Georgian. Oh well, I can't get everything right.



-Dravis

Date: March 18th, 2016
Distance: 74 km
Song of the Day: Open Up Your Eyes - Tonic

I left Kutaisi late today. That wasn't my plan, but I was working on visa issues for Azerbaijan. I have been going slowly so that I would arrive in Tbilisi on a weekday and not have to wait over the weekend for a visa like I did in Istanbul. Well, it turns out that would have been a good plan if it wasn't Nowruz, the Persian new year, next week. That means the consulate for Azerbaijan will be closed for the whole week. The best laid plans, you know. I spent the morning trying to arrange for a visa a different way.

It was one o'clock in the afternoon by the time I got on the road. At least it was a nice day for once. The sun was shining, and I was having a good time. I also started hitting some more interesting and hilly country. My plan was to head to the Bojormi-Khargauli national park and try to see some of that. This park isn't a wetland and there are a number of trails in it. I am not sure if they are bicycle friendly, but they are supposed to be horse friendly at least. So how bad can that be? This route did take me from the main road and onto a smaller road, one that was not nearly as well maintained, but well worth it. I was riding along yet another beautiful river gorge. I could do this all the time. In spite of the rocky terrain, the road was actually not that steep. The road followed along the river, usually on the opposite side from the rail line, and I was having a blast. In spite of the late start I was in no rush, taking it slow and taking lots of pictures. I just wish my video camera hadn't run out of juice.

In Khargauli I stopped at the park office, and it was open but empty. Like, there was no one around. I called for anyone to help, but no one answered. They had some brochures which listed the trails, and also mentioned that the trails were only open from May until October. Crap, there goes that plan. Still, the road I was already on was as awesome as anything I could ask for, so I decided to just keep going and see where I could get to.

Things got a lot slower as soon as I left, though. Right past town the pavement ended. Sure, there had been a lot of potholes to dodge, but at least it was a paved road. Now it was just a muddy dirt road. I was riding along, spraying everything with mud. Even this didn't dim my spirits. Really, this is one of the amazing places in the world to be. Every once in a while there would be this small village, or maybe an abandoned factory. It was odd to see large infrastructure in what felt like such a remote place. That night I found a fantastic place to camp, right on a nice curve in the river and just behind an abandoned building.



-Dravis

Date: March 17th, 2016
Distance: 83 km
Song of the Day: Goodness - Valley Maker

I woke up just as the sun was rising today. I don't know why, but the time change has been good for me. It is much easier to get up at sunrise when that sunrise comes two hours later in the day. I realize that time is just a number, and I know logically it shouldn't matter if my clock says 5:30 or 7:30 when the sun comes up, but it does. Now I am just thankful for the time difference. (When I go to Iran the time will go back half an hour for some reason.) Of course, as I was just thinking about getting out of my nice warm sleeping bag, it stated to hail. Nope. That is a sign that you shouldn't be getting up. So I went back to bed for another hour, and when I did get up things were much better. The rain clouds were gone and it was actually a bit sunny for a change. Still cold though, with a bite to the wind. The cool morning sun couldn't melt the tiny hailstones that were covering the ground and my tent.

After I broke camp, I continued on the road east. So far I have been a bit surprised by the topography. Georgia is 60% mountains, but I haven't been going over anything more than small hills yet. I assume that I will get there at some point. Today the highway was flat again, running along the railway line still. The towns are still looking a bit worn, but not as bad as Poti. The villages don't seem to have many ugly concrete apartment blocks. Instead the streets are lined with squat, sugar-cube houses. At first they look the same, but no two are quite alike. Each one is like a reflection of the builder, or the owner. All the houses take on a little bit of character as they age and are changed and updated. It's pretty, in an odd sort of way, and made for a nice afternoon.

I arrived in Kutaisi well before sunset. Kutaisi was once the capital city for one of the many fractured kingdoms in Georgia. I had read that the city was an ancient rival to the current capital of Tbilisi, and the Georgian parliament was moved to Kutaisi to help it compete as a commercial and cultural center in the country. After visiting Kutaisi, it seems like there is a long way to go. The roads are bad, the sidewalks are atrocious, crumbling buildings are everywhere. Many of the good-looking buildings appear to have vacant floors where the windows are broken out or boarded up. Like Poti, kind of depressing.

After getting checked into a hostel, I wanted to see the cave city nearby. The manager of the hostel told me it was too late to visit, and that it would be closed the next day. I guess I wouldn't see the caves then. I asked for something else to see in the city and the manager told me there wasn't anything in Kutaisi. "Just some old churches." Churches it would be then. By the time I left it was raining. I thought of just heading back to the hostel, but I was here so I might as well go on. The most obvious church was the big one up on the bluff to the north of the city. It was on the other side of the river and a bit of a hike. The last bit was a big climb up some stairs in a dingy part of the city. At the top it was snowing, so I was really questioning my logic of leaving the warm hostel to see this place that I knew nothing about.

It turns out that Bagrati Cathedral was actually pretty cool. It also just goes to prove my point about historical sites not being exactly what they were. The cathedral itself was built around the 11th century, and then blown up in the 17th century. The building today has many of the same stones from the original, but the rest of it is reconstructed from modern copies of the originals. The reconstruction is done very well, though once you know, it was easy to pick out the worn original stones and the modern replacements. It was a very impressive cathedral. I also appreciate the different style of Georgian churches. They have a distinct appearance that is different from the European churches I am used to seeing.



-Dravis