Day 1,483
Mosaics
So still feeling like death, I carried on. Tom had treats in store, he kept babbling on, but in my weary state all I could make out was bus stops and Soviets. Perplexed, I dutifully pedalled on, well it's what I do. It soon became apparent he did have quite a treat in store. During the Soviet occupation there was a period of industrial development. Thousands of factories were built. The buildings were often large and boring in appearance. Practical yes, but not exciting to look at. All these factories needed workers and obviously large blocks of flats were built to accommodate them. To get to work, they needed buses and for the workers, bus shelters. Ah, I was starting to understand. So, during the Soviet occupation the Georgians worked hard, not just constructing but also decorating. In a style called Soviet realism, they turned the simple bus stop into a work of art. They created mosaics, each design different, some depicting scenes from Georgian folklore, others featuring regional specialities such as grapes and wine production, but often they are futuristic scenes of happy Soviet workers. Most are no longer used and the majority are like the massive Soviet factories, flats and other buildings - slowly decaying. There is some movement developing to protect and preserve what is left though.
It's not just bus shelters. There are massive mosaics on the walls of the factories, inside and out. We rode past one building, definitely in a bad way, but with a rather attractive frieze around the remains of its grand entrance. When we entered the floor appeared to be a dumping ground for any old rubbish and a spot for cows to shelter, they get everywhere. Further investigation upstairs, no cows had made it this far, we found the remains of a theatre, seating still in place, waiting for a long departed audience. We had a brief chat with a guy we took to be the caretaker, the impression we are getting is that they want to preserve much of this heritage but lack the funds to do so. It's also complicated by the fact that not everyone wants to keep a constant reminder of the Soviet occupation.
On we went, at times it felt as if we were cycling through a zombie apocalypse. Everywhere we looked, sometimes slightly hidden by encroaching undergrowth, but often just there at the side of the road, building after building, thousands of them, factories, flats, theatres, office blocks, every type of building you could imagine just rotting away. Occasionally we would spot a massive building which appeared ready to collapse and realize people had set up home in a tiny corner inside. It was fascinating but depressing at the same time.
We needed a change of view. We headed off-road, on rough farm tracks, through an area renowned for its tea growing and honey production. The Soviets developed this into a massive industry, it’s now died back to the cottage industry it was before, with small family farms. The local government is trying to attract cyclists to the area and we spotted a few cycle route signs, but gained no real idea of the scale of the routes. The dirt tracks led onto a recently resurfaced road, which made the upcoming climb much easier. I was still struggling to find any energy, and at the top we stopped to rest and eat lunch in a churchyard. Frustratingly the church was locked up, but we could just make out the interior by peering through the doorways.
Onwards we went,we saw more bus shelters, more factories and some very poignant war memorials. I was struggling with my history, were we allies or enemies? Probably both depending on the war.
By now I was starting to feel really unwell, cycling all day in heat and humidity was definitely not helping. We headed for a homestay type B&B for which Georgia is famous for. I needed food, then sleep and I needed it now.
