Adishi, in Svaneti, was my first visit this year. I can now add Ieli as another new place in this province.
As I recall, I first heard about this village when I was told that it had, or maybe still is, an important location for gold mining. The Chinese had shown interest in the village, but were firmly and unambiguously rejected. It was more than 10 years ago. It was off the beaten track for me (as Adishi was), and I awaited someone to ask me to take them there.
One of our guests was a freelance journalist who traveled around the world and wrote stories in exotic locations. What did I know of Ieli’s past? I told him only what I had written above and the approximate location. For the going rate, however, I would be happy to drive him there as well as interpret for his first visit. Agreed.
Svaneti has its most colorful season as deciduous trees turn red, orange, and gold in the fall while conifers stay green and the sky is blazing blue. We had good weather for the trip. The road takes you above Mestia, in the Hatsvali directions, and then branches off to a slightly worse route, no asphalt or cement, but still navigable, though narrow. We arrived at Ieli and asked for Atsi – a hamlet that was of interest to us. It was much further down, towards the Enguri River. We met the three families that currently inhabit Atsi.
All of them lived in Abkhazia before the war broke out in the 1990s. They fled to Tbilisi as refugees to start anew. This abandoned hamlet is where their family really came from. They eventually worked themselves up to the point that they could consider returning to rebuild the houses. A single winter can be enough for roofs to collapse if there’s no one to shovel it off.
Even two towers are complete, and there are a few partially ruined ones. The topmost sections of the towers had to be completely reconstructed, a huge undertaking in terms of height, stone, cement and nerves. One of these towers offered me a rare view: a nice trellis with grapevines laden in front. This is not something you would expect to see in a village near the end of a road in this province. In many hives, bees are also hard at work.
The locals, perhaps not surprisingly, were reluctant to discuss the gold except to say the Soviets had mined it in nearby mountains. The main method of obtaining gold was panning in the Enguri and perhaps the ancient, time-honored technique of throwing a stone weighted sheepskin into the river. The heavier gold dust would settle on the hide, while the lighter silt would wash away. Jason, Argonauts, and Golden Fleece: I’m looking at all of you.
They told us that now was not gold season. We understood their reticence and saved this topic for a future visit when our friendship would have developed further.
Atsi is surrounded by mountains, so it gets only 2-3 hours of sunlight per day in the winter. Wintering here requires some preparation and guts. The gravel road is sloughed, and there are rumors that it could be cemented. This would be a transformational event.
We were allowed into the small 16th-century hamlet church that had been lovingly stuccoed, re-roofed and served by a traveling priest. The painted cloth banner depicting the baptism of Christ by John Baptist in the corner is said to be as old the building. For secular education, only two of the children who are of school-going ages go to Ieli to join a few others.
Ieli is barely hanging on to life. But it’s better than becoming a ghost city. I salute its residents for their courage in staying or returning and doing their best keep it alive.
Tony Hanmer is a writer and photographer who has been working for GT since 2011. He has lived in Georgia and Svaneti, respectively, since 1999. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
Blog by Tony Hanmer
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