Animal sacrifices, blood feuds, unique polyphonic music, astonishing ancient stone towers and ravishing views of wild nature are what visitors will explore in Georgia’s mountainous region of Svaneti.
Brook Larmer has travelled into the beautiful villages high in the Caucasus Mountains and was introduced to the customs and traditions of the Svans counting thousands of years.
"Over the course of history many powerful empires—Arab, Mongol, Persian, Ottoman—sent armies rampaging through Georgia, the frontier between Europe and Asia. But the home of the Svans, a sliver of land hidden among the gorges of the Caucasus, remained unconquered until the Russians exerted control in the mid-19th century. Svaneti’s isolation has shaped its identity—and its historical value. In times of danger, lowland Georgians sent icons, jewels, and manuscripts to the mountain churches and towers for safekeeping, turning Svaneti into a repository of early Georgian culture,” he writes.
Larmer also describes the challenges the local population faces while struggling to live in an isolated spot away from civilization. In his article he discussed how their lives have changed over the years, as they retain their cultural integrity while the area becomes more of a tourist attraction with large-scale constructions being built.
Read the full article here: www.nationalgeographic.com