Our trip today has taken us up into Racha, a beautiful and mountainous region that borders on South Ossetia (no, we won’t be going against Foreign Office advice and going anywhere near there), but our first stop was Katskhi Pillar, a limestone monolith with a tiny church, wine cellar (says our guide book) and hermit cells on the top. It was established in the ninth or tenth century and then abandoned when the Ottomans came along in the fifteenth century.
It was reinhabited in 1944 and apparently one monk called Maxime has lived up there for the past 24 years, hauling food up when it’s left by locals. He does come down a couple of times a week (for a shower, we wondered?) via the stepladder that you’ll see along with the pulley system.
But on to more earthly matters. We are staying in the most charming guesthouse (the only visitors until 14 bikers arrived a short time ago) and were shown around by Nika whose father has done much of the carpentry throughout the place including making the beds.
This is a traditional place full of vernacular architecture and items – so it must be time for a quiz. We welcome all responses, serious or not, identifying the following objects:
The hole with compartment looks made to bake bread, like in India/Pakistan, no? The contraption is for greasing the bread?
Sorry, dear contestant- not the right answers though you score at least 1 for plausibility and global reach ( all scores will be reviewed when I get to the end of the responses – suspect some inconsistency may occur)..
The host is holding a ram’s horn, I think, used to drink out of.
Yes, correct answer! May score 1 in due course!
Suspect the man on top of the rock comes down to empty his latrine equivalent (and maybe have a shower). I have no idea what most of the things are. I think the underground container thing might be for either baking or proving bread. No idea on the next one. Then the next one, no idea what it’s for but can I have the extra point if it’s a gourd. And he’s holding some sort of horn. Maybe drinking. Maybe a musical instrument. 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Well, bit of a mixed success rate I’d say. Probably correct in terms of Maxime and his latrine and yes, correct in terms of the gourd. Probably a 1 since Maxime wasn’t part of the quiz and before you say anything yes I know you never claimed he was..
I got the bloody horn though!
You did, you did!
Picture 1: a wine jar. Hole used to regulate air content… possibly?
Picture 2: a hole for storing the wine jar in.
Picture 3: a Georgian bottle brush (?). For cleaning the wine jar. Maybe made of animal hide.
Picture 4: has me stumped!
Picture 5: a drinking horn.
How did I do?!?
I think you did very well and have a natural advantage having travelled in Georgia before! Picture 1 not correct, Picture 2 half correct, Picture 3 three quarters correct and Picture 5 completely correct. I make that 2.25 ( but have never been spot on with percentages)
The stopper is made of rubber shoe soles by the looks of it. The container might be for honey or mice, and the hole for checking on their antics. The horn looks solid at the top so maybe not for drinking – but the solidness could be an optical illusion…
An excellent response, bringing in winningly improbable mice and optical illusions! I shall have to refer this to the judging panel for scoring – speaking personally I’d give it 5 but sadly not up to me
No dogs, so I shouldn’t really be commenting, but I think the last photo is a horn to be blown like the Hebraic shofar (sp?) – a bit like a kazoo, only more serious.
Other things to do with wine or bread.
Poor hermit, ya try an get away from it all, and end up in a guide book….
I love the description of the shofar! Sadly not the right answer though wine and bread ( well, wine at least) good for other quiz items. In terms of hermit, frankly picking a huge bloody pillar of rock on which to isolate rather than, say, a cave is inviting tourists
I think everyone else‘s responses cover all possibilities…
And like Tash, I suspect the hermit is a little pissed off with the company of tourists, but then again he no doubt rises above it all.
Thanks, Nicky – I love a verbal joke – and never pass one up myself…
I had told myself not to ask for a quiz, as I couldn’t imagine anything coming up that would qualify, and didn’t want to stress you out, and here we have one and I haven’t a clue. Bread manufacture, keeping dormice, scratching…
Sadly none of the three activities is the correct answer! Am intrigued by the door mice though – in the clay pot? Under the ground? Nestled at the bottom of the rams horn?
Just looking at the hermit’s perch makes me feel dizzy. Hope he keeps the ropes and ladders well maintianed….
The v long ladder to the top has a sort of flimsy cage round it which might, I guess, reduce instant death to life changing injury should Maxime lose his footing?
What an impossible quiz!
1 – pickle jar, and hole is for topping up the brine
2 – oven/first air fryer
3 – cleaning out the oven made of layers of horn and wood
4 – pouring cleaning products on No 3 and made of a gourd
5 – for drinking, made from goat horn
And as for the monk, unbelievable
Thank you, nearly last contestant! Answers 1,2 and 4- sadly incorrect. Answer 3 half correct plus extra marks for guessing the materials and Andwer 5 correct. I make that at least 2 but I’m steadily losing count trying to do individual marking.
Fattening dormice not impossible use for the round jar with the hole in the side, although Georgians may have moved on long ago and found a different use for the jars. Hope this doesn’t upset anyone…
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jul/24/baked-dormouse-and-other-roman-delicacies-come-to-oxford?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other