Kutaisi is Georgia’s third biggest city but feels pretty small, despite the fact that the streets are being upgraded and the traffic is therefore chaotic. It is said to have been established in the 17th Century BCE, was a colony of Greece by the 7th Century BCE and the birthplace of Medea. It was also the capital of the Georgian mafia (and even the whole former Soviet Union mafia) but it seems pretty tame now.
The magic roundabout fountain in the opening photo is known as the Colchis Fountain and is based on gold jewellry found at a nearby archaeological site. There seems to be a connection with Jason and the Argonauts which we have yet to establish, This rather wonderful relief at the side of the market tries to capture the whole history:
The market itself was great – full of interesting-looking women selling everything:
And then we went on to find the synagogue which was, by some miracle, open. It was another painted one from the nineteenth century, this time in much better condition and used by the remaining 100 Jews of Kutaisi. The caretaker was keen to show me the Torahs which were both Sephardic and Ashkenazi in the same place, and explained that it was a Sephardic synagogue but used by both communities. Here’s a video to give you a sense of the place – enjoy!
Impressive video control! And such refreshing imagery and sunny colours (nice change from all the flayed saints we’re seeing in Meteora frescoes). Those woman sure look like they could put paid to Putinesque machoism. Did I miss the reason they are mostly in black?
Yes, that day’s synagogue a cheerful affair – of course there will be sadder synagogues to follow. Definitely a matriarchal market – all the stalls run by women. Lots of different ethnicities – I’m pretty sure the women wearing black are widows ( not polite to ask).
What an elegant synagogue – I particularly liked the trompe l’oeil columns and immaculately kept, it seems. Nice contrast to the fountains – could you fit any more jets or gold animals on to it?
It was a lovely space. M quite relieved we’d passed through Kutaisi when we did – the pressure to join the v small congregation for the imminent New Year would have been v hard to resist. In terms of the fountain, yes, I’m sure there was room for just a few more sets of antlers and golden mythical creatures ( you can never have too many in my view).
The magic roundabout fountain looks fun. Although Dougal appears to have suffered a brutal haircut. Maybe he donated the golden fleece?
I fear you may be right – sadly the roundabout didn’t actually rotate to that little plaintive song …