John Buchan Telfer (1831-1907) was British author who had previously served in the Royal Navy. As the Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he had traveled widely and had spent several years in the Russian Empire in the 1870s. On one of his journeys he ventured into South Caucasus, visiting Georgia and Armenia. His account was published in two volumes in 1876.
It was a dark morning and heavy clouds were gathering from the west, as we started from Ozourghety [Ozurgeti] in a pereclodnaya at 2 A.M. This early stir was a necessity, for I was anxious to reach Samtredy [Samtredia] in time to meet the train from Poti to Tiflis. Our horses were fresh, and the clatter of their hoofs echoed again as they cantered over the hard stones in the now silent street of bazaars, and we soon cleared the little town, the dogs saluting us with savage barks from the courts in their keeping.
After crossing the Natonyeba [Natonebi], we ascended the Nasykyryla pass, by the side of a ravine at the bottom of which is the Bah'by, and after fording some of the tributaries of the Soupsa, stopped at Nagomary to change horses. A great fair is held here annually on July 20, at which the entire population of Gouria may be said to assemble, for people flock to it from all parts to lay in their yearly supplies of stuffs, hardware, crockery, cattle, &c, there being no tradesmen in Gouria, and few shops, and this fair becomes the only mart in the province. "You would see what fine cows and beautiful women we have,' said the yemstchyck winking, 'were you to come to our fair.'
In the broad valley of Pasoutchy was the first herd of cattle we had yet seen, and the khourma (Diospyrus lotus), a kind of date plum, was growing luxuriantly; it is largely imported into Russia as a dry fruit, and a favourite spirit is made of it; maize was also growing, but there was a general appearance of abandonment and neglect. The tower seen on the right of the road, is all that remains of the residence of the erystav Mihail of the family of the Gouriel, who was assassinated a few years ago by his own peasantry, for oppressive practices. At Tchynataoury, where we again changed horses, was the house and farm of the erystav David (Gouriel), and from this point the road ascends the well-wooded Pyatzwan, the enchanting scenery being enlivened by frequent falls of water and mountain streams, which find their way into the beautiful valley through which flows the Hebytz-tzkalys; on the opposite side of this valley is the Monastery of Gamatchnebouly, a favourite pilgrimage of the poverty-stricken mountaineers, who have few churches at which they can assemble. But what shall I say of the indigence of the peasantry in these highlands; of their tatters and scared looks as they flew off the road and hid themselves in the wood at our approach- not the males, but the females? And yet, if report be true, there are not many Lucretias in Gouria
. . . where, to love inclined,
Each swain is blest, for every maid is kind.
The women in Gouria, to judge by the few we had the opportunity of seeing, are decidedly interesting; there is nothing characteristic in their costume, with the exception of the cotton shirt, which, drawn in at the waist, is worn in such a manner as to display to the utmost the contour of their charms.
We changed horses for the third time at Hebytzheby, a snug little village by the Hebytz-tzkalys on the southern slope of the Sodjavah', from the summit of which we enjoyed a most extensive view of the plains, and of the windings of the Rion. We were in a vine country, but none of the wine we called for was at all drinkable. On reaching the plain, we crossed the Rion, at the village of Orpyry, on board a barge propelled with paddle-wheels worked by hand. We had no small difficulty in pushing our way through the crowded streets where a fair was going on, for the goods were spread out on carpets on the ground, leaving barely sufficient space for a vehicle to pass; there was no shouting, no cries, no haggling, for men and women moved about lazily and noiselessly. Wools, cottons, and most of the fabrics offered for sale were of Russian manufacture; leather work, cutlery, and pottery were native. A few versts farther, and we were at Samtredy, in ample time for the train.
The Rion is crossed for the last time just before reaching the Kouta'fs railway station, and beyond Kvyryly the railway skirts the Tzheretely, on the banks of which is Byelagory, in the midst of wooded hills occasionally relieved by rich and bounteous pastures. The pass and rock of Byelagory offer some striking points, and as the traveller is borne along, he will notice the sharpness of the curves in the line of rails, many .being at a radius of eight chains.
In this neighbourhood are the remains of numberless churches and castles that crown the peaks and summits, the latter reminding one of the schlcesser on the Rhine. The country people attribute to the great Queen Thamar the foundation of all the sacred edifices, and to the Genoese the erection of the fortresses, a ready method of clearing up all doubts as to their origin. The motive for the existence of so many churches, assigned in his quaint work by [Jean] Chardin, a traveller of the seventeenth century, is likely to be the correct one. "The Georgians, like the other Christians by whom they are bounded on the north and west, follow the strange custom of building the greater number of their churches on the tops of mountains in remote and inaccessible places. They are looked at and reverenced at the distance of three or four leagues, but they are seldom visited; indeed it is very certain that but few are opened even once in ten years. They are erected, and then abandoned to the elements and to the fowls of the air. I was never able to learn the reason for this foolish practice, all those of whom I inquired having ever made the same silly reply: "It is the custom." The Georgians are advised that whatever the nature of their transgressions, they ensure remission by building a small church. For my part, I believe that they erect them in such inaccessible places, to avoid the expense of decorating and endowing them."
On reaching Bejatouban we were transferred to a diligence, the working over the pass of Souram being suppressed for a time. The post-road keeps the railway pretty well in sight as it passes through the defile, on to the plateau, and down to Souram.
The railroad from Poti to Tiflis owes its existence to British capital and enterprise. The British engineers who surveyed the track recommended the boring of a tunnel through the hill; but the Russians shrank from so heavy an undertaking, and at a considerably less cost the railway was made to climb up one side, and run down the other, by gradients of 1 ft. in 22 ft. over a distance of about eight miles, throwing even the Bhore Ghaut into the shade as a matter of skill in engineering.
The station at Souram, a small and insignificant village inhabited by Armenians, was the temporary terminus, but accommodation for travellers was shamefully neglected. We had three hours to wait for the departure of the train, and improved the occasion by walking to the old fortress picturesquely situated on an eminence; a portion only of the walls, which are of considerable thickness and strength, are left standing on their solid foundation of rock. This fortress dates from the reign of Vakhtang, king of Georgia, 446-499, surnamed Gourgasal, 'wolf-lion,' from his habit of wearing a helmet of gold, having a wolf in front and a lion behind. It was restored and occupied by a Persian garrison in 1634, on the accession of Rustam to the throne.
At 6 P.M. the train proceeded through broad valleys increasing in sterility to the narrower valley of the Kour. As is the practice in Russia, the train made unnecessarily long halts at each station, and it was well-nigh midnight when we reached Tiflis. The terminus is fully two miles from the city, but good carriages are in waiting, and the traveller may be certain of being rendered every assistance by the polyglot guards, who are always very civil.
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