One of my trips while in Georgia was to the mountain town of Kazbegi (now renamed Stepantsminda). It is famous for the Georgian writer Alexander Kazbegi, the Tsminda Sameba church as well as the 5,047 meter (16,558 feet) high Mt. Kazbek. Mt. Kazbek, an extinct volcano, is around 160 kilometers (100 miles) to the south-east from the highest mountain in Europe, the 5,642 meter (18,510 ft) high Mt. Elbrus (located on the Russian side of the Caucasus mountains). The town of Kazbegi is located on the Georgian Military Highway, about 10 kilometers before the Russian border crossing.

The original name of the city was Stepantsminda, it was named after a Georgian Orthodox monk who constructed a hermitage at this location. The semi-current name of the town (Kazbegi) comes from the the great-grandfather of Alexander Kazbegi, Kazibek Chopikashvili. He was charged with collecting tolls for passage through the area in the 18th century. During the 19th century, the Russian Empire expanded in the south Caucasus. The people living in the city (then known as Mtiuleti) allied themselves with other mountain peoples and revolted against the Russians. They demanded that Gabriel Chopikashvili (Kazibeks' son) hand over the resident Russian soldiers, he refused and was promoted to the position of General in the Russian army. Shortly afterwards the town was renamed Kazbegi.

After Georgia became independent following the break up of the Soviet Union, the name of the city changed back to the original name of Stepantsminda. Many people still know it as Kazbegi, so both names are commonly used.

The following pictures were taken through the window of my Marshrutka (minivan/taxi) on the way from Tbilisi to Kazbegi

Roadblock

Roadside scenery

Sheep and cattle grazing on the mountainside, look for the dots

You can barely see them in this picture

Georgian defense tower, barely visible. More pictures of these towers below

Old Soviet concrete tunnel

Roadside scenery

Another defense tower on top of a pass

Coming down towards Kazbegi

Old Georgian Military highway checkpoint

Roadside scenery

My home stay room

The town of Kazbegi

Alexander Kazbegi museum complex

Church, built in 1809-1811. Alexander Kazbegi, his father and mother are buried nearby. The parents are buried under the bell towers, Alexander is buried is under a stone sculpture near the fence, he asked to be buried in a place from which he could see Mt. Kazbek.

Inside of his former house, now housing the museum.

Typical 19th century furniture and tools used in the city

Portrait of Alexander Kazbegi. After studying in Tbilisi, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Alexander made the unusual decision to become a shepherd. After a while, he started working as a Journalist and wrote the plays and novels that made him famous. His most famous work, the novel The Patricide, is about a Caucasian bandit-hero named Koba. Koba, somewhat similar to Robin Hood, is a defender of the poor. Full of contempt for authority, a firm belief in vengeance (still common to some tribal peoples in the Georgian mountains) and a taste for violence, Koba was a major inspiration to another Georgian, Iosif Jughashvili. Better known as Joseph Stalin, Iosif used Koba as a revolutionary pseudonym for some time. I also visited the city of Gori, the birthplace of Stalin and the site of his museum where he still enjoys godlike status. But I will write about that a bit later...

The following photos are form the hike up to Tsminda Sameba church

Small house/barn along the trail