Land of Watchtowers MOUNTANOUS SVANETI

LEANING forward, holding tightly to the roof beams, we
poked our heads out the top of an 800-year-old stone tower
in the country of Georgia. From our vantage point some
80 feet (25 m) above the ground, we saw scores of other ancient
watchtowers scattered throughout the village of Mestia,
Svaneti’s regional capital.
The gently sloping valley, carpeted with green hay fields,contrasted strikingly with the immensity of the lofty snowy summits that soared up around us. We were
captivated by this ancient place, feeling that
somehow we had stepped back into the Middle
Ages. Visiting the famous watchtowers of
Svaneti had, in fact, been a goal of our trip.
Touring the Area
Our journey to the high mountain area of
Svaneti began in Zugdidi, Georgia, near the
Black Sea. The morning was clear, and from
there we could already see the magnificent
white peaks.Whenwe reached the Inguri River
gorge, we slowly wound our way through
it. This forest area teems with ferns, azaleas,
laurels, and masses of rhododendrons with
cream-colored blossoms.
By evening, our group had reached the
picturesque village of Becho. It is located
at the foot of the breathtakingly beautiful
Mount Ushba, with its towering twin granite
spires. Like moths to a candle flame, mountain
climbers are drawn to the sheer icy peaks
ofMount Ushba. At 15,453 feet (4,710 m), it
is frequently referred to as “theMatterhorn of
the Caucasus.”
Tired and hungry from our travels, we
stopped a local shepherd, bought a sheep
from him, and prepared it for our supper. Before
long, over a campfire and with the kind
hospitality of our Svan friends, we had a wonderful
dinner of mtsvadi, known to many as
shish kebabs. It was served with freshly baked
Georgian-style lavash, a flatbread prepared in
awood-fired clay oven. To top off the meal, we
enjoyed a glass of Saperavi, a rich, dry red
wine native to Georgia.
The next morning our journey took us into
Mestia. Here, looking out from the watchtower
mentioned at the beginning of this article,
we concluded that Svaneti is one of the
most beautiful mountain regions of the world.
Some 28 miles (45 km) from Mestia, nestled
still deeper in the mountains, is the village
community of Ushguli. Villagers here live at
altitudes of up to 7,220 feet (2,200 m). Ushguli
has been called “the highest continuously
inhabited village in Europe.”
To reach this mountainous community, we
took a lonely, narrow road that clings to the
mountain and is bounded by steep precipices
that drop off to the river below. On finally
reaching Ushguli, we were rewarded with an
unforgettable sight—clusters of houses huddled
around medieval watchtowers. The backdrop
was the immense Mount Shkhara. Its
dazzlingly white snowy mantle contrasted
beautifully with the deep blue of the alpine
sky. At 17,064 feet (5,201 m), Mount Shkhara,
Georgia’s tallest mountain, is part of what is
called the Bezengi Wall, a seven-and-a-halfmile
(12 km) line of peaks that reach almost
the same height. These are part of the some
750-mile-long (1,207 km) Greater Caucasus
range. Everywhere we looked we saw lush
valleys with astounding scenery. Yet, these
valleys are inaccessible, except to the most
adventuresome or to those who call Svaneti
their home.
The People Who Live Here
The Svans, who live in Upper Svaneti, are
an ancient people who have their own language.
They have long been known as a people
who refused to be dominated by any lord.
In the 18th century, an explorer observed that
the Svans had “realised the new ideal of a
society where the free-will of the individual
overrides all other considerations.”
The unique freedom of Svaneti can be attributed
to two factors. First, the barrier of
extremely tall mountain ranges isolated the
people from the outside world and protected them from invaders. Second, the watchtower
served to safeguard the independence of each
family. It protected them against enemies and
neighboring villagers, who at times became
hostile, as well as from avalanches that inundated
smaller structures with snow.
Life in a Watchtower
We were invited to visit one Svan family’s
tower, which dates back to the 12th century.
The fortress compound had two major parts
—the watchtower, called the murkvam, and
the house to which it was connected, called
the kor. The kor’s first floor had a large fireplace,
the source of heat and light. Prominent,
too, was a big wooden chair for
the patriarch, who presided over an extended
family, which included his wife, his sons, and
their wives. Rotating household duties were
assigned to each of the women. Their work
consisted of grinding flour, making bread,
housekeeping, feeding the animals, and keeping
the large fireplace burning.
The huge tower was made of stones and
was covered in a coarse whitish plaster. It
had four floors. These rose above the twostory
house to which it was connected. When
we entered the tower from the house, it took
a moment for our eyes to adjust to the subdued
lighting. The watchtower’s lower floors
were used for the storage of water, flour, fruit,
cheese, wine, and meat.
In times of emergency, the family would
sleep in the tower’s lower and middle floors.
The top floor, covered by a slate roof, was essentially
a fighting platform that had small
openings in the parapet. One visitor in the
19th century reported that since there was
“no local authority of any kind able to enforce
a decision, arms were constantly resorted to.”
So each family was prepared to fight to defend
itself.
On our return home, feelings of gratitude
to Jehovah welled up in our hearts as we reflected
on the beauty we had seen in his awesome
creation in Svaneti. Those who lived in
the watchtowers there in bygone ages have
the prospect of life in God’s new world. At
that time, none will feel the need to build a
watchtower or any other fortress for protection.
Why not? Because, as the Bible promises,
then people “will actually sit, each one under
his vine and under his fig tree, and there
will be no one making them tremble.”—Micah
4:4; Romans 8:21, 22. (Awake June 2011)