Det var sannerligen ett tag sedan sist. Sedan sist har jag varit en sväng i Iran på skidor i Alborzbergen, vilse i Tehran och vittne till politiska stödmöten för Palestina i Esfahan. Sedan har jag också tackat ja till att bli ordinarie ledamot i grund- och förskolenämnden i Haninge kommun, vilket fått mig att återuppliva min gamla blogg. Räkna med mer lokalt material här framöver, varvat förstås med den stora världen utanför Haninge, där jag bor.
I slutet på förra veckan var jag och Gurra på ett intressant föredrag hos Addnature om… skidåkning i Iran. Perfekt för oss som snart ska dit och åka. Killen som visade bilder och berättade historier heter Andreas Bengtsson och driver Mountain Guide Travel. Vi fick en rad bra tips om skidåkningen i Dizin och Shemshak. Han kunde till och med visa oss var han åkt med Google Earth och koordinater från hans GPS, vilket var ballt. Men bäst var kanske bilderna. Vilka berg!
Jag väntar förresten fortfarande på visum.
Skidresa till Iran. Varför inte? Den här gången var det Gustav som kom med idén — en strålande sådan. Skidorter som Dizin och Shemshak ligger bara två timmars taxiresa från Teheran. Lite stadsliv i Teheran och massor av bra skidåkning i Shemshak vore perfekt. Skidåkningen sker på över 2000 meters höjd har jag läst. Nu gäller det bara att visumansökan inte avslås. :)
The EU Commission delegation office in Tbilisi.
The founder watching over the city of Tbilisi.
Narikala in the old part of Tbilisi.
What is that? Premises of Dr. No?
When trying to get to the northern Kazbegi region, our marshrutka (a minibus) broke down. First a couple of people came to aid us, but we later had to jump into a new marshrutka. At one instance, an old BMW 3 series convertible pulled over. The driver took a bolt out of the roof fitting and handed it to the marshrutka driver. The BMW driver jammed an ill-fitting screw where the bolt had been in his roof and drove away.
Meadow in Stepantsminda, Kazbegi. In the Caucasus, meadows may be horizontal or vertical.
Telecom, tv, military communications? No idea.
Stepantsminda and Gereti.
The Mtatsminda Zamemba church, as seen on our way up Mt. Kazbeg.
Glacier on Mt. Kazbeg.
The clouded summit of Mt. Kazbeg with a glacier in the foreground.
This is what I had before my eyes after accidentally straying off the path, lost on my own. For about 30 minutes, I had no idea where I was. At one time, I peeked over a ridge only to find a precipice. At that point, I’ll have to admit to feeling a bit uneasy. What bothered me the most was that nightfall was coming. Only minutes later, though, I could make out the path again in the remote distance.
“ЗА РОДИНУ, ЗА СТАЛИНА”, meaning “for the homeland, for Stalin”. Creepy indeed. Earlier the same day a film crew had been shooting scenes for some Russian film in this neighbourhood. I hope the picture of Stalin is only a prop. However, I have seen other public pictures of the dictator in this area.
The snow-capped peak of Mt. Kazbeg.
Back in Tbilisi, this is the new presidential palace under construction.
Sulphur baths in Tbilisi.
Now I’m back in Tbilisi after two days spent in Stepantsminda in the north of Georgia. We walked and climbed Mt. Kazbeg. I reached a glacier which was very impressive at a distance but looked more like a huge mass of ice and dirt, which I guess is what it actually is. :) I’m going to post stunning imagery once back in Sweden. Now it’s back out to the streets and baths of Tbilisi!
In February I and 17 other people took a trip to the Kola peninsula. We went by train and bus and the purpose was skiing the slopes of Kirovsk — the “St. Petersburg Alps”.
I didn’t take any photos myself, but here are a few snapshots from the excellent skier Anton’s recordings.
