Friday, July 18, 2008

Mad Dogs...



Not quite in Syria yet - on holiday in Georgia. Went walking in the Caucuses yesterday where I managed to get sunstroke and a nasty bout of dehydration on my way down the mountain. By the time I got back to the village, I was wandering around the streets dazed and unable to find the hostel. I had wrapped my shirt around my heat turban-style and was greeted by cries of allahu akbar by the local (Christian) village boys. Luckily I eventually stumbled on the hostel and was fed dioralyte and salty tea by the other (hardier) travellers.
Now I am in Tbilisi - it has a pretty cobbled town centre, but a lot of the old houses have been damaged by an earthquake. Many are cracked right down the middle, which would make them uninhabitable back home, but here people put bright flowers in the window sills and keep on living in them. They don't have the money to repair or rebuild them, but don't have the heart to give up and escape to the even more destitute suburbs either.

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