Journey to Ancient Colchis

Ancient Colchis in the Eastern Black Sea region in XII-XI BC is considered to be one of the sources of Georgian statehood. The wonderful legend of the Argonauts who sailed to Colchis through the stormy waves of the Black Sea (formerly known by the Greeks as the “Inhospitable Sea”) on Argo to seek the Golden Fleece is widely known. Jason managed to achieve his goal and took the Golden Fleece to Greece with help of the daughter of King Aeëtes – Medea, who later became the main character of the tragedy by Euripides, where a woman in love kills her children. After this the Greeks called the sea Euxine, i.e. the Hospitable Sea.

The current authorities in Georgia have transformed this legend into a brand of the country. The Golden Fleece is the main order of Georgia awarded to foreigners. A huge monument of Medea has been built in Batumi; it is visible from the sea before the coast itself. It should be noted that a lot of people criticized Saakashvili for the Medea in Batumi. “Since when are monuments to infanticides and betrayers being built?” they asked. But the president did not hide the fact that he was the initiator of the edifice.

A journey around Colchis is an integral part of the tourist programme in Georgia. Time has almost completely destroyed the remnants of the ancient kingdom of Colchis, so tourists can only visit the archeological excavations at the Black sea port of Poti, where the ancient capital was probably situated.

Later the Greeks founded city-states here, carrying the light of Greek culture to the Caucasus. Archeologists found a coin called the “Colchis tetra”, after which current Georgian coins are named – tetra meaning 'white'.

There are many fortresses and other buildings from later times – a few centuries after the era of the Argonauts, when one of the first Western-Georgian kingdoms – Kolkheti – prospered on the land of ancient Colchis. There is a beautiful park in the very centre of the Colchis lowlands. “Journey around Colchis” includes not only museums
and archeological excavations, but also exotic tourist opportunities, such as fishing in the legendary Paliostomi Lake, full of mullet.

In Kolkhetia national park, from the top of a high tower, tourists can observe flora and fauna which have not changed for 3000 years, according to scientists. In the reign of Aeëtes the sea in Colchis was just as caressing, the same trees grew in the forest and the animals and birds lived the same life, heedless of the rise and ruin of great civilizations.

Georgy Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK.