Mravaldzali, Racha, Georgia

More from the 11th century chrch currently undergoing its 2nd rebuilding - earthquake damage, then Soviet neglect, were the main culprits in its destructions

Mravaldzali, Racha, Georgia

Lali and her relative at the village's 11th century church, being rebuilt for the 2nd time, with some of its magnificent carved stones in their original positions and a graveyard full of her ancestors

Detail from the church bell, dated 1901

On the way to the church

Mravaldzali, Racha, Georgia

KO, I won't bore you with any more cracked paint photos - at the moment.

These are from Mravaldzali, claiming to be Europe's 2nd highest village at over 1600 m above sea level - but surely K'ala, near Ushguli, is higher than this? I don't know. Anyway, it's the place from which Lali's family originates, and sure enough, the very first people we met there were relatives of hers. Here she is washing dishes against the village's spectacular Caucasus backdrop, with a couple of other nearby scenes thrown in, the bottom one being of a scarecrow and clay kvevri (wine container).

Nr Mravaldzali, Racha, Georgia

"... Here he goes again with the cracked paint, must be cracked himself..."

It happened on the 10-km walk UP (no downhills at all, just UP) from the Oni road to Mravaldzali: Halfway up, in a nearly abandoned village, I came across this fence made of large metal panels. All painted some years ago, and all with perfect cracks covering them. I told Lali that if I had the money and space I'd buy the lot and put them on permanent display somewhere as a monument, the best examples of cracked paint I've seen in my life. I took quite a few shots, and even played with symmetries on all of the results. Here are a few, if you'll indulge me, with the symmetrical version in both cases preceeding the original.