Experiencing Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi, Georgia

I was convinced for the longest time that I had already created a post on the Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi. Though recently as I stumbled across the photographs, I began to doubt that. Even going as far as going through my post history and checking in case I somehow did and missed it! Though I think this came with the fact that my time in Kutaisi was quite busy, and then on the way back home from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, everything grew even more chaotic as life too the reigns and many events and changes began to take place. I look back at Kutaisi with a lot of admiration, because it was at some point a genuine contender for a place to move to out of Tbilisi while staying in the country of Georgia. The city is tiny, but it's beautiful and historic, surrounded by incredible nature as it sits near the border of Russia and along the Caucasus mountains which are see in the distance from Bagrati Cathedral like a wall that implies the end of the Earth.

Bagrati Cathedral sits above a little hill, across the river and overlooking the beautiful small centre of Kutaisi. To call Kutaisi a city is a bit of a stretch, and you really see how small it is from this view. We walked around some of the older buildings and I photographed a beautiful old building that sat by the river, old wooden balconies with the clear water of the river than ran down from the mountains nearby. The walk up from here wasn't the nicest, Kutaisi even in winter can have quite a bit of warmth to it due to the elevation. A bit of a breeze was felt given the area, but when walking uphill you really start to feel how strong the sun is. Walking up a few bending roads and some steep sets of stairs, you come to the large area where the Bagrati Cathedral resides. This day was incredibly windy, but there were a lot of people here still appreciating the views of Kutaisi, the Caucasus mountains, and taking in the historical views of Bagrati Cathedral itself.

The Cathedral itself has experienced a lot of issues over the years, as it was considered a World Heritage Site for its historical significance. Not just being an old building, but more a location of immense history, ultimately leading to its near-destruction at the hands of the Ottoman Empire which was quite heavy on the invasions in the region. The damage instilled by the war was something that never led to any reconstruction for generations, until not too recently. Something I noticed in Georgia during my almost year spent there is that the attention to preservation is, well, quiet tragic. There is little effort and care in the history around, whether it's the rejection of anything Soviet at all, or the unfortunate circumstance of corruption which will lead to funds being siphoned out of budgets and into pockets, with a cheap result coming out in the end. This was a clear example. And Bagrati Cathedral, despite its existence for over 400 years and World Heritage Site acceptance, would soon lose that status. UNESCO directly speaking at how tragic the reconstruction was, and even advocating for a total removal and redo of it.

This is something you don't quite notice at first as you walk around the area. It's full of little ruins from throughout the hundreds of years. Walls and foundations, little towers that stand alone, and a well which appeared in decent condition. Even the Cathedral itself doesn't look too bad from the outside. A clear modernisation of its rooftop visible but still generally fits the surroundings and look of many churches in the region that have undergone some modernisation efforts. Things change once you step inside, however. And this is where Bagrati Cathedral felt like quite a shock: upon entering, you realise how terrible of a job was done at reconstructing much of the interior. Rejecting the historical look of the church and using modern materials, larger sheets of metal cover much of the view above, even adding a metallic looking balcony area that overlooks the back of the church where many of the church-related events would take place. None of this interior worked, it felt butchered. I'm sure many others would take note of this drastic change and have some shock. 

Due to this, not a lot of time was spent inside. Quickly entering and quickly leaving. Though instead a bit of a walk around the outside to appreciate some of the views and history. I mentioned before it was an incredibly windy day, perhaps even more so up here. I flew my drone around a little and remember trying to fly back, with the drone just stuck in the air and struggling to budge. I took a few fun shots of the church above, though the light here was so strong that nothing came out looking all that nice. I think the same happened with the regular camera stills. Having to really bump up the aperture and the shutter speed even at 100 ISO! I think for me the highlight didn't turn out to be the church, but instead the views. Overlooking Kutaisi, looking out into the horizon and seeing the Caucasus mountains and snowy peaks. Really wanting to just start walking in their directions and discovering. I wouldn't say that the Bagrati Cathedral itself is worthy of a visit. But I do think it might be worth getting to the location to admire the surroundings if it's a relatively warm day and not too windy. But I'd advise taking something to provide some shade, also some water.