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Abkhazia is my mother's home land. In the beginning of the 20th century her grand father came to Rize which is an Eastern Black Sea town in the North East of Turkey. It was part of the old Soviet Union during the cold war and after Perestroika it was separated from Russia together with Georgia.
Then after a while Abkhazians decided to gain their freedom and there was a bloody war during 1992 and 1993 between Abkhazians and Georgians. Russia helped Abkhazians during the war. Some people from Turkey whose ancestors came from Abkhazia like myself, went there to help their relatives. In the end Abkhazians gained their freedom and the border with Georgia was closed.
Many years after the war the border is still closed and it is not possible to access Abkhazia through Georgia or go to Georgia from Abkhazia. It is also not possible to access Abkhazia with a direct flight from any where. So anybody who wants to go there should normally go to Russia first. Sochi is the closest important town in Russia where there is an airport, a sea port and a good connection of railways to the rest of Russia. From Sochi to Abkhazia's border there is an approximate driving distance of an hour, after which one reaches the border.
The border line between Russia and Abkhazia is a river. On the river there are two bridges connecting Russia to Abkhazia. One of them is for pedestrians and the other one is for vehicles. The pedestrian bridge, which you see on one of the pictures, is quite narrow and after one passes the Russian customs the Abkhazian border is only a minute walk from there. At the Abkhazian customs one needs to pay an approximate amount of 20 US Dollars equivalent sum in Russian currency to get a permission to enter Abkhazia. It is helpful to speak Russian or Abkhazian in Abkhazia but there are people who speak English. The Russian rouble is the valid currency there.
Some of the beautiful places to see in Abkhazia are: the Botanical Gardens in Sukhumi, Ritsa Lake, Men's monastery. Some unique plants and the cleanest rivers in the world are there. There are abundant delicious fruits and vegetables growing there and the food is delicious. They say this is one of the reasons why people live very long in Abkhazia. I know an Abkhazian who lives in Turkey whose grand father lived 120 years. They say because the sun hits Abkhazia from a different angle, there grows delicious organic fruits and vegetables which make people live longer. There are many stories about long living Abkhazians. They also say it is because people eat food like «Mamaliga», which is a well known food in Abkhazia made of corn. Mamaliga is the word in Russian and this food is called «Abista» in Abkhazian language.
When I was in Abkhazia I met some people in Sukhumi who are probably my mother's relatives. As their family name is very similar to my mother's family name and they are running a nice hotel in the capital, Sukhumi. The Ritsa hotel. The hotel is an old building from Soviet times and we became very good friends with this group in a short time. Please take a look at the picture where we are seated together in a big armchair. This family spent a lot of money to get that old building restored and transformed into a hotel. I stayed in a nice room for 40 US Dollars when I was there in 2007. I am sure you would enjoy meeting Abkhazians who are well known for their hospitality.
I am showing some pictures here of different places in Abkhazia. Those pictures were given to me by this family you see on the picture and I said I would try to take some customers to their hotel some day. I hope you enjoy looking at them.
