PHOTOGRAPHY: Tsalka in Georgia. Von Nicolas Landru

On the Highlands of the Lesser Caucasus behind Tbilisi in the Kvemo Kartli region, the Tsalka region is a remote and sparsely inhabited area of Georgia. Its inhabitants are mainly Armenians and Georgians who where relocated there from their home regions, where their villages got destroyed by lanslides between 1998 and 2005. Formerly, the region was mostly inhabited by Greeks, but they emegrated to Greece in masses during the 1990, thus the Georgians moved into their abandoned houses. Tensions between Georgian Svans and Adjars and Armenian-Greek older communities remain strong, although improvement occured since some years. Roads around Tsalka are in an advanced state of disprepair, contributing highly to isolate this curious highland place.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Church in Ediqilisa village

Tsalka hollow, SE Georgia, 1 May 2008

Photo 23. Mai 2008 von Alexander Abuladze

PHOTOGALLERY: Justyna Mielnikiewicz from Poland took some Photos about the Homeless Greeks of Georgia

SPUTNIK PHOTOS (International Association Of Photojournalists) published a "At The Border" - a Project Awarded By European Cultural Foundation.

Justyna Mielnikiewicz show there photos from homeless Greeks of Georgia - The 30.000 greeks who once inhabited the Tsalka region now number approximately 1.500.

more: sputnikphotos.com

Websites by Justyna Mielnikiewicz
http://www.justmiel.com/
www.digitalrailroad/just73

Die isolierten Bergregionen von Kwemo-Kartli im Stillstand
Artikel erschienen am 19/03/2007 (CauCaz.com)
Von Nicolas LANDRU in Manglissi
Ubersetzt von Aus dem Französischen von Monika RADEK und Nicolas LANDRU

Das weniger als 100 km von Tbilissi entfernte kleine Städtchen Tsalka könnte ein Vorort der georgischen Hauptstadt sein. In der sowjetischen Ära diente es als einer der "Speicher" der Metropole, der die Versorgung der Hauptstadt mit Milchprodukten und Kartoffeln sicherstellte. In der Bergregion hat der Zerfall der UdSSR jedoch unmittelbar zu einem Ruin der Produktionsstrukturen und einer extremen Verschlechterung der Straßen und Eisenbahnlinien geführt. Das heutige Kwemo-Kartli zählt zu den isoliertesten und am stärksten vernachlässigten Regionen Georgiens und zeugt von einer extremen Desintegration des georgischen Territoriums.

Der ganze Text: Tsalka, eine instabile Region

Foto: Nicolas Landru / Some pictures taken between Tskhneti and Manglisi, on the Tbilisi-Tsalka road... The asphalt is more and more missing, the more one drives away from the capital. But the lesser Caucasus highland offers a beautiful often moon-like lanscape.

Tsalka (GE), April 2006

The night train will arrive any minute now.

a c i t y 2006

From Tsalka town to the Tsalka railway station takes one hour by foot. To get there, we were told to take the railway. The light comes from a warehouse, the station is behind us.More pictures here.

Uploaded on April 22, 2006 by Ben van der Ploeg