If anyone was lucky with the rest, then it is for those tourists who happened to spend their holidays in Georgia. This wonderful land impresses with the grandeur of the mountains and the beauty of landscapes. Here you can see historical places and ancient mountain villages, learn the ancient traditions of the Georgian people, swim in the clear blue sea, improve your health, try the peculiar Georgian dishes known all over the world, see the fiery mountain dances.
This country will appeal to those who love the virgin nature, green forests and majestic mountains. But today is our short story about the fast-moving mountain rivers of Georgia, and more precisely, about the longest Georgian river Mktvari, better known as Kura, and its tributaries. It originates in the mountains of northern Turkey, crosses eastern and southern Georgia and flows into the Caspian Sea on the territory of Azerbaijan. In the upper part, the river rushes its waters among the gorges and gorges, which alternate with intermountain basins and lowlands, below Tbilisi, it sometimes runs up into separate branches. Here the valley of the fast river expands, its flow calms down.
The river, which has not reached its mouth for more than 200 km, is replenished by the largest right tributary of the Kura - Araks. Its source and headwaters are located on the Bingel Range in Turkey, the headwaters are located on the territory of Azerbaijan, and it flows into Kura near the city of Sibirabad. For a considerable extent, the right tributary of the Kura Araks is a border river that divides Armenia and Azerbaijan with Iran and Turkey. The Ararat mountain range is located on the right bank of Araks. Big Ararat is covered with mysterious eternal snows, under which, probably, to this day, the remains of Noah’s Ark are hidden. Araks is not the only right tributary of the Kura; other rivers, relatively small, flow into it on the right: Khrami, Agstev, Akhum, Kurekchay. Many small rivers simply do not have time to bring their waters to the Kura - they are dismantled for irrigation.
In the area of the Mingachevir reservoir, a river flow replenishes with its waters the left tributary of the Kura River, the Alazani River. It arises from springs located on the southern slopes of the B. Caucasus at an altitude of 2837 m above sea level. Alazani is the largest left-side tributary of the Kura. In the upper reaches close to the source, the water in the river is the most transparent in the entire East Caucasus. In the river valley there are many attractions: ancient watchtowers and battle towers, the ruins of the ancient fortress of Bakhtrioni, the estate of princes Chavchavadze, etc.
Another left tributary of the Kura is Aragvi. The merger of these two powerful and beautiful rivers at all times did not leave indifferent famous Georgian poets. And remember, Lermontov in “Mtsyri” compares these rivers with two embraced sisters? The monastery, which the poet mentions, exists to this day. Built in the 7th century, it is a masterpiece of architecture. From the hill near the Jvari Monastery , you can especially see how the two rivers merge, and on their banks lies the ancient city of Mtskheta with the towers of temples.
Rivers flowing through the territory of Georgia rush their waters either to the Black Sea basin or to the Caspian. The multi-water right tributary of the Kura Araks and the Kura itself with all other tributaries collectively carry the largest water flow to the Caspian. Rivers (the main one is the Rioni), belonging to the Black Sea basin, do not have a common system and flow into the sea each on its own. It is hard to imagine, but the geographically small country of Georgia has up to 25 thousand rivers, streams and streams, which, feeding mainly on glacial and snowmelt melt waters, underground springs and due to precipitation, carry their fertile waters everywhere, irrigating the fairy land.