Wandering through the Stalin museum was a very strange experience. Most of the writing was in Georgian and Russian but not English. Faded pictures and discoloured documents lined the walls of the dark museum, telling a story of false glory and hidden cruelty. One room was dedicated only to objects made in honour of Stalin.
The Georgians have very mixed feelings when it comes to Stalin and the Russians. In Gori it brings tourism and money, but the resentment is still there. The Georgian scout who was with us was very reluctant to follow us into the Stalin museum, and later when he showed us round the rest of Gori he told us about the Russian invasion of 2008.
He had been in Gori, which had been taken, at the time and had watched as bombs fell over the city. He told the story with deep sorrow in his eyes and took us to a monument dedicated to those who were killed.
Just above the monument there was a fortress overlooking the city. We climbed up to have a look. It was a very impressive view with the city below and the mountains all round it. After a little misunderstanding the leaders and the Georgian scout decided to ask the guards if we could sleep at the fortress. And to our big surprise they said yes.
It was amazing being able to pitch the tents on such an old, historical site. A once in a lifetime experience!
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