Having devoured all the scant information I could find in print on Svaneti in English and Russian from outside Georgia in the 1990s, it was time to visit this place which had captured my imagination. I did so, for only four days, in July 1999.
Just over 25 years later, I still remember the piercing of my heart with beauty as we ascended the green foothills from Jvari into Upper Svaneti. The road was terrible, and we didn’t know that we were being driven into a lions’ den, the Aprasidze clan possibly lying in wait for any unprepared and naive travelers. Somehow we made it past them and were then convoyed on to Mestia by the first Svans I ever met, who also put us up at their guest house. Dali Japaridze, here’s looking at you.
Eventually, still single, in 2007, I bit the bullet and prepared to move to Ushguli, Svaneti’s and Europe’s highest village. The locals were enthusiastic, and at my request for something to do gave me the job of teaching all 51 of their school-age children English. This I accepted with pleasure, and still had high amounts of time daily to explore, take photographs as winter settled in, and meet everyone.
Two winters on, I was married to Lali Skhirtladze from Kakheti, eastern Georgia, who knew what she was getting into: eventually, a permanent move to Svaneti. Here we are. A guest house and shop keep us going, and the massive landscapes sustain my soul.
One of my new friends in Tbilisi from a few years ago, photographer and filmmaker Mehrdad Ruien from Iran, once asked me for a short interview. In his words, “When I met Tony, I was amazed to see his love for Georgia, especially Svaneti. His form of photography has been inspiring for me too. Therefore, by hanging out more with him, I got the idea to bring this passion of his for Georgia and art in general onto the screen to introduce it to others. The original plan was to have a 2-3 minute, very simple interview at his apartment, but as our team grew, the length of the production and the whole project grew, to the extent that we ended up with ‘Geosynchronicity’.”
This 22-minute film sums me up nicely as an artist; I’m very pleased with the results. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/ndfKitNi92M
There IS a mid-credits clip too!
I congratulate Mehrdad on this production, and am very grateful to him for all his hard work and creativity in bringing this film to life. You can find him online at: https://www.facebook.com/leonardo.rouiin
My boss at Georgia Today, publisher George Sharashidze, got a sneak preview of the film and has these kind words to say:
“The biggest Svan of all Svans – that’s how I introduce Tony Hanmer to people. It is impossible for a person born thousands of kilometers away, on another continent, to come to Georgia, connect his life with the mystical mountains of Svaneti, and there not to be a real artist, a real creator living in this person. For many, Svaneti is the coldest part of Georgia, both climatically and because of its really cold nature, landscape and high mountains, but for someone like Tony Hanmer, Svaneti can be warm too, and at all times of the year. It is the warmth coming from Tony’s heart that has warmed the hearts of many Svans; even in the cold winter this genius person managed and still manages to transfer warmth and love to young and old. I am glad that Tony Hanmer has been writing about Svaneti from Svaneti for the newspaper GEORGIA TODAY for many years now, and this is one of the important factors why they love and read this newspaper. Thank you, Tony, for loving Georgia and Georgians, for more than 500 articles written about Svaneti, for hundreds of unique photos, which are truly a work of art and best represent the most beautiful corner of Georgia. While watching the film, I remembered all of Tony’s articles and photos, the years when Tony was starting to fall in love with Svaneti and all his ‘Svan vacations,’ which became an integral part of his life. Thank you for everything, Tony!”
Thank YOU, Mehrdad the film director, George (GT publisher), Katie Ruth Davies (GT editor), Svaneti, Georgia, and my dear wife Lali… for being part of this ongoing journey together with me. I’m rich.
Blog by Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
