Residents of Sukhumi diving and swimming at an abandoned pier Photo / Amos Chapple
Wen | Zhang Hailu Editor| Weng Qian
The Republic of Abkhazia, a de facto but independent place that is part of Georgia on most maps, is not difficult to reach. Under their foreign ministry webpage, they will send an email, wait 5 working days, and then they can take such a printed document and cross the border from the Enguri River crossing in Zugdidi in northwest georgia. After all, in another fact identified by the Georgian border guards, I was merely going to another special territory of their country.
It was a place that refused to be internationalized, and with the exception of the Coca Cola trademark and the Lincoln dollars that the bus driver hung next to the statue of the Virgin, all English disappeared and was replaced by Russian, which resembled a mirror reflection. Two wars, between 1992 and 1993 and 1998, forced ethnic Georgians, who once made up 60 percent of Abkhazia's population, to leave the country, and the rest lived mainly in the southern town of Gali, a ruined city where wild boars would run rampant in the central square.
Hanging on the Sukhumi Sea is a photograph of Abkhazia's first president since independence, who would have turned 70 this year if he had not died 5 years ago
When I arrived in the capital Sukhumi, I couldn't even see the Hotel sign, and even if I temporarily learned the hotel pronunciation of "Gastinisa", passers-by who were shirtless on vacation on the Black Sea could only stall at me. In the end, before going out of the way, I bumped into a sea-view hotel that looked quite high-end, and I agreed to how much money I wanted.
I arrived at this quirky place on a Saturday, and I had far more trouble than language. The banks were closed, even the ATMs were resting, and I was carrying only 1,000 rubles worth less than 100 yuan. The best restaurants in the area don't accept credit cards, or even English menus. So, after swallowing the coke and cake from the small shop, I saved my strength and went to the "Primate Testing Center" on a small hill north of the city.
A Soviet-era sanatorium in the rest town of Gagra Photo/Amos Chapple
The 2005 Russian film Walking Upright tells the story of this "Institute of Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics." In Brezhnev's time, there were 5,000 monkeys here, and as an experiment in the "Mars 500" project, the wombs of some female monkeys were even injected with human sperm in order to create cyborg warriors with developed limbs and simple minds. Of course, the experiment failed, but during the "Star Wars" in 1980, it contributed 8 "space monkeys" to space. Today, the test center also has 300 monkeys from all over Asia and Africa, pitifully imprisoned in cages, teased by Russian tourists who come to vacation.
After scribbling my second meal, I took advantage of the setting sun to swim in the Black Sea for a while, passing a monument full of wreaths. The inscription reads, "In memory of those who were with us, who were not favored by fate, whose souls disappeared among the mountains, like the trajectory of a falcon." "This day is August 15, the official anniversary of the outbreak of the Abkhaz War, which killed 8,000 people from 1992 to 1993 and reduced the total population of the region from 540,000 before the collapse of the Soviet Union to 240,000 today.
Former Parliament Building in Abkhazia Photo/Amos Chapple
After the third meal, there was a young man who could speak a little English at the front desk of the hotel. In fact, "independence" is also reflected here in Moscow time, an hour earlier than Tbilisi, while smartphones only recognize "Georgian sovereignty" and therefore do not automatically adjust. After postponing breakfast for an hour, the guy on duty practiced English with me, "Abkhazia is a beautiful and kind independent country. China and Russia are strong and friendly, the American people are good but the government is bad," the guy continued, holding the translation software of Samsung's mobile phone, "Western countries have recognized same-sex marriage and accused traditional Russia and us of this, which is too shameless!" "We and China should also be good friends, but why don't your leaders recognize our independence?" Would he have not heard of our country? ”
Before I ran out of food, I was saved by Aunt Natalie, whom I met online. Working at the local news agency, she took me to the mansion of her son-in-law, Danny. Danny worked for and developed in an IT company abroad, speaking fluent American, while Natalie and her daughter, who only speak Russian, are among the few Georgians who remain here.
The hostess didn't seem to welcome me, Danny explained, "My wife is an animal protection extremist, and one of her cisco executives' girlfriend recently came to your Guangxi, stayed in a high-end hotel, and got the manager to complain, 'I don't want Europe and the United States to taste China, take me to the real city to see'. The hotel met her, but unexpectedly caught up with the Yulin Lychee Dog Meat Festival, and came back after being scared to cry and kept complaining about China. ”
I had to bear the "sins of my compatriots" and eat and leave in a disciplined manner. The bank that reopened last Monday paid $10 and went to the Foreign Ministry with the receipt to get the extra paper. Indeed, in contrast to other countries, which can only be admitted if they are granted a visa, Abkhazia takes a visa before leaving.
TIPS
1． Abkhazia, which borders Russia and Georgia, can enter and return to Sochi from Sochi if it holds a Russian entry visa for more than two times, or return to Georgia from the original port of entry if it enters from the Georgian Enguri port. You must not enter or leave Georgia from Russia, because you will be detained as illegal entry, and do not take the opposite route, and you will probably not be able to go to Georgia again because you have no departure record.
2. There are 3 Georgian films about the conflict in Abkhazia that are worth watching, "The Other Side of the Shore" is about the adventures of refugee children returning home to find their fathers, "The Island of Crops" is filmed on the silt mud of the estuary of the Enguri River, and "Kumquat" is about the fragile relationship with the enemy in the early days of the war, which was nominated for the 2015 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
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