2006 Embassy Events
PAO Trip To Svaneti
At the invitation of the Georgian National Museum, U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer (PAO) Rowena Cross-Najafi and Cultural Assistant Natia Trapaidze visited Svaneti July14-16. It was the PAO’s first trip to the region. Svaneti, a historic province in Georgia and the highest inhabited area, is located on the southern slopes of the central Greater Caucasus. During her two-day visit she visited Mestia, the administrative center of Svaneti, and the village of Ushguli, a UNESCO Heritage site and the highest inhabited place in Europe. The focus of the trip was two of Svaneti’s Historical-Ethnographic Museums, where ancient, unique icons and manuscripts are kept, as well as meetings with museum management. The landscapes of both Mestia and Ushguli are dominated by medieval stone defensive towers of a type seen throughout Svaneti. Ushguli is located at the feet of Shkhara, one of the highest Caucasian summits.
