Mountains made of volcanic glass of Georgia. Mount Chikiani.
Mount Chikiani consists of rocks of volcanic origin and consists almost entirely of obsidian. Because of this, in clear weather, the sun's rays are reflected from the mountain, which creates a beautiful shine and glow. There is a stone pillar next to the mountain, which has been located here since the second millennium BC!
Mount Chikiani rises in the northern part Javakheti Ridge, on the watershed of the Paravani and Tsalki basins. In books and on maps for centuries, this mountain has been mentioned under the name Koiundagi, which in Turkish means "sheep mountain". However, in ancient Georgian sources, including the writings of the Georgian geographer of antiquity Vakhushti Batonishvili, the mountain is called Chikiani.
The mountain is composed of rocks of volcanic (magmatic) origin. The word "chika" in ancient Georgian meant glass (both artificial and natural). Mount Chikiani, almost entirely composed of obsidian, justifies its name. In clear weather, this peak reflects the sun's rays and shines extraordinarily.
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Obsidian has played a significant role in the history of mankind: even in the Stone Age, the ancestor of man began to make tools and military weapons from it. This igneous rock, consisting of volcanic glass, is called "camel's eye" or "a fragment of the sky" in Georgia. There is a workshop on the slopes of Mount Chikiani and on the Sadzrokh Mountain to the south of it, where obsidian was mined and tools were made from it.
At Mount Chikiani there is a massive stone pillar (megalith) with a height of 3.5 m, which is dated to the II millennium BC. It probably had a cult significance. To the south-east of the mountain, in the basin located between the Abul-Samsrisi and Javakheti ridges, there is the largest lake in Georgia – Paravani (surface – 37.5 sq. km, basin – 234 sq. km).
Location:
Volcanic plateau of Southern Georgia; northern part of the Javakheti range; at an altitude of 2415 m above sea level.
Coordinates:
N42 28'33"; E42 15'26"
How to get there:
At the north-eastern section of the village of Parvani, from the Tsalka - Ninotsminda highway, a trail departs to Mount Chikmani (distance – 1 km); distance from Tbilisi (via Tsalka) – 165 km, from Akhalkaki – 18 km, from Ninotsminda - 25 km, from Tsalka – 25 km, from Akhaltsikhe – 95 km.
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Я нашла для себя много интересного в этой статье. Например, я узнала, что слово «чика» на древнегрузинском означало стекло (как искусственное, так и натуральное), и что гора Чикиани очень блестит на солнце из-за того, что почти целиком состоит из обсидиана. Кроме того, мне показалось интересным, что на склонах горы сохранилась мастерская, где добывали обсидиан и изготавливали из него орудия.
Мне кажется, что путешественники, которые посетят гору Чикиани, обязательно найдут что-то, что им очень понравится. Эта гора настоящий находка для любителей исследовать природу и историю. Мне хотелось бы побывать здесь лично и осмотреть все самостоятельно. Спасибо авторам статьи за интересную информацию о таком необычном месте!
ёт блеск и свечение.Наверное кто видит это восхищается необыкновенной красотой.Какими чудесными пейзажами одарила природа Грузию.
Хочется увидеть это чудо-природы,гору Чикиани.