Dortkilise, the church up in the mountains was the object of our hike that morning. We could have easily hired a taxi that would take us from Yusufeli to the door step of Dortkilise. No, instead I thought it would do all of us good to hike. The countryside is so beautiful.
We passed village homes, so rustic and yet so comfortable. We passed friendly locals whom we greeted, 'merhaba'. Some vehicles passed us and waved. It was 7KM from Yusufeli to Tekkale and another 7 Km from Tekkale to Dortkilise. The hike from Tekkale to Dortkilise is all the way uphill. We only hiked half the way from Yusufeli to Tekkale. Similarly I got tired and after hiking half way from Tekkale to Dortkilise, I decided we should waved some one down to take us in their vehicle. Some guy in a truck stopped and we got in and he drove us the rest of the way to Dortkilise. So much for hiking, well, that's all the hiking we need to experience, no need to overdo it!
Dort is 4 in Turkish. Dortkilise means 4 churches but over time there's only one church left. The 2 Russian girls we met at the hostel were here a few days before us, they forewarned us that there's only one church. I read that there is a sizable Georgian population in Moscow. These 2 Russian girls could be of Georgian origins. They had friends in the area whom they were visiting.
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