Imereti is the vibrant, green heart of Western Georgia. Here, the humid air is thick with the scent of boxwood and honeysuckle, and time seems to move in cycles of ancient myths. The capital, Kutaisi—one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities—was the center of the Colchis civilzation 3,000 years ago. It is a land of white stones, deep caves, and legendary abundance. According to Greek myth, it was here that Medea, the sorceress and daughter of King Aeetes, helped Jason steal the Golden Fleece, a story that likely grew from the actual Svanetian practice of catching gold flakes in sheep fleeces
Georgia.Travel: Country of the Golden Fleece.
The region's landscape is a masterclass in karst geology. Descend into the Prometheus Cave to witness 1.4km of illuminated stalactites, or stand atop the Katskhi Pillar, a 40-meter limestone monolith where a lone monk lives in a tiny cell atop the sky . In the 12th century, King David the Builder founded the Gelati Academy, hailed as the 'New Athens' or 'Second Athos' of its time, where the greatest minds of the era studied science and philosophy. To visit Imereti is to taste the sun in a slice of Imeretian Khachapuri and to feel the weight of a thousand years of Colchian gold.
