ZEKE Magazine: Spring 2023.2

Tusheti, draped across the
Caucasus Mountains in
Georgia, is all but cut off
for most of the year—the
only road in, through the treacherous
Abano Pass, is impassable
in winter. An occasional Border
Police helicopter becomes the only
link with the outside world. The
region is the ancestral home of
the Tush, traditionally nomadic
shepherds. Today, due largely to
Soviet-era resettlement policies,
most live in the lowlands; few
brave winter in the mountains.
But when the Abano Pass
opens in spring, Tush flood into
the highlands, shepherds among
them making a ten-day trek with
their flocks. There is a sense that
for most Tush, the mountains
are their real home. Tourism has
become the economic mainstay:
seasonal guesthouses cater to
summer hikers. But they are constrained
by the very remoteness
that is their main attraction.
Aiming to boost tourism by
getting businesses online, a group
of volunteers set out to bring the
Internet to the mountains. They
hope that increased economic
opportunity will slow the drift
of young people to cities, and
make it possible for the Tush to
once again live year-round in the
mountains.
Top: A shepherd driving a flock of
sheep into the Abano Pass along
the road to Tusheti
Bottom: Tamari Khucishvili playing
with her daughter, Sophia, at their
home in Omalo, the central village
in the remote mountainous region
of Tusheti.
ZEKE SPRING 2023/ 31