At an altitude of 2200 meters, near the border with Turkey, the Khikhani fortress and three lakes, the village of Shuamta is located. The only landmark on the map is the Three Lake Mosque.

In June, the inhabitants of the Memteuri village take their herds and move to the “summer mountains”, here they will remain until the end of summer; due to the large amount of snow, it is impossible to be at such a height in winter.

In mountain life, memteuri provide families with food and dairy products for the whole year - Adjarian cheese, kaymak, kuruti, etc.

Herds live in huts on the first floor, people live on the second. The cattle are milked early in the morning, then the shepherd comes with his children and takes the herd to pasture.

There are several ways to visit the Adjarian nomads: on foot for several tens of kilometers, overcoming elevation changes from the nearest settlement, or by catching an old car rented by the municipality. Despite the distance from city life, even complete strangers are greeted here like old neighbors who have not been seen for a long time.

Year after year, the number of families in such villages decreases, and more and more houses are demolished. At the time of my visit, no more than 30 huts remained.