Laine Cunningham

Spectacles of Stepantsminda Laine Cunningham

Gergeti Trinity Church presents an iconic silhouette set amid the breathtaking beauty of the Greater Caucasus mountains.

Stepanstminda, formerly known as Kazbegi, nestles in a valley beneath Mount Kazbek. One of the many hiking and biking trails leads up to Tsminda Sameba, or Gergeti Trinity Church.

The hermitage and the separate bell tower stand at an elevation of 2,170 meters, around 7,100 feet. After exploring the 14th century structures, visitors delight in stunning views.

Mountain climbers find plenty of challenges in the surrounding Kazbegi Nature Reserve. Milder adventures await daytrippers who wander in alpine meadows. Throughout the day, the thick forest wears veils of mist splashed with sunlight.

Escape into the Caucasus with Spectacles of Stepantsminda: Mount Kazbek and Gergeti Trinity Church (a Travel Photo Art book).

In the Travel Photo Art series, traditional tourism panoramas mix with arthouse aesthetics. These slim, passport sized productions are your passport to new perspectives on famous places. Peer around corners and discover a unique way to interact with monuments and memorials you thought you knew.

This popular series includes titles that mix text with the pictures. Books like Notre Dame Cathedral: Our Lady of Paris, featuring photos taken months before the 2019 fire, become keepsakes associated with a specific site. Titles like Lidice Lives and Terezin and Theresienstadt are deeply meaningful for families touched by the Holocaust.

Laine Cunningham, a three-time recipient of The Hackney Award, writes fiction that takes readers around the world. Her debut novel, The Family Made of Dust, is set in the Australian Outback, while Reparation is a novel of the American Great Plains. She is the editor of Sunspot Literary Journal.