这是我在阿布哈兹发现的最独特的公交车站

You might have never heard of Abkhazia – it’s a small plot of land between Georgia and Russia along the Black Sea. It’s surprisingly beautiful and populated by friendly people. Nevertheless, it’s a disputed region. This de facto state has been struggling for international recognition for many years, and the conflict is still not resolved yet, sadly.

你可能从未听说过阿布哈兹——它是格鲁吉亚和俄罗斯之间黑海沿岸的一小块土地。那里美得令人惊讶，住着友好的人。然而，这是一个有争议的地区。这个事实上的国家多年来一直在争取国际承认，不幸的是，冲突仍未得到解决。

Traveling in this region was a great experience. I was surprised by the amazing bus stops we saw on the side of the road. I couldn’t drive by without taking a picture of them.

在这个地区旅行是一次很好的经历。我对我们在路边看到的那些很棒的公共汽车站感到惊讶。如果不给他们拍照，我就没法开车过去。

In many countries, these stops are just a place where you wait, a shelter from the weather elements. However, Abkhazia’s stops have extraordinary designs and are so unique. These surreal places are very uncommon for Soviet times. Architectural freedom was not allowed into the Soviet Union, the regulations were very strict, and the technology was limited. You’ll find specially designed shelters everywhere across the former Soviet Union, but the ones at the Black Sea in Abkhazia are the most peculiar and unique.

在许多国家，这些站点只是一个等待的地方，一个躲避恶劣天气的地方。然而，阿布哈兹的停靠点有着非凡的设计，非常独特。这些超现实的地方在苏联时代非常罕见。苏联不允许建筑自由，规定非常严格，技术也很有限。你会发现前苏联各地都有专门设计的避难所，但位于黑海阿布哈兹的那些是最奇特和独特的。

You’ll find most of them on the highway between Garga, Pitsunda and New Athos. One man was responsible for these amazing designs – an architect, a painter, and sculptor Zurab Tsereteli. Since he got his inspiration from the Black Sea, several stops are shaped like giant seashells, waves or fishes. Back in the day, local people were surprised and intimidated by this style and creativity, it was too western. Most of them didn’t like the shelters but now those places are landmarks and tourist sites.

你可以在加尔加、皮特森达和新阿陀斯之间的高速公路上找到它们。这些令人惊叹的设计是由一位建筑师、画家和雕刻家Zurab Tsereteli设计的。由于他的灵感来自黑海，所以有几站的形状像巨大的贝壳、海浪或鱼。当时，当地人对这种风格和创意感到惊讶和害怕，因为它太西方化了。大多数人不喜欢这些避难所，但现在这些地方成了地标和旅游景点。

This remarkable bus stop brings a flood of memories back. While we were photographing, an old Mercedes pulled up and the driver emerged, walking over to us. He struck up a friendly conversation, pleased and honored that we were commemorating the site through pictures. As we spoke, he picked up litter off the ground, a poignant effort rooted in pride for his country and a desire to present it at its best.

这个著名的公共汽车站唤起了人们如潮般的回忆。当我们在拍照时，一辆旧奔驰停了下来，司机出现了，向我们走来。他开始了友好的谈话，很高兴也很荣幸我们能通过照片来纪念这个地方。在我们谈话的时候，他捡起了地上的垃圾，这是一种深刻的努力，植根于他对祖国的骄傲和展现祖国最好一面的愿望。

Stops made from mosaics, stone, concrete or plastic were built almost 60 years ago, and some are in a bad condition. They were some efforts to restore them but without any success; a group of local people want to preserve and see this shelter on the list of historical monuments. So far, the government of Abkhazia hasn’t done anything.

由马赛克、石头、混凝土或塑料制成的车站建于近60年前，其中一些情况很糟糕。他们做了一些努力来恢复它们，但没有任何成功;一群当地人想要保护并参观这个被列入历史遗迹名录的避难所。到目前为止，阿布哈兹还没有采取任何行动。

More info: artdecay.eu | Instagram

图片来源：Isabelle Van Assche