Photos by Elliot Ross @elliotstudio Medieval villages punctuated by stone defense towers, called koshkis, dot the fertile high-elevation valleys of Europe’s tallest mountain range, the Caucasus. Svaneti, a region in northern Georgia bordering Russia, has a long history of invasions: Persians, Mongols, Turks, and, in contemporary times, Russians. Because of the rugged surroundings, walls were seen as impractical; koshki stonemasonry came into being starting in the ninth century A.D.