Blogspot: The Country of Georgia

Greetings! We recently returned from a trip to the country of Georgia (country #79). Below, you will find information and photos from our trip.

Georgia is part of the Caucasus region, which includes Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgians call themselves Saqartvelo (sacar-too-ell-oh, which apparently reflects the harvest of grapes and a descendant of Noah), and Lithuanians are the only other nation to call them this. There are 12 climate zones in Georgia, which is more than Turkey, which is 10 times bigger than Georgia. The sea, mountain, and desert are all within 2 hours of the capital city of Tbilisi. The flag of Georgia has a big cross (represents Jesus Christ), and 4 smaller ones (represent His angels).

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Georgia is located in a region of the world that makes it “the crossroads of Europe and Asia.” We were told that National Geographic identifies part of Georgia as belonging to Europe, and the rest to Asia. That said, the culture and traditions make them more European than Asian. The official language is Georgian, with a 33-letter alphabet that has nothing in common with other alphabets. We were told that it is “a quite difficult language,” and belongs to the Ibero-Christian languages. They are currently on their third alphabet, the first of which had 40 letters.

Georgia is the center of the Caucasus region and has the most infrastructure when compared to the other countries in the region. It can get hot (42-43C/108-109F; as compared to 31-32C/88-89F average temperature 10 years ago) in the summer, but is temperate the rest of the year. Most people will go to the mountains or the sea in the summer, as they do not have air conditioning due to the cost of placing the large machines in buildings.

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The population of Georgia is 3.8 million, with 1.8 million living in the capital of Tbilisi. Tbilisi (Tuh-BLEE-see; means “hot coals of water”; when Tbilisi was discovered by a man they called Gorgasali [which means wolf face], he settled there because of the warm water) became the capital in the 5th century. Schools start at 9am, and the workday starts around 10am and finishes around 7pm. The United States sends a lot of support and funding to Georgia and, as a result, there is a huge USAID building there. There is also a street named after George Bush, Sr., in Tbilisi, as he was the first US president to visit Georgia.

Georgia is considered to be a secular country, but 50% of the population is “religiously active,” with most of them identifying as Christian, and 8% (mostly Azerbaijanis living in Georgia) identifying as Muslim. Georgia was the eastern- most Christian country due to early influence in the 7th century. Being “Georgian” means that both parents are Georgian, and that the individual and their parents are Christian and have Georgian names. The population is 80% ethnically Georgian, 5% Armenian, and the rest are from Azerbaijan and other countries.

There are over 300 churches in Tbilisi, and religious education was important at one point. They also used to learn everything in school in Russian, but this changed after the revolution, when they started teaching in Georgian. Russian remains the second language within education. English is only spoken in 2-3 big cities in Georgia, and we were told that there is a “very mediocre level of English education.”

Interesting Fact: Joseph Stalin was born in Georgia and, according to our tour guide, is considered to be the “biggest shame of Georgia.”

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Georgia separated from Russia in 1991, and gained independence in 1992. They had a hard time, financially, and in 2003, they had the Rose Revolution, which was a peaceful revolution, after which Mikheil Saakashvili took over. He’s now in jail after being in exile for 8 years in Ukraine (he came out of exile for the election and was jailed for “illegally crossing the border”). As of the time of our visit, he had recently been taken to a hospital after a 50-day hunger strike. Georgia reportedly became a democratic government shortly after independence, and then shifted to a parliamentary government. As a result, they have a Prime Minister, which is appointed by Parliament. They also have a President, who is female, and is considered to be a figure head.

Interesting Fact: Georgians had been fighting for survival until Russia came into the picture. As a result, their national dress has gun cartridges on it to reflect that they are “always ready for battle.”

Georgia was close to NATO membership in 2008 (along with Ukraine), and the Germans did not want them to join because it would create problems with Russia. Diplomatic ties were cut to Russia after the war in 2008. Georgia has been trying to join the European Union (EU) since independence, which is why they fly the EU flag wherever the Georgian flag is flown. However, most of the citizens prefer that they join NATO due to Georgia’s issues with Russia.

Interesting Fact: Georgians need to get a visa through the Swiss Embassy in order to travel to Russia (the border of which is 160km/99mi north of Tbilisi).

Below are scenes from Tbilisi

The castle at the top of Old Town was a protected area due to the walls around it. The fortress was the main defensive building in Tbilisi. It was attacked and damaged several hundred times, and was last attacked by Iran at the end of the 17th century.

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Georgia is the oldest place for winemaking, which began 8000 years ago. They have 25% of all of the grapes in the world. Their most popular wine is white, dry, or semi-dry, and they drink it like beer (i.e., no smelling or sipping). The Tamada is a toastmaster for wine drinking (does the toasts), is considered to be the leader of the drinking, and drinks the most. He uses a drinking vessel made from the horn of an animal. Georgia is also known for its bath houses, the location of which is considered to be the oldest district in Tbilisi. It was left untouched by foreign enemies because they enjoyed the bath houses as well. They incorporate Sulphur, are kept at 36-40C/97-104F degrees at all times, and are said to help with pain and relaxation.

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Interesting Fact: There are more cars than people in Tbilisi because it is cheap to import cars from the US and Japan. This is also the reason why they have the steering wheel on the left, and drive on the right side of the road.

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The Mother of Georgia statue is seen as a lady of liberty. It is 20m/65ft high, and represents Georgian people’s nature. She has a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other – if you come as a friend, she will serve you; if you come against her, she is prepared to fight. The statue is made of aluminum to withstand rain and other weather conditions.

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Kazbegi Region

Within a two-hour drive from Tbilisi is a mountain region called Kazbegi, which is very popular with skiers. Mount Kazbegi is 5046m/16,555ft high, and serves as the northern border of the Great Caucasian Mountains, which go all the way to the Caspian Sea.

Jvari Monastery (also referred to as Monastery of the Cross) is from the 16th century, and was built to overlook the ancient capital of Georgia – Mtskheta. Inside of the church are two crosses, the smaller one of which symbolizes the old cross, the other of which reflects the cross carried by the woman who brought Christianity to Georgia.

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This monument (built in 2008) was dedicated to the agreement that was signed at the end of the 18th century between Georgia and Russia. Georgia had been under Ottoman and Persian influence and asked Russia for assistance. Russia protected Georgia against the invaders (Georgia became part of the Russian empire in 1801), and then betrayed Georgia, signed a treaty, and left Georgia vulnerable to a big invasion from Persia. Russia did not assist, which made Georgia more weak, and unable to resist. Georgia eventually gained independence.

Gergeti Trinity Church is a 14th century church that is used as shelter for precious items. Six monks live here continuously. It is said that St. Stephen was in the mountain across from the monastery, came down from the mountain before the village was flooded and told the people to move to the other side of the river, and the next day, the side they had been on was flooded.

The story around this site involves a man going to Israel and being asked by his brother to bring back the tunic from Jesus. His sister died after being given the tunic, and they buried her where she died, and a big cedar tree grew around her burial site. They built 7 pillars around the area, and came back one day and one of the pillars was hanging on its own in the air. They subsequently gave holy water to heal the sick people, and this is where the name “Life Giving Pillar” comes from.

Three kings are buried here, including the founder of Tbilisi and the last king of Georgia. Inside is a replica of Jesus’ burial site (as pictured above). They also do coronations in this church. We were told that the Georgian church is “a big business and a lot of money,” and does not really focus on Christianity, but focuses more on selling candles, burying people, and baptizing people.

Georgian Food

As is typical for any travel, we were able to enjoy some wonderful Georgian food. Feast your eyes on these delicious dishes…

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Once again, another informative trip. We enjoyed our time in this bourgeoning travel region, and encourage others to check it out. Until next time, take care and be well…