Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022

This post is part of a series called Georgia Sept 2022

After Malaysia, our next trip was to Georgia, the country, in Western Asia neighboring Turkey & Chechyna. We flew from the US to Doha; overnighted there, and next day, flew to Tbilisi on Qatar airways. On the flight, we got talking to a lady named Oksana seated next to us, who very kindly offered to have her family drop us off to our hotel (Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace) in Tbilisi so that we would not get ripped off by a taxi; wonder if that was a widespread/common issue in Georgia or not; something we made a mental note to be careful about and watch out for. What great hospitality, and a great way to start our journey exploring Georgia.

A little about Georgia; it is a country in the Caucasus region on the coast of the Black Sea, with a population of over 3.9 million. Georgians, who are native to the region and constitute the majority of the population, are ethno-linguistically distinct from all of their neighboring nations and primarily speak Georgian, a Kartvelian language that has no relation to any other language family in the world.

Georgia has been inhabited since prehistory and is known for hosting the world’s earliest known sites of winemaking. More on this later as we visit the wine region of Georgia. In the early fourth century, Georgians officially adopted Christianity after St Nino of Cappadocia converted King Mirian III and Queen Nana. Beginning in the 15th century, the kingdom declined and disintegrated under relentless attacks from hostile empires, like the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire, and Persia. Georgia requested support from the Russian Empire, which ended up gradually annexing the country starting in 1801. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, Georgia briefly emerged as an independent republic under German protection. However, the country was invaded and annexed by the Red Army in 1921; it then became one of the republics of the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, an independence movement grew quickly, leading to Georgia’s secession from the Soviet Union in April 1991. There is a part of northern Georgia (Abkhazia & South Ossetia (Tskhinvali Region)) that was annexed by Russia following the Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Sounds eerily similar to Russian invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022.

We stayed in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, for multiple days over 3 stayovers in Tbilisi as we traveled through Georgia. The Tbilisi blogs cover all the time in Tbilisi over these multiple stays. The Sheraton is an older hotel, not quite a Palace but had the title of a Palace. We chose this hotel as it was relatively cheap on Marriott points and centrally located.

The first day was spent using the nice spa at the hotel, followed by a massage and facial for Dilshad at a place recommended online for massages in the Vake district of Tbilisi and we took an Uber to the location. Ubers were plentiful, safe, reasonably cheap ($1-$5) and with pricing pre-arranged, we had little fear of getting ripped off. So we used Ubers all our time in Tbilisi. However, the traffic was plentiful everywhere most of the time so we did spend a little time in traffic every time we took a car ride.

After the relaxing massages (& a facial for Dilshad), walked a little in Vake area and stopped for a tea break

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Tiny person taking a relaxing hot bath in my teacup; is actually a tea-leaf infuser :) — **Tiny person taking a relaxing hot bath in my teacup; is actually a tea-leaf infuser 🙂**

From Vake, we took an Uber to the Freedom Square in the city center; and walked around the old town and had dinner at Pasanauri restaurant, a typical Georgian restaurant.

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Chilling in old Tbilisi area — **Chilling in old Tbilisi area**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Traditional Georgian cuisine at Pasanauri — **Traditional Georgian cuisine at Pasanauri**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, This restaurant had an English menu; pointing to a tourist centered restaurant. Other places had little to no English; though there are definitely many foreign tourists that come to Georgia. — This restaurant had an English menu; pointing to a tourist centered restaurant. Other places had little to no English; though there are definitely many foreign tourists that come to Georgia. Costs were very reasonable with a main course costing roughly $8-9 in this touristed restaurant. Looking forward to much cheaper meals at local restaurants 🙂 .

After the Below are some of the sights as we explored old Tbilisi, which was the most interesting. As expected from a country that adopted Christianity very early, and a country that was occupied by Russia for many years, we saw a lot of orthodox churches and Soviet architecture.

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, View of old town Tbilisi from our hotel, which was located on a hilltop overlooking the city and the Mtkvari (Kura) river running through Tbilisi — **View of old town Tbilisi from our hotel, which was located on a hilltop overlooking the city and the Mtkvari (Kura) river running through Tbilisi**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The impressive Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, commonly known as Sameba, can hold 10,000 worshippers and is one of the largest cathedrals in the world — **The impressive Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, commonly known as Sameba, can hold 10,000 worshippers and is one of the largest cathedrals in the world**

Night views of Tbilisi

Next day, we took a free walking tour of Tbilisi, starting at Freedom (Liberty) Square with a small group. We went through old Tbilisi and below are some images from there

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Freedom (Liberty) Square in central Tbilisi — **Freedom (Liberty) Square in central Tbilisi**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Newer Tbilisi built over ancient Tbilisi — **Newer Tbilisi built over ancient Tbilisi**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Old houses in Tbilisi; note the brown/copper metal piping on the outside that is used to pipe natural gas into the houses to heat them; a retrofit from the Soviet times — **Old houses in Tbilisi; note the brown/copper metal piping on the outside that is used to pipe natural gas into the houses to heat them; a retrofit from the Soviet times**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Interconnection wooden bridges connecting houses — **Interconnection wooden bridges connecting houses**

Ancient Caravanserai in old Tbilisi; Tbilisi used to be on a minor branch of the Silk Road at one time.

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, More older housing — **More older housing**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Street Art in the old town — **Street Art in the old town**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, This is an entrance to a marani, a traditional Georgian underground wine cellar used to store quevri’s in which wine was fermented and stored. Found in old Tbilisi. — **This is an entrance to a marani, a traditional Georgian underground wine cellar used to store quevri’s in which wine was fermented and stored. Found in old Tbilisi.**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre, that still does Marionette shows — **The Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre, that still does Marionette shows. The “balcony door” above the clock tower opens every hour on the hour and a puppet comes out and rings a bell.**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The Anchiskhati Basilica of St Mary is the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, Georgia. It belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church and dates from the sixth century. — **The Anchiskhati Basilica of St Mary is the oldest surviving church in Tbilisi, Georgia. It belongs to the Georgian Orthodox Church and dates from the sixth century.**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Old Russian GAZ-69 “Jeep” classic 4-wheel drive military vehicle with the original silver bear hood ornament; upgraded and for sale — **Old Russian GAZ-69 “Jeep” classic 4-wheel drive military vehicle with the original silver bear hood ornament; upgraded and for sale**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The Presidential Palace, as seen across the Kura river from old town Tbilisi — **The Presidential Palace, as seen across the Kura river from old town Tbilisi**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Refreshment stop — **Refreshment stop**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, Street life during the day, Old Tbilisi — **Street life during the day, Old Tbilisi**

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, We came across the Tbilisi Central mosque (Juma Mosque), and home of the Administration of Muslims of all Georgia. A pleasant surprise in this staunchly Christian Orthodox country, where all faiths peacefully co-exist. — We came across the Tbilisi Central mosque (Juma Mosque), and home of the Administration of Muslims of all Georgia. A pleasant surprise in this staunchly Christian Orthodox country, where all faiths peacefully co-exist.

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The Narikala fortress, right behind the mosque. Originally built in the 4th century and then expanded in the 8th century. More on the fort later — **The Narikala fortress, right behind the mosque. Originally built in the 4th century and then expanded in the 8th century. More on the fort later**

Since we took too long at the mosque, we got left behind by the walking tour, so we completed the rest of the day on our own.

Tbilisi, Georgia, Sept 2022, The First Bridge of Love (those are red and other colored padlocks on the bridge) — **The First Bridge of Love (those are red and other colored padlocks on the bridge)**

While walking in this area, we ran into a group of young men & women, who were definitely Indians. We got talking to them and found out they were all in Georgia studying Medicine at the Tbilisi State Medical University in Tbilisi. Why did they come to Georgia to study medicine? Because it is affordable ($7k per year), not as difficult to get admission into, the medium of study is English, and credentials are internationally recognized. This is the same experience we had in Osh, Kyrgyzstan when we ran into similar young Indian students at the local market.