Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, is the epitome of cultural crossroads. So many different foreign powers came through and left their marks on the city. The city has sheltered people of different religions and ethnicities. Today many Russians are living in Tbilisi because of the war.
Yet the self determination of the Georgian people prevails, more than their Eastern Orthodox religion, the Georgian language is most revealing. Georgian has its own alphabet. More incredibly, Georgian is unrelated to any European languages or central Asian languages.
While in Tbilisi we rented an older apartment in a courtyard-style building just 10 minutes walking from Liberty Square. Below are a few photos of our neighborhood (1st and 2nd below), and courtyard (3rd); note the wooden columns on the 2nd floor porch.
Walking north on Rustaveli Street from Liberty Square (1st below) to Rose Revolution Square one first encounters the Parliament (2nd below) with its fountain, then the usual slew of monumental museums, ministries, and theaters common to all capital cities. Not to mention the former Marx–Engels–Lenin Institute (3rd below), now the Biltmore Hotel.
The ultra-modern Bridge of Peace connects Tbilisi's walled (3rd below) Old Town with "unusual' modern buildings on the other side of the xxxx River.
There is a fortress (1st below), reached by foot or calbe car, on Narikala Hill overlooking the Old Town, the domes of the Ottoman Sulfur baths (2nd), the Jumah Mosque (3rd below), Saint George's Armenian Church (4th), the Great Synagogue (5th),and more.
There are many Art Nouveau buildings in Tbilisi. Some highlights below.
The old Central Market now hosts a Carrefour supermarket with a great selection of Roshen Wafers (from Ukraine), and beer on tap.
Typical Georgian Vegetarian Lunch: Eggplant rolls, soup, and dumplings.
Sun-Ling and John have been traveling the earth since 2008 while blogging, eating vegetarian and vegan, and riding public transportation. We love uphill day hikes, 20th-century architecture, Roman ruins, all bodies of water, local markets, shopping for groceries, aqueducts, miradors, trip planning, blablacar, and more.
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