TBILISI, Georgia
Straddling the Mtkvari River for some 2000 years, the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, has a history of invasion and occupation. Yet it has managed to maintain its own personality, complete with a unique language and culture, and its historic winding cobblestone streets and tilted buildings, for the most part, intact.
Today, Tbilisi feels like a medieval European city finding its own path to the 21st century, discovering much of the 20th century it missed while under Russian influence along the way. Not far from the national gallery of art sat, until its recent demise, a bar dedicated to the music of the Beatles with rooms devoted to their different musical themes – think yellow submarine and you’ll get the picture.
Tbilisi is a city of uneven sidewalks, of crumbling buildings and facades that are slowly being restored. Of buses that are frequent and inexpensive. Of women vendors in black skirts, scarves and sweaters freed from a 19th century painting of Russian peasants by Korzukhin.
But then, everyone in Tbilisi wears black. Whether they’re on their way to university art class or to the office, black jeans and black leather jackets are the norm. Appropriately, accompanying this traditionally artsy look is an explosion of outdoor art, with bronze sculptures, wall murals and outdoor art markets spattered between a disproportionally large number of art galleries.
And it is a city that enjoys its food and drink. Kinkali, dumplings stuffed with meat and spices, and khachapuri, a cheese-filled bread, are favourite local dishes accompanied, of course, by great beers interspersed with shots of vodka.
Georgia is also known for its local wines and cheeses. I highly recommend making the 2-hour drive west for a great lunch at the Pheasant’s Tears Winery in Sighnaghi, stopping along the way to pick up fresh bread and cheese at the ubiquitous road-side stalls.
But most of all, Tbilisi is a city worth exploring by foot. For every corner turned, as you wind your way from one tourist suggestion to the next, will reward you with a unique sight that helps construct a true reflection of this vastly diverse city. From the restaurants hidden in basements and tiny churches and courtyards hidden from view by buildings that arrived sometime between today and the 800 years ago they were first constructed, to the ultra-modern Peace Bridge and the controversial concert hall and Exhibition Centre in Rike Park, Tbilisi provides a fascinating view of a rapidly-evolving old world city.
