Impressions of 11 days in Georgia (May 2013) - Georgia, Georgia
Georgia, Georgia
Where I stayed
various
What I did
various
This is not meant as a travelogue and though reference is made to some sights and locations,
outlined here are the impressions formed by a Western traveller who had his first brush with this intriguing country.
If you fly for two hours due east of Istanbul, you land in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. If you drop due south on the same longitude, you end up in Baghdad Iraq. While the country forms a northern ‘skirt’ to the Middle East, don’t doubt that when you’re in Tbilisi,
you’re in a European city. It is 1,300 km’s from the most eastern point of the continental EU yet you could be in the heart of the old Eastern Europe. Though Georgia was occupied
for 300 years by the Turks, very few remnants of their domination are left. The Turks were followed by 200 years of Russian/Soviet rule but again, few hallmarks of that occupation remain. However, one remaining remnant of the Islamic period is the lounge lizard mentality so often seen in Islamic countries. Middle aged males passing the middle of the day in group idleness is on display.
A telling sign of the Georgian historical experience is that the capital city Tbilisi was founded 1,500 years ago yet there are hardly any buildings older than 200 years. The city was raised so many times by invading armies that Georgian history reworked itself in short cycles. The last invasion occurred in 2008 when Russia cut Georgia in two then left, taking 1/3 of the country with them (South Ossetia and Abkhazia though it’s commonly believed that the Ossetians and the Abkhaz were happy to go).
Scars of that invasion are still visible on the landscape and haunt the national political debate. Indeed, the history of the country is expressed in one of the few tourist souvenirs on offer, genuine (and fake) antique daggers.
Georgians can be likened to a bathtub rubber duck, knocked over, they right themselves and
very quickly erase the old, bad memories and get on with being themselves. In some ways, the Georgians (and their Armenian neighbours) are the last vestiges of the old Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire centred on Constantinople. Defeated by the Muslim invaders, the empire became Islamic but the Christian Orthodox religion survived in these southern Caucuses
stronghods.
Georgians maintain their European heritage partly through their personal and political connections with the west but also through their Christian religion. In that sense, they are like other ex-Soviet occupied countries such as Lithuania and Poland where religion was the keeper of the national identity during years of repression. It is not unusual to see reverence for the
Church openly displayed at all age levels. To a religion-jaded westerner, it is notable to
see a 16 year old teenager kiss the lintel of a church before entering, then reverse
exit while crossing himself three times. An enduring image is that every hillock and mountain
in Georgia (and there are many) seems to be complemented by the distinct shape of an Orthodox Church, many of which have attached and vibrant monasteries.
Physically, Georgia is the same size as Eire (Ireland) or Tasmania. In that small space it reaches from sea level to almost 17,000 feet. It’s northern boundary is the Greater Caucuses Mountains while the southern boundary is the Lesser Caucuses.
In between is a wide, fertile plane running through the full length of the country. For
these reasons, it is country that invites you to travel to see not only the scenery
but also to experience the sheer forces of geography that have shaped its cultures.
Roads are generally good but travel in the northern mountains can be fearful and as a passenger you have to remind yourself that even if death seems only a few centimetres away over a soft, dirt shoulder, your driver makes this trip weekly and he is still alive. The extreme northeast is so challenging that only experienced 4-wheel guides would even contemplate taking you there. This contrasts with driving west of Tbilisi to the Black Sea coast on a broad freeway with speeds exceeding 130 kph.
Tbilisi immediately impresses itself on the visitor as a pedestrian unfriendly city. The local English language press bemoans that driving attitudes will even block entry into the EU. Georgian men deserve mass psychoanalysis while behind the wheel - possibly they are expressing the inner demons of centuries of repression. Driving is a macho competition,
not an art. In short succession, this writer experienced near death experiences on the main cultural boulevard, witnessed a youth get hit by a car and saw cars fishtailing around a downtown intersection.
The city streets are treated like freeways and painted pedestrian crossings are mere decorations. Cars park on the sidewalk forcing hapless pedestrians to take their life in their hands on the verges of the road. As a pedestrian, you learn to take a strategic approach to walking, planning the safest possible route to your destination. It takes some hours to realise that an earlier generation of town planners recognised the problem and built (semi-hidden) pedestrian underpasses for most of the main roads. Though smelling of urine and rather rundown, they provide sanctuary if you can fit them into your itinerary.
Tbilisi has the honour of having an exceedingly efficient underground train system, the fourth
one to be built in the old Soviet Union. Started in 1952, it is unusual for a city of a
mere 1.5 million people (today). It is famously deep in places. The escalators are up to
400 steps long and the trip takes so long that some youth sit down, waiting for
the descent/ascent to finish. Once on the trains, sit down or grab a support because take-off is rapid. Presumably the train drivers emulate their above-ground compatriots.
Culturally, and beyond religion, Georgia has many museums dedicated to the arts. Again,
like the Baltic countries, they take pride in their poets and writers. Many statues of artists and authors dot the capital and other cities. Perhaps this is an effort to make up for their contribution to 20th Century totalitarian repression, being the homeland of not only the monstrous Stalin but also his head of secret police (NKVD) Lavrentiy Beria. Between them they were responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents. But even here, Georgian culture makes the best of a bad lot with one artist selling postcards of the demons of the 20th century
including Hitler and Stalin drawn as members of the Simpson TV family.
Architecture is also important to Georgians. The country is littered with Soviet concrete modernism, much of which is now unloved and suffering terminal concrete rot. Modern buildings can be found near the river in central Tbilisi, though unlike the Baltic countries that also take pride in modern architecture, the architects are not national. In Tbilisi the Italians seem
to have a stranglehold.
Even the clouds are woks of art
Within religion, an outsider has to be on guard for the religious fashion police. Entry to the numerous churches requires women to wear a dress/skirt. Monks are everywhere
and have no problems approaching offenders. I witnessed one middle aged women in long, loose pants have to wrap her immodesty in a dress-shawl to meet the standards while right
behind her a shapely teenager in a ******-hugging tight skirt was allowed through. Technically she was properly dressed. I also suspect the monks appreciated a bit of decoration in their otherwise drab, stone churches.
The monks come in two types - married and not married. They are young, modern and fixed to their cell phones. Even in the central cathedral they are on the phone, though some may be hearing confessions from time-pressed parishioners. Our driver was dismissive of the this stratum of Georgian society claiming the government over-funds the church and most monks
live in 4 star motel-style accommodation. Georgia uses their Orthodox religion as a weapon. The main road to Russia, and thus the main trade route passes through an impossibly narrow valley in the northern Caucuses. Here the Georgians are building an architecturally modern border post (in Soviet style concrete) while 300 meters behind it is a flash new Georgian Orthodox church (complete with motel-monastery). It is a clear statement to the Russians,
“Invade here and you’re invading consecrated soil.”
The Georgian language is one of the few still in use that has virtually no connection to another
language. Along with a few local Caucuses dialects, it occupies a linguistic island. The alphabet is equally stranded, being incomprehensible to non-Georgians. Foreigners are advised
to read the label on the wine bottle before drinking the wine. Attempting to read the label after drinking the wine, the writing is so incomprehensible, one may believe they’ve been quietly kyboshed by the bottle’s contents.
Georgian tourism is in relative infancy. Having suffered a period of high crime after the break-up of the Soviet Union, now past, tourists probably need convincing to make the effort to travel there. However, there is one committed visiting demographic. Israelis used to favour Turkey as a destination. It is a little known fact that Turkey and Israel had an unusually high degree
of cooperation in mid-east affairs. However the continuing Islamic government in that country (and a stoush over the interception of a Turkish supply vessel to Gaza) has led to discomfort so a hop across the southern Caucuses to a friendly Christian country was a natural move. Not only is relative safety on offer, Georgia also presents geographic and climatic contrasts to the Jewish homeland.
The road less travelled offers the adventurous an occasional pleasant surprise. Shopping at a large, open air market in Tbilisi, this tourist was negotiating the purchase of a dried
fruit specialty of Georgia. Inevitable the stall holder engaged her shy
young daughter who’s rudimentary English sufficed to close a deal. As a reward, we gave the girl a $2 kangaroo pin. This was received with astonishment and great
delight. Word spread through the adjoining stalls and the tourists were catapulted into minor celebrity status. It was an experience that can’t be bought and only rarely felt in more jaded tourist destinations.
At the airports, staff display rudeness to their paying guests that characterises poor
focus on the economic opportunities of tourism. However, one bonus is the young female customs and immigration staff dressed in stunning little black skirts and white blouses
while they totter on impossibly high heels.
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In summary, Georgia has applied for EU and NATO membership and has possibly lost more soldiers per capita fighting as an American ally in Afghanistan than most other countries. It is the little country that can. It deserves the prosperity and the protection of its sovereign rights conferred by membership in the Western alliances.