This is Rati. He’s Georgian, 18 years old, a medical student and my guide to the country for the next several days. We’ve gone up one of the many mountains that make up Tbilisi (and fill the entire country) to see the city from up high and take photos.
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This is me, also on top of a mountain. Behind me is a river that runs through the center of the city. Notice the strange color of the water. All water in Georgia looks like that.
While on the subject of water, I’ve noticed one aspect of public infrastructure that is abundant and functioning in Tbilisi — public water fountains. Georgians always walk up, wash their hands, take a drink and then splash their face. The ritual is always the same. I’ve been stopping at every fountain we pass to do the same. The weather here was above 90 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday.
When I came to Russia in late 2008, I was in the coldest weather of my life. Now, the hottest.
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Some things Rati has told me about Georgia, and some things I’ve learned myself:
Georgian men kiss each other on the cheeks when they meet.
Rati estimated that a person like me (25 years old, college educated) would probably have a salary between two and three hundred dollars (US dollars) a month in Tbilisi.
Although Georgia is incredibly poor, they have done an excellent job of reforming many of their political institutions — something that hasn’t happened in Russia. People trust the police. Police don’t take bribes. The legal system, in general, functions. Writers enjoy substantionally free speech. Crime is very low.
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Fruit is a real treat in Georgia. It’s abundant and cheap. Exotic too — I’ve tried several fruits here I’ve never seen before. Walking in the street, it’s not unusual to see cherry trees, fig trees, blackberry trees and grape vines. Or, from a street merchant like in the picture above, you can buy a kilogram of fruit for around a dollar.
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Many of the streets in Tbilisi are like this. The city is around 1,500 years old.
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A cathedral high in the mountains. Georgia has a very religious, conservative culture. The vast majority of the country is Christian Orthodox, and very religious. While Georgians walk in the street, any time they see a cathedral, they stop to cross themselves. I’ve been walking behind Georgians who saw a cathedral miles in the distance, atop a mountain, and they stopped for the ritual.
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In front of the biggest cathedral in Tbilisi.
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The presidential house in Tbilisi — where Saakashvili lives. Notice the side of the house is painted with both the Georgian flag and the European Union flag. Why? Rati tells me that Georgia is a “European country.” Is it? Most Europeans certainly don’t think so. He’s the first person I’ve heard it from. Within Georgia, though, there is really a movement to Europeanize the country. Saakashvili wants Georgia to eventually be a member of the European Union. Will it ever happen? Right now there’s a big debate in the EU as to whether Turkey (to the west of Georgia) can and should join the union. I think it will be a long time before Georgia’s turn comes.
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These domes are ancient Georgian public baths. The baths themselves are underground.
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Lunch — “acharuli khachapuri.” Bread made in a brick fire oven, filled with cheese, topped with an egg and a slice of butter. Absolutely delicious.
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Houses built by the Soviets in the suburbs of the city.
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GORI
Today Rati and I took a trip to another Georgian city, Gori. In the picture above, we’re riding a mashrutka (Russian word) — a small mini-bus. Gori is most famous as the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, one of the world’s most notorious butchers.
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Seen out the window on the side of the road: a farmer herding his animals.
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Seen out the window on the side of the road: a refugee camp. In the recent Georgian-Russian war, thousands of Georgians were expelled from their homes by the Russians. The government has set up tons of shelters and refugee camps, like this one, across the country, as temporary housing for the victims.
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The official state-run Stalin museum. After Stalin’s death in the 50’s, the Soviet Central Committee decided to create a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Gori.
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The museum was absolutely amazing — a real piece of history. The museum is exactly the same today as it was when the Soviet Union first created it in the 1950’s. We were given a tour guide who told us about Stalin’s beautiful, kind family, his industrialization of Russia (with no mention of the basically slave labor used to create the factories), his great victory in the war against fascism, etc. The most amazing part was when we were shown a list of Soviet politicians that Stalin had killed — Trotsky, Zinoviev, etc. — and told that they were all very, very bad men (real criminals; murderers!), and it was a great act that Stalin had ridden the country of them.
Of course, there were no mentions of the gulags, the great forced migrations of various ethnicities, the butchering of innocent citizens, or any of Stalin’s other crimes against the country.
In other words, we were treated to real, vintage Soviet propaganda, circa the 50’s.
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Stalin’s death mask, made hours after his death.
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The house Stalin grew up in.
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A statue of Stalin. Notice that somebody left flowers at his feet.
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As I’ve written before, every Russian city has a statue of Lenin in the main square. Russian cities used to also have Stalin, but his statues have been destroyed long ago. This one, in Gori, Georgia, still remains.
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In lighter news — a chicken.
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Gori castle on top of a mountain. Georgia is filled with ancient castles on top of mountains. This one was guarded by two security guards with machine guns. I couldn’t figure out what they were protecting.
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On top of Gori mountain, overlooking the city.
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That’s all for now. Goodnight!
