We stayed in Tblisi at Boutique Hotel Tekla Palace for 100 euros a day with breakfast (https://tekla-palace-tbilisi.booked.net/) A very well located hotel near a more cultured part of town But it needs a restore and elevator. The room is very little and the hotel is in the old city center, what makes difficult to arrive. Luckily we stayed on the ground floor and had a great guide who knows the city and the language of the country well.
Breakfast at the hotel is simple but abundant. In Georgia the breakfast is quite different from ours. They serve: cucumber, tomato, rice and sausages, as well as traditional eggs, cheese, bread, coffee and tea.
Typical Georgian dishes are quite different from what we are used to. The meat is usually lamb and goat and simply served, grilled as a barbecue. Vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are a constant on the Georgian table.
Throughout the city it is easy to find pomegranate juice, which is very good, deliciously acidic. Unlike here, pomegranate is a big fruit. We also saw orange juice, but we didn't tasted it.
The city of Tblisi has about 1.2 million inhabitants and archaeological excavations showed that have been inhabited since 4,000 BC.
Georgia has always suffered invasio, greatly from Persian (Iran) and Russian domain, and thay say that is why their polyphonic singing is sad.
City traffic is difficult and needs to be experienced to drive there. Drivers return where they want and honk a lot. I suggest using public transportation and taxis. Since the way from the airport, many city streets were under construction hindering traffic. The old quarter has narrow streets and at night people park anyway, blocking traffic.
The spoken and written language in Georgia is unique in the world and is impossible to understand. During my trip, I met many people who spoke English which facilitated communication.
We use a travel agency: https://www.facebook.com/MN-Travel-Georgia-101954074567833/?epa=SEARCH_BOX, with the guide Misho Davitelashvili, of good cultural level, polite and who spoke good English.
The river Mtkvari cuts the city in half and to cross it, in addition to ancient bridges, there is a modern pedestrian bridge, Peace Bridge, which is illuminated at night.
Tblisi's architecture is quite diverse, covers Eastern Orthodox churches, art nouveau buildings and Soviet modernist structures. Overlooking this landscape are Narikala, a rebuilt 4th-century fortress, and Kartlis Deda, a beautiful statue of the “mother of Georgia.” In the left hand of this statue she carries a glass of wine to greet those who come with good intentions and in her heart. Left hand, a sword to receive enemies!
The official religion in Georgia is Orthodox, but the religious tolerance in Tbilisi is famous, so much so that in the old town are found within 100m of each other Orthodox Churches, a Synagogue, a mosque and an Armenian Monofitist church.
Tblisi is known as the city of wine, so we can take a walking tour from Gorgasali Square and continue along Lesedlidze street, where there are several wine shops and bars. This is the main street of commerce and handicrafts. There are 1038 registered wineries in Georgia.
I took a beautiful tour of this city, starting with the well-kept Liberty Square, with a column bearing the statue of St. George. In this square the buildings are imposing and well cared for.
I followed the right side of the river and passed several sculptures and among them, the Berikaoba group. This sculpture represents a dance group at a pagan festival of fertility and rebirth. It is very interesting!
I also passed the Rezo Gabriadze puppet theater, which is next to a graceful clock tower. Every hour, a door opens in the tower and an angel starts ringing the bell with a hammer. Inside the clock, the mechanical dolls feature "The Circle of Life" at noon and 7 pm.
I also got to know Tsangala’s Wine Bar, where I was very well attended, by winemaker Dimitri Leladze (dimosni87@mail.ru) who referred me to a wine from the Kindzmarauli winery to bring to Brazil.
There I tasted some wines:
Chateau Bruale's Bruale (of 2 owners, one French and one Georgian) from the Kakheti region. It is an amber wine from the Rkatsiteli (85%) and Mtsvani grape. It is a very dry wine with remarkable personality. This was my first amber wine tasting
Natelauri, from the winery of the same name, a red wine made in Kvevri from the Saperavi grape. It is a pleasant wine, of medium persistence and balanced.
I also tasted Artanuli semi-sweet wine from the Kindzmaraulis region, Kakheti from the Saperavi strain, reminiscent of some wines from the Primitivo strain.
Still on this route, we passed the Workshop and Gallery Uzado, where the artist and owner of the place, Nino, was doing felting. This is a very beautiful job and difficult to perform.
Nino was very friendly and gave me to taste wines made by her husband, kept in a jar. I took the opportunity to have a Turkish coffee, made with finer powder and not filtered.
Nino showed me how the traditional painting of rings and enamel, typical of the
At the end of this trail, there is a path leading to the Leghvtakhevi waterfall, which is surrounded by cliffs.
The very modern Peace Bridge unit both sides of the city and crosses to Rike Square. We saw a bizarre scene where boys with monkeys and parrots would charge to take pictures of the tourists with the animals.
From this square we took a cable car to the 20 m aluminum statue, Kartlis Dega.
Also on this hill is in ruins of Narikala Fortress and a church.
Back on the square, we climb across the river to the Metekhi plateau and enter the Metekhi (Assumption) church. We saw an interesting scene of a couple getting advise from a priest in the church square.
On Metekhi plateau stands on the statue of Vkhtang Gorgasali (former king) on his horse. This place had a fort and a palace that did not resist the Mongol invasion in 1235.
We entered the Chacha cafe, where the owner was very friendly and besides the Turkish coffee, I tasted a wine.
I took the opportunity to buy something typical of the region to drink wine, a goat's horn, finished in metal.
On the way through this upper city, we find a typical bakery. It was practically a window where you bought freshly baked bread. I took a photo of the bread baking on the oven wall.
In this bakery I still tasted a delicious apple puff that remember an apfelstrudel.
We also saw a simpler region with fruit markets, vegetables and typical Georgian products.
At the top of this region, we visit the modern Santa Trinidade Cathedral, which is set in a vast, well-kept park.
We were also in a cool environment of this region, called Fabrika, where there are studios and restaurants with graffiti walls.
We decided to walk back from this long walk to the center. It was then that we came across a region of the city, where several houses with wooden counters were, unfortunately, abandoned.
We crossed the river still on foot, over a bridge with several modern metal statues, towards the hotel.
I took the opportunity to see the sulfur bath in a public place, where the facilities were older but very interesting. In this place, the baths and massages were cheaper. The water there was natural and came from underground. It is said that these waters have medicinal powers. There are also other more luxurious houses with private bathrooms. It seems that because of these hot springs, the city is called Tblisi which means hot.
We had dinner at the restaurant where we could hear the polyphonic singing. We also tasted typical foods such as walnut aubergine, pomegranate-soaked chicken and shimeji kincales.
Tblisi is a welcoming city that is now being discovered by tourists from all over the world!
It is said that in high season Georgia doubles its population!
