Discovering Georgia And Its Traditions

I would like to share about my experiences in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia through this post. With the boarding pass in my hand and mind full of dreams I was waiting at the airport for my flight to arrive. The flight took off and I was on my way to Georgia which will be my destination for the next few years. There was an announcement from the cabin that the aircraft was about to land in another five minutes and I peeped through the window, all I could see was mountains covered with snow and white clouds. Its something usual for a place in the Caucasus region to appear so but as I was from a tropical country, it was my first experience of seeing such things. The flight landed in Georgia "The Cradle Of Wine and The Land Of Over 8000 Vintages", which was very well explained later by my collegue saying about a gigantic statue called "The Mother Of Georgia" located in a park at "Vake" holding a wine glass in one hand and a sword in the other symbolizing friendliness and bravery respectively.

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I took my first step out of the airport and got onto a cab. The first word I hear was "Gamerjoba" from the driver which meant "hello", truly I didn't understand what it meant that time. The driver started speaking and I was barely able to understand a word, but through his gestures I was able to make out what he was about to say and he also showed me some prominent places to visit that we crossed. This conversation reminded me of the fact that I was about to mingle with an entirely new culture and community from the next day.

The next day morning the first thing that came to my mind was breakfast and I started to walk down the streets trying to explore the Georgian cuisine. "Khinkhali" a traditional food of the Georgians, its actually a spicy sour chicken soup filled dough ball and the people were also fond of "khachapuri" which is a cheese filled bread, "Lobiani" a similar kind of bread but filled with cereals. "Shaurma" originating from Turkey has even spread to Georgia which is really a delicious food to try out. I can say that I even got addicted to its taste. Georgia being the birth place of wine has a large variety of delicious wines. If you are not ready to taste any of them you can easily find some burgers at McDonald's or Texas or if you desire some class Marriot, Radisson, Holiday Inn may serve you.

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After a good breakfast I was about to walk down the streets of Tbilisi. The city was well connected by city buses and Metro Trains, still the language acts as a barrier. Having some basic knowledge in Georgian or Russian would be managable. The world famous site located in the center of the city is the "Trinity Church" also called as "Sameiba" in local language which stands as a mark of their culture and religion and it is the worlds largest Orthodox church. The place is peaceful filled with traditional rituals and stands without losing its customs and traditions. Learning the traditions of the people was a bit difficult for me without knowing the language. People in Tbilisi look modern but the thing that amazed me was that they kept their customs and traditions with them.

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The Georgian traditional dance is one of a kind I would say. The dancers dressed in their traditional costumes with boys holding a sword and girls having long hairs. With their traditional musics they dance in such a way that the dancers almost float in air and when I saw it for the first time it just blew up my mind.

Tbilisi is filled with Taxi's, so anywhere you get lost don't worry just call one and tell your address. Its advisable that you have it written on a paper in Georgian. The peoples attitude towards foreigners good and me being from a different ethnic most of them wanted to take pictures especially during my travels outside Tbilisi.

A river named Mtkvari runs through the center of the city and viewing it from the peace or glass bridge will give you a perfect sight of standing in the center of the city. A musical fountain which is built near it dances to both traditional and western musics at nights. Tbilsi "The City Of Lights" is really spectacular when the sun goes down and the lights are on. The renovated streets of Marjanishvili and Old Tbilisi will take you to the classical time.

If you are about to visit Tbilisi at the time of Christmas and New Year its perfect. You can see the entire city streets glowing in lights and decorated to the maximum. Concerts held in public during the New Year's Eve make it even more lovable.

Georgia is said to be the place from which Europe started as per some archaeological findings, there by it has a big history and the traditions are still intact with the people. The country is filled with lots of natural reserves and UNESCO World Heritage Sites each of which has its own history. The country is also the birth place of the soviet dictator Stalin however some people in the country don't like him. Georgian grammar is difficult to understand so like me if you are new to Georgia its preferrable to learn just to speak Georgian and nothing more. The city has lot of shopping complexes, markets, restauraunts, etc. to meet the basic demands.

The greenery of the city and parks which are present everywhere will make you love the city. Tbilisi as it says "A City That Loves You" will make you feel it by its own places of tourist attractions like the botanical garden, Liberty Square, Peace Bridge, Turtle Lake, Mtasminda Park, Tbilisi Sea Palace and many more which I would like to describe on my upcoming posts. To conclude Tbilisi is a small but a lovable city with lovely environment with its own customs and traditions still in practice. "Mae Migvars sakartvelo" meaning I Love Georgia and when you visit even you would say that.

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