Day 24 in Tbilisi, Georgia

I’ll begin with yesterday. I enjoyed my home stay which costs 20 Georgian Lari a night. One EUR is 2.25 Lari which makes it pretty cheap. Budget accommodation is scarce here which is a shame. I’m staying with an old lady who rents out 10 beds to travelers and apparently has been doing so for some years. She speaks reasonably fluent German and was a German teacher back in the day. One of the benefits of East Germany, actually probably the only good thing to come out of it, is that German was spread through the Eastern Bloc. That’s great for me.

Tbilisi is far more pleasant in daylight but it was unfortunately still cold and wet yesterday. I hoped it wouldn’t rain as there’s no satellite tv here like in Turkey and Iraq, at least not where I’m staying. In fact, for the first time, I’m sharing a room with others. There aren’t the many cheap hotels like in Turkey where you get a room and bathroom for 7 to 15 EUR. Hotel prices here are prohibitively expensive in Tbilisi.

I listened regretfully to the rambles of a 61 year old American who’d been traveling for 10 years, which his social skills reflect. Free of him, I headed to the bathroom planning to leave when I ran into a younger Californian who remarked it was interesting to be in Georgia at a time when Kosovo’s final status was about to be decided. I was shocked! Another political tourist! We got to talking for at least an hour about foreign policy, Russian interference in the region and travel in general. It was fabulous. Almost lunch time, I went out to see Tbilisi in daylight and immediately notice it’s far more European feel than anything I’ve previously been to.

As I crossed the river, I spot a dozen or so churches dotting the skyline making the ones I’ve seen in Turkey not seem as special anymore. Eventually I found Rustaveli, the main street and was thrilled. Gorgeous buildings mix with modern European shops while babushkas peddle softcore porn, cigarettes and vegetables on the street while men sell religious icons.

Dark clothes seem to be the norm and miniskirts and tight jeans remind me to silently thank Christianity for its comparatively equal treatment of women. People’s features have also changed dramatically and faces on the street remind me of Bulgarians with strong dark features but white skin. I still fit in well and am thankful, only noticing how much when talking to other tourists and suddenly bothered by children or touts who otherwise don’t give me a second look. It’s any traveler’s dream.

Incredible architecture awaited me throughout the rest of the city, although often in dire need of paint and restoration. Despite the crumbling facades, Tbilisi is very charming. I’m amazed almost every block and although I see a noticeable amount of new construction, the much needed restoration of the old hasn’t materialized. Priorities.

After stopping at a cafe, with brothel-like red lights and nescafe which traumatized my tastebuds, I headed uphill to a church. Inside, among the walls filled with religious portraits, icons and candles, with people kissing the frames, the doors and bowing to touch the ground before making the sign of the cross, I’m reminded of the extremely ritualized orthodox faith and how the intense devotion there reminds me more of Islam than it does the Christianity I’ve seen in Europe or the US. A young man sits on the bench next to me and whispers something in Georgian. After switching to English, we step outside for further conversation.

Slowly, as people walk up the steps heading for what must be an upcoming service, friends of his join us but only one other, a female Masters student, can speak English. Interestingly, they are both from Sukhumi, which is in Abkhazia the site of a deadly war of secession after the fall of the USSR. Georgians were ethnically cleansed by the Abkhaz who despite being de facto independent, are still unrecognized internationally. After being invited to the service, which I’m told will last two hours, I accept saying that I wont stay the entire time though. No problem.

Later, I continued around the city, visited the fortress and a few other churches before getting two hours of internet in, in a horrid internet cafe. Only three internet cafes in Tbilisi, not a good sign when every podunk town in Turkey has a dozen. Also, casinos are everywhere, and as another traveler said, you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one. To me it says two things: organized crime and hopelessness. I hope I’m wrong.

Day 25, Tbilisi (March 25th 2007)

Tomorrow I’m off to UPS and then to a nearby lake. Otherwise, I’ll see a few other things and get ready to head to Baku. Latin alphabet, here I come!

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