Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
The botanical garden of თბილისი is vast in size but unlike typical botanical gardens in western Europe packed with flowers and trees. It is more like a large park with different smaller sections of flowers, a Japanese garden, a waterfall and endless rows of cypress trees. What makes it so special is the location: it can be found within a gorge behind the mountain on which Kartlis deda monument and the Nariqala fortress are standing.
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It is one of the coziest places of თბილისი: the Leghvtakhevi canyon. From the Metechi church you can see the spa quarter on the opposite side of the Mtkwari river. A tiny stream runs through this quarter and you can follow it on narrow paths and by passing on several bridges. Atop the high rocks next to it houses are standing directly at the chasm and their balconies are also reaching out; a really nice view. At the end of the canyon you will find the small Leghvtakhevi waterfall.
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It is one of the lesser visited sights at თბილისი, probably because it is located outside the city center on a hill and you need to travel by taxi to get there. You can also reach this place by metro and bus if you like to accept the challenge – it takes you to the suburbs of the capital city and shows you ordinary life. The Chronicle of Georgia is an impressive monument created by Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli in 1985, still during Soviet time. The massively high columns were never fully completed and show the history of Georgia at the top and the story of Christ at the bottom.
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Maybe the best place to stay and party at თბილისი is Fabrika. It was once a Soviet sewing factory but has been turned into a fantastic multi-functional space with a hostel, bars, restaurants, artist studios and a co-working space. At daytime the large shared living room invites you to hang out, read or work. In the evening hours the inner yard transforms into a party zone with many people enjoying the atmosphere and some drinks.
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The Georgian Museum of Fine Arts is a modern art museum at თბილისი and it is probably the museum I like most in the capital city of Georgia. Privately owned and located on Rustaveli avenue it houses a massive collection of Georgian art – from artists you probably haven’t heard in western Europe or the rest of the world. That is mostly because these artists created their works mostly during Soviet times and the Iron Curtain prevented them getting known on the other side. A perfect chance to change this!
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If you like to visit museums at თბილისი there is one place to be: the Shota Rustaveli avenue starting north of Liberty square. A wide boulevard with historic buildings containing the national gallery, the national museum of fine arts and the Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia, which is part of the Georgian national museum complex. It contains a vast collection of archeological and ethnographic artefacts giving insight into the development of the culture, the people and the state of Georgia.
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The city history museum of თბილისი can be a nice place for visitors or a disappointment; that’s depending on your expectations. The building with an art nouveau facade dates back to the 19th century and copies the structures of an ancient caravanserai of the Silk Road. It contains the city history museum on the ground floor and a bar, a wine museum and some shops in the basement. I found the building itself to be really beautiful but the museum could really be extended. The city history museum is located on Sioni street next to the Sioni cathedral.
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At the touristic center of თბილისი, next to the city history museum and river Mtkwari you can find the Sioni cathedral some meters below todays street level. It is a classic Orthodox church building like you can find them throughout all of Transcaucasia – but for the Georgian Christians it is the most important sacred place dating back to the year 575 CE. It is named after Mount Zion, the temple mount in Jerusalem.
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The city of თბილისი was one protected by the fortress Nariqala – which translates to ‘impregnable fortress’. It was created in the 4th century CE by the Persian Sassanids and was altered by Vakhtang I of Iberia as well as by Arabs, Mongols, Turkish and Persian forces. Today entering the fortress through its main gate might be a bit disappointing as the walls look pretty new and a modern style church is built within. Really impressive is the upper part of the fortress that is a citadel standing at three sides directly at the abyss.
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Since 1958 a giant woman made of wood and covered in aluminum is standing high above the city of თბილისი. Kartlis deda, the mother of Georgia, symbolizes the city of Tbilisi and carries a bowl of wine for her friends in one hand and a sword for her enemies in the other. It was erected for the 1500th anniversary of the city and in 1997 it received an update: now holding her head up high and crowned with laurels. The monument reminded me much to the Mother Armenia at Երևան.
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