Georgia
Georgia - Bear Marks On A Tree In Borjomi
Georgia - Castle
Georgia - Drylands
Georgia - Tbilisi Fortress
Georgia - Tbilisi Fortress Wall
Georgia - Parliment Building
Georgia - Desert Mountains
Georgia - Mountains Near Uplistsikhe
Georgia - Uplistsikhe
Georgia - Tbilisi
Georgia is a small country along the Caucasus mountains that has deserts, beaches and great mountaineering. Surprisingly it was listed on
the most dangerous destinations to travel to in 2006 by Forbes.com! Like most other countries, the citizens of Georgia are very nice and
helpful for travelers. Georgia recently went through the Rose Revolution, firing all the corrupt officials, replacing almost the entire police
force among several other changes. Since then the country has had some problems with Russia which borders Georgia to the north.
Above is a photo of six old churches that can be seen at night in
Tbilisi. On the right side are the remains of an old fortress wall.
Below is the Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral, completed in 2004.
This cathedral is one of the largest in the whole region, so when I
visited in 06 it was still bran new. The 5,000 square meter complex
is also home to 9 chapels, beautiful gardens, and a bell tower.
Something that also interested me, was the fact that Tavarish Josef Stalin was actually not Russian but Georgian. He was born in the small
town of Gori, Georiga, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. Above is a large statue of Stalin in front of a large buidling in Gori. The
small room to the right is where he was actually born and raised. His life began from humble beginnings with a poor family.
These surrounding pictures are of an ancient city carved out of sandstone also found in the desert like region of Georgia. Uplistsikhe was
founded back when the country practiced the Pagan religion, and some ceremonial grounds can still be pointed out. The photos above show
the desert like terrain, but Uplistsikhe's life line, a large river flowing by. Below is a photo of an entrance to one of the rooms, and a 'window'.
Located in central Georgia, this
church is known as the Green
Monastery. Locals told me a story
about how it was once attacked by
Arabs and all the monks were
killed, causing the river to flow with
blood and stain the rocks red. On
the left is an example of one of the
stained rocks, supposedly cursed.
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Georgia Links
Georgia - Mtskheta
Georgia - Georgian Man Eating Dumplings
Georgia - Getting Water From Borjomi
In a restaurant in Tbilisi, a Georgian man eats some of the countries traditional food, a type of dumpling. On the upper right is the old city of
Mtskheta, the former capital of the country. Below you can see a zoomed in photo of Mtskehta, and the color buildings on the lower right are
apartment buildings built by the Soviet Union
Georgia is made of up deserts as well as deciduous
forests. The desert and rocky areas are found mostly
along the southern parts of the country and the green
forests are found in the north and central parts. On the
upper left is where a forest ends and a large dry rocky
mountain begins. Above is some very rocky and scraggly
terrain that I passed by in the southern part of the
country. There didn't seem to be too much population in
these parts of Georgia, but several hundred years ago a
castle was built in the area that can be seen to the left.
Left is a picture of the capital of Georgia that is called Tbilisi. The green river runs straight through the city and has
many churches and homes built right along its steep banks. To the right is a government building in the downtown
area that has changing color lights and fountains with many Georgians lounging around and talking.
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Georgia - Bell Tower
Georgia - Borjomi - Ferns
Georgia - Borjomi - Trees
Georgia - Borjomi - Hole
Georgia - Borjomi - Scenery
Georgia - Borjomi - Mountains
Georgia - Borjomi - Forest
Georgia - Tbilisi - George W Bush Street
Georgia - Green Monastery
Georgia - Mtskheta
Georgia - Plaque
Georgia - Gori - Stalin Museum - Desk
Georgia - Gori - Stalin Museum
Georgia - Gori - Stalin Museum
Georgia - Gori - Stalin Statue
Georgia - Gori - Stalin's Train
Georgia - Gori - Stalin's Train
Georgia - Tbilisi - Colonial Buildings
Georgia - Tbilisi - Holy Trinity Cathedral Inside
Georgia - Tbilisi - Restaurants
Georgia - Tbilisi - Mt'k'vari River Houses
Georgia - Tbilisi - Mt'k'vari River Houses
Georgia - Tbilisi - Rose Fountain
Georgia - King Vakhtang
Georgia - Uplistsikhe - Bats
Georgia - Uplistsikhe - Escape Tunnel
Georgia - Uplistsikhe - Entrance
Georgia - Vardzia - Monastery
Georgia - Vardzia - Frescos
Georgia - Vardzia - Frescos
Georgia - Vardzia
Georgia - Vardzia
Georgia - Gori - Joseph Stalin's House
Georgia - Gori - Stalin Museum - Train
Georgia - Mtskheta - Soviet Buildings
Georgia - Tbilisi - Holy Trinity Cathedral
Georgia - Tbilisi - Holy Trinity Cathedral
The left hand photo is another shot taken at the Trinity church complex; taken from the bottom floor of the main cathedral. At another nearby
church is a statue of  King Vakhtang Gorgasal, credited with founding several churches and towns across what is now Georgia, including
Tbilisi. Ruling in the middle of the 5th century, King Vakhtang is still considered a hero today in Georgia for his leadership and the fights who
put up against foreign influences including Iran. One of Georgia's most prestigious military decorations is the Vakhtang Gorgasal Order.
At the time I visited Georgia, George Bush was president of the United States, and disliked in almost every country around the world. From
the locals that I talked to, everyone seemed to dislike the George Bush, but the president of Georgia at the time received a lot of support
from the United States. This new democracy was supported by western powers, and to show his appreciate President Mikheil Saakashvili
created George W Bush Street. On the left is a small gathering at night at the rose fountain. Kids were playing in the fountains and music was
playing. The fountain is named after the rose revolution which was Georgia's political change from left to a right wing government.
Georgia - Green Monastery - Cursed Rock
Georgia - Green Monastery
The country of Georgia is split about half and half on Christianity and Islam. Once I
traveled outside of Tbilisi, it seemed that the majority of religions symbols and places
of worship I encountered where Christian. Above is a bell tower and Christian plaque.
Also located in Stalin's hometown is a museum dedicated to his life. The surrounding photos are all from the museum, including gifts in the
upper right that were given to him by other countries, and one of his desks below and his bullet proof train he used across the Soviet Union.
These two photos are from the inside of Joseph Stalin's train. He refused to travel by
aircraft, so his personal armored train in many ways was his second home outside of
Moscow. The train today is in great condition, and you are free to explore the
different rooms and get an idea of how he traveled the Soviet Union.
Georgia - Vardzia
Georgia - Vardzia
Similar to Uplistsikhe but larger and even more impressive are the ruins of Vardzia; said to be 800 years old. This city was built inside the
mountain to be protected from Mongols and remained invisible to other countries and armies. In the 13th century, a large earthquake split the
mountain in half and exposed the city. Since the earthquake occurred, the city was almost completely destroyed and abandoned.
Uplistsikhe also had its enemies. An interesting part of this old city is going down into their secret escape tunnel in case they were ever being
over run by the enemy. I descended into the tunnel and almost immediately I could hear hundreds of bats flying around and making noise.
Georgia - Vardzia - Escape Tunnel
To give you an idea of its size, at its peak Vardzia has over 13 floors with a total of
6,000 rooms! On the left is one of the city's secret escape tunnels. Above is one of
the few buildings that were visible from the outside. Below are frescoes within
Vardzia's monastery, including a depiction of Queen Tamar.
The Green Monastery is located in the forested areas of Georgia known as Borjomi, also dead center of the country. This was a great place
to go hiking, where you have a chance to come across a lot of wildlife that even includes bears. The mountainous terrain has a lot of great
scenery in the summer time, and aside from natural beauty Georgia's believe Borjomi water to have a spiritual if not medicinal value to it.
Here are some last pictures of Georgia, still in the Borjomi mountains. Above is a some more scenery of some of the
steeper mountains which probably offer great rock climbing. The hole in the ground I assume is the remains of some
house or outpost. Below a man takes Borjomi water directly from the source, and even though I didn't get to see a
bear with my own eyes, I did find this tree which a bear had dug into with his claws in order to mark his territory.
Here are some interesting houses built along the Mt'k'vari River in Tbilisi. I'm not sure if a house ever falls into the river every so often.
These two pictures above show some colonial and nicer restaurants in Tbilisi, this area
was definitely the nicest part of Georgia that I came across.
Monsuru from Nigeria: Georgia is a nice place to study and live. i love to study in georgia and also live as a citizen.
if given the opportunity i we be very glad to welcome it.