| Georgia |
| 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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| 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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| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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.
if given the opportunity i we be very glad to welcome it.