Tbilisi – Capital of Georgia

We have been fortunate enough to visit Georgia and its capital Tbilisi on two occasions this year. The first experience in Georgia was so good (but relatively short, just 10 days in April) so when we needed to exit the Schengen Zone we decided to return to Georgia and explore some more. In October we were back for around 3 weeks. I’ll write about both trips now so all the Georgia posts are together.

Let’s start with a bit of background about the place… Tbilisi is a city of just over one million people. It sits in the Mtvari River valley and is an interesting blend of old and modern architecture. We found it to be an interesting and pleasant place to stroll around, a city with a nice atmosphere and plenty to see.

Being at a crossroads of Europe and Asia, Tbilisi has been fought over and conquered in the past by Arabs and Persians and in 1800 the Russians annexed Georgia, re-building it after the destruction by Aghar Mohamed Khan in 1795. The Russians built many wide boulevards and parks. During the Soviet era the city grew as many people came in from the countryside. After its independence in 1991 the country experienced civil war and the 1990s were not good years to be in Georgia.

Now the country and its capital are pretty fantastic places to visit, crime is low and it is very safe for tourists. In no country have we seen a higher ratio of police cars to regular cars… Police cars were just everywhere!  Public transport between cities is frequent and costs very little, food is filling, varied, delicious and cheap… in fact Georgia is the cheapest country we have travelled in, in 2016, and one of the most beautiful.

Cable car from Rike Park – views looking down on the city and up to the fortress

One of the first things we did in Tbilisi was to take the cable car from Rike Park across the river and over the Old Town, up to the Narikala Fortress. Dominating the Old Town skyline, the Narikala Fortress dates back to the 4th century, when it was a Persian citadel. We enjoyed the superb views over Tbilisi from the top of the fortress. Most of the walls were built in the 8th century by the Arab emirs, whose palace was inside the fortress. Subsequently Georgians, Turks and Persians captured and patched up Narikala, but in 1827 a huge explosion of Russian munitions stored here wrecked the whole thing!

Narikala Fortress and views from there over the city (Note the huge cathedral all lit up top right)

We walked along the ridge to check out the huge statue of Mother Georgia, a 20m-tall aluminium symbol of Tbilisi. Mother Georgia holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other – a classic metaphor for the Georgian character, warmly welcoming guests and passionately fighting off enemies. In the fading light we headed back to the fortress and explored the walls and views past the newly restored church that is up there. We watched as the city’s lights started twinkling and took in the night views of Tbilisi before walking down the hill.

L: Mother Georgia. R: Ants climbing fortress walls

The ‘Peace Bridge‘ was designed by an Italian and opened in 2010. It is a rather eye-catching glass and steel footbridge over the Mtkvari and we quite liked it. It connects the Old Town on the western side of the river with Rike Park on the eastern bank, a nice park filled with flowers and fountains and the unusual metallic tubes which house the concert hall and exhibition centre.

Peace Bridge and Rike Park, Tbilisi.

Up the hill from Rike Park is the Tsminda Sameba Cathedral, the biggest symbol of the Georgian Orthodox church’s post-Soviet revival. The huge, unmissable Tsminda Sameba was consecrated in 2004 after a decade of building. It is a massive building in concrete, brick, granite and marble and rises 84m to the top of the gold-covered cross above its gold-covered central dome. To get a sense of its size have a look at the first picture of the city on this post… you can see the massive cathedral sticking out far above all else, on the right side of the picture.

Tsminda Sameba Cathedral, Tbilisi

It was really impressive from the outside and inside it was one large space with people praying and lighting candles before the numerous icons around the walls and pillars. It seems Georgians are rather religious… whenever we drove past churches or other sites with some significance the driver and other passengers all crossed themselves several times. People on foot passing churches would do the same. In the churches we visited there were always people, young and old, praying, lighting candles, kissing icons etc

A young couple praying by icons inside Tsminda Cathedral.

On our second visit to Tbilisi we stayed in the Old Town very close to Tavisuplebis Moedani or Freedom Square which is positioned at one end of Rustaveli street, the main artery of Tbilisi. The Lenin statue which stood here was toppled in 1990 and in its place is the golden St George spearing the dragon, a gift to the city from its sculptor, Zurab Tsereteli.

St George slaying the dragon in Freedom Square, Tbilisi.

Rustaveli Avenue was laid out by the Russians in the 19th century and is lined with important and interesting buildings like the Parliament and several museums, which we should perhaps have visited. On our last day in Tbilisi we had planned to spend the afternoon at the Museum of Georgia but the sun was shining and we opted for relaxing in a park instead. There were a number of older people selling things along the sidewalks of Rustaveli and I bought an English second hand book off one of them.

Parliament, Rustaveli.

The Parliament building, built between 1938-1953, no longer houses the parliament as it was moved to Kutaisi in 2012 (not a popular move!). A small monument in front of paving stones and glass panels commemorate the 19 Georgian hunger strikers, who died here at the hands of Soviet soldiers in 1989.

Top: Narikala Fortress above the Old Town. Bottom: Georgian ‘snickers’ on the streets in the Old Town, Tbilisi,.

Away from the broad Rustaveli street on the other side of Freedom Square is the Old Town, a neat place, full of winding streets where local goods spill out onto the narrow sidewalks. Among these is the popular Churchkhela aka Georgian Snickers, which is a type of candy we saw everywhere in Georgia. It is made by repeatedly dipping a long string of nuts in concentrated fresh grape juice. There are churches, synagogues and a mosque (where Sunnis and Shiites pray together!) all in close proximity in the Old Town, old architecture, Turkish and Persian style sulphur baths and even a waterfall!

Top: Inside the mosque for Sunnis AND Shias. Bottom: Memorial outside a synagogue, Old Town Tbilisi.

Riverside walk & waterfall in the Old Town, Tbilisi

A deep sulphur spring feeds Tbilisi with naturally heated mineral water and bath houses have been making the most of that for over a thousand years. We really enjoyed our soak in one of the baths and also got the skin scrub while there which was an interesting experience. A woman came and scrubbed me and a guy came and did the same to Antony. The skin then goes all tingly when you get back in the hot bath.

The local sulphur baths we visited, Old Town Tbilisi

The quirky Clock Tower in the Old Town was not old at all, in fact one of the newest buildings here but it was like out of a fairy tale. It is positioned outside a puppet theatre and was built by puppet master Rezo Gabriadze during a renovation of his theatre a few years ago. Just round the corner from here is the Anchistkhati Basilica, the city’s oldest church, and across from it the very nice Cafe Leila where we had a delicious lunch.

L: Clock Tower. R: Door to the Anchistkhati Basilica. Tbilisi’s Old Town.

Although visiting the Anchistkhati Basilica was really special as there was someone singing beautiful chants at the time we popped in, my favourite church in Tbilisi was the Sioni Cathedral. Initially built in the 6th century but restored many times since, Sioni Cathedral was the main Georgian Orthodox Cathedral until the Tsminda Sameba Cathedral was consecrated in 2004. The frescoes were fabulous and along with the icons created a visually rich feast for the eyes.

Sioni Cathedral

Sioni Cathedral

Looking across from the Old Town you can see the Avlabari area on the bank of the Mtkvari River, and in particular the dramatically perched Metekhi Church on the top of the rocky outcrop above the river with its huge 1960s statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali beside it. This is where Vakhtang Gorgasali built his palace, and the site’s first church, when he made Tbilisi his capital in the 5th century. What you see today was built between 1278 and 1289, and has been reconstructed many times since.

Metekhi Church with Huge statue on the edge of the cliff by the river.

On our second visit to Tbilisi we took the funicular up Mt Mtatsminda, the hill topped by the 210m-high TV mast that looms over central Tbilisi. The amusement park up here was very quiet as it was a week day in early November when we were here, not really amusement park time.  Far more interesting for us were the views from the top, looking over the city. We enjoyed a drink and something sweet in the cafe up here too.

Mtatsminda funicular views

The funicular stopped part way down the hill and we got off here to see the National Pantheon before walking the rest of the way down. The Mtatsminda Pantheon is a cemetery, established in 1929, where many of Georgia’s famous writers, artists, scholars and national heroes are buried. We don’t know many famous Georgians and can’t read the paperclip like Georgian script anyway, but I just loved the various headstones and sculptures, which gave good clues as to the profession of the person buried. So much more interesting than the usual headstones we have at home! I wonder if someone got creative what mine would look like…

National Pantheon headstones, Tbilisi.

Not only were these sculptures interesting but mention must be made of the many interesting, lively and comical statues and sculptures that we seemed to discover on the streets of Tbilisi every time we went for a walk. My two favourites are of the guy on the ladder checking the lamp and the guy jumping in the air, out of the bushes!

In motion

Clever statues, Tbilisi

Well that’s it for Tbilisi. On our first stay here we did a couple of fantastic daytrips and they will be the content of my next two posts… Stay tuned!

About the Author

Born and bred in New Zealand's South Island, this Kiwi likes getting 'out there' exploring the world and its wonderful people! I have taught English in South Korea, volunteered in Kyrgyzstan, studied in Denmark, lived in community in Scotland and visited friends and wonderful people all over the world. Now married to Antony the adventures continue together. I have a habit of being notoriously behind in my blog - but will do what I can to record my adventures, as much for my own record as anything (as I have a terrible memory). After an amazing year in Iran and Europe, in 2016, Antony and I are off again September 29 2019 - Feb 1 2020. Hopefully I can blog about most of what we get up to! Enjoy the read! Kate x

Author Archive Page