Eight wonderful days in Tbilisi, which will leave a great impression on my for the rest of my life!
I've never been in such a grand but wounded city! it is is slowly licking its many wounds and recovering its grandeur of pre-Soviet times, when it must have been like a mini Paris!
The grand dilapidated buildings stand as a witness to this country's glorious past and as a ticket to a better future! Strangely, I think that it will almost be a shame when they all get painted over because they tell a story of a city and a people who are fiercely independent and proud of their 'little' country despite constant threats and demands by its bigger neighbours and empires.
Tbilisi feels like a time capsule and a piece of art in its own right, wherever you turn your head. The walls, churches, markets, doors, windows... all talk to you.
I mostly spent days walking endlessly in its streets and boulevards, imagining what these streets and buildings have seen - Tbilisi is a perfect place to do this. I entered pretty much every church I passed by to find immense beauty lit by flickering candles that Georgians constantly light in front of icons.
They Museum of Contemporary arts, the Museum of Illusions were great; the National Library is superb, flea market a true treasure trove. trip to Tbilisi Sea is a must. The Museum of Soviet Occupation disturbing but nicely put together.
One things that strikes you also in TB is its love of books - they are pretty much everywhere! I am starting to think books are TB's drug!
However, the biggest prize you'll get is Tbiliselis - the people that make the city! I have never been in a place where people have been genuinely so helpful and warm albeit with a certain distance as if trying not to impose themselves. They sometimes appear shy and disparaging about their country although they have absolutely no reason to be! It is us who should be ashamed of our rampant soulless consumerism and arrogance!
Leavign for Kazbegi today but back on Friday.
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