Visit Georgia with Marcin - #1: Tbilisi

A view from the Narikala fortress on the left bank of Kura river

Hello, you all! In the beginning, let me introduce myself: my name’s Marcin, I’m 35 living in Poland, who likes to travel quite a lot. I’ve visited some not-so-popular-but-beautiful regions, collecting many great memories, and, well, also making many photos. I believe, some of them are worth sharing with You – I like to show You the most beautiful places I’ve visited, and maybe even encourage You to visit them as well!

My biggest travel love is without any doubts Georgia – a not so big, but very diverse country located in the Caucasus mountains. You will find there great nature – mountains, rivers, lakes, sea, steppes, exotic animals, beautiful landscapes. You’ll find there old and interesting architecture and monuments, commemorating the country’s rich history. You’ll find friendly and hospitable people, who, if You only treat them with respect, will meet You with all their hearts open.

Today I’d like to start showing You various places in Georgia. Of course – it’s impossible to put the whole country in one post – it would overwhelm You with beauty ;) Therefore I’ll choose 10-15 best photos from every visited place/region, and I really hope You’ll like it!

Let’s start from Georgia’s capital – Tbilisi. What could You know about it?

1. It’s has been founded over 1500 years ago.
2. It’s name comes from Georgian word tbili, meaning ‘warm’. The legend about its foundation says, that once upon a time a local king, named Vakhtang Gorgasal, went hunting with his falcon. During the hunt, the bird tried to catch the pheasant, which has fallen into one of the springs. When the king came for his prey, he saw, that the pheasant was already boiled, as the water in the spring was really hot. He saw the beauty of the place and decided to build here a city. Even today in Tbilisi there are many hot sulfur baths, using the temperature of the springs.
3. Tbilisi is the biggest city in Georgia, and the only one which population exceeds 1 million people.
4. During its history, the city was many times conquered by other nations – Arabs, Persians, Turks, Mongols, Russians.
5. Being a tourist here, you should probably start from the Old Town (with some centuries old churches, narrow streets and picturesque wooden balconies), Narikala fortress and Mtatsminda hill. If you stay here longer, there will be much more to see :)
6. Tbilisi is one of the very few places in the world, where Sunna and Shi’a Islam believers attend the same mosques with no conflict between them (or at least that is what they told me).
7. The current mayor of Tbilisi is former famous football player, Kakha Kaladze.

And now, let’s go to see some Tbilisi ;)

All of the photos are mine. Some of them have been slightly tonemapped.

The monument of Mother-Georgia, welcoming the guests with a cup of wine, and the enemies - with a sword

The Holy Trinity Cathedral as seen from Mtatsminda Hill, the biggest temple in Georgia

The Bridge of Peace, connecting the Old Town with the Rike Park. Some of locals call it 'the sanitary pad' due to its shape ;)

An example of traditional old wooden balcony at the Old Town. The statue is devoted to the architector, who led the renovation of the Tbilisi Old Town.

A view of the modern settlements, build mostly in the Soviet era

The Big Bicycle monument at the Rose Revolution square

A waterfall in the Botanical Garden, seen from above

The shelf cloud over the neighbouring hills. Seeing it, run and find some shelter from the rain and storm!

An old village gate, now stored in the Ethnographical Museum

If one leave the main streets, he can still meet the old yards, looking as if time has stopped there...

And finally, again the Holy Trinity Cathedral - this time just from in front of it

Hope you enjoyed the first part of the trip!