Sunday, December 3, 2017

GEORGIA DAY 3 (PART II)

"We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment"-Hilaire Belloc


After visiting Marjanishvili Avenue, we went to the next station, Rustaveli Avenue. When we reached the Rustaveli station, we were amazed to see the way the escalator was made. Turns out the escalator length was of 120 meters, which is the deepest Tbilisi metro station. We came out of the station and it was raining lightly.


Rustaveli


Rustaveli Avenue is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian Poet, Shota Rustaveli. He is considered to be the preeminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature.



Shota Rustaveli Statue, 4:43 P.M



Walking on the street of Rustaveli Avenue, 4:45 P.M

The avenue starts at Freedom Square and extends for about 1.5 Km in length, before it turns into an extension of Kostava Street. Rustaveli is often considered the main thoroughfare of Tbilisi due to a large number of governmental, public, cultural and business building that are located along or near the avenue. The former Parliament of Georgia building, the Georgian National Opera Theater, the Rustaveli State Academic Theater, the Georgian Academy of Sciences, Kashveti Church, Simon Janashia Museum of Georgia (part of the Georgian National Museum), and Biltmore Hotel Tbilisi among others,are all located on Rustaveli.





Beautiful paintings for sale, 5: 07 P.M 

As we walked down the streets of Rustaveli, we saw many art paintings that are kept outside the street and most of them looks amazing. The one I liked was the above picture but couldn't afford because it was quite out of my budget!



Public School, 5:30 P.M

We continued walking on the street. It was refreshing to have a long walk under a raining day. We saw a Cafe nearby which was filled with youngsters. We got ourselves some coffee and Cappuccino and continued walking. 

On the side, we saw a public school which was quite huge. It was beautifully constructed and maintained by the officials. We could see happy children playing and running around the compound of the school. This school is also known as the First Classical Gymanisum.

On the opposite side of the school was Kashveti church. We took subway in order to get there.

Kashveti St. George Church


Kashveti St. George Church, 5:34 P.M

The Kashveti Church of St. George is a Georgian Orthodox Church in central Tbilisi. 

The Kashveti Church was constructed between 1904 and 1910 by the architect Leopold Bilfeldt, who based his design on the medieval Samtavisi Cathedral. The construction was sponsored by the Georgian nobility and bourgeoisie. Kashveti was built on the site of a damaged church built of brick at the request of the Amilakhvari family in 1753. Significant contributions to the current church's ornate design were made by N. Agladze. Kashveti's frescoes were painted by the influential Georgian Painter, Lado Guiashvili, in 1947.



Dome painting inside Kashveti Church, 5:35 P.M


Inside Interior of Kashveti Church, 5:40 P.M

We entered the church and saw some group of women chanting some prayer in Georgian. Another family group was attending baptism, and its cute to see the little girl getting anointed by the priest. After attending their small baptism mass, we went out and roam around outside church


Church Bells, 5:34 P.M


The name 'kashveti' is derived from Georgian word kva for a 'stone' and shva 'to give birth'. Legend has its prominent 6th century monk David of Gareja of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers was accused by a woman of making her pregnant in Tbilisi. David prophesied his denial would be proved when she gave birth to a stone. She did, and the place received the name of 'kashveti'.


After exploring the Kashveti church, we went straight to Georgian Fine Arts Museum, which was next to the church. Unfortunately the security didn't allow us to enter as it was only for people who got 'invitations' only. The whole area around the museum was guided by the Georgia Police men. We understood that the government officials and VIP people are coming to visit the museum for some meaningful event. 

After this, we went straight to Liberty Square, which was 10 min walk from the Museum. On the way we saw the old Georgian Parliament Building from outside.


Parliament Building (Former)
















Georgia's former Parliament building, 5:34 P.M


Georgia's former parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi was built between 1938 and 1953 and was used until parliament was re-located to a new building in Georgia's second city Kutasi in 2012.  After walking past by the Parliament building, we finally reached the end of the street and saw the magnificent Liberty Square.



Liberty Square





Liberty Square, 6:22 P.M


The square was originally named after Ivan Paskevich,  the Count of Erivan, a Ukrainian general of the Russian Imperial Army, who earned his title of honor for his conquest of Erivan for the Russian Empire. Under the Soviet Union, the square was renamed first as 'Beria Square', and then 'Lenin Square'. The location was first named Freedom Square in 1918, during the foundation of the First Georgian Republic following the collapse of the Russian Empire. During the Soviet period, the square featured a large statue of Vladimir Lenin, which was symbolically torn down in August 1991. On November 23.2006, the liberty Monument depicting St. George slaying the dragon, created by Zurab Tsereteli and is dedicated to the freedom and independence of the Georgian Nation. The monument is of granite and gold at height of 115 ft. The actual height of the statue if 5.6 meters made of Bronze and covered with gold-which is a gift to the city from its creator Zurab.

Georgian Alphabets displayed in Liberty Square area, 6:25 P.M



Basic sentences translated to Georgian, 6:22 P.M



































Small Golden Fountain at Liberty Square, 6:28 P.M

There was an information centre at the Liberty Square and we asked them the route to the Bridge of Peace. They gave us the direction and went straight towards Aleksandr Pushkin Street.


Alexsandr Pushkin Street, 6:31 P.M

We took subway and reached to another town which was under road construction. On the side of the road construction, we can see people selling beautiful flowers. We forgot to take pictures because we got mesmerized with different varieties of fresh flowers we saw that day. Some young guy was buying flowers for his partner and its cute to see how she blushes under the cloudy evening sky.

Graffiti Art work in random building , 6:39 P.M

After roaming around in zig zag way, we finally reached the main streets and saw the Bridge of Peace.























Bridge of Peace


Bridge of Peace, 6:59 P.M

The Bridge of Peace is a bow-shaped pedestrian bridge, a steel and glass construction illuminated with numerous LEDs, over the Kura River in downtown at Tbilisi. The bridge stretches 150 metres over the Kura River and was ordered by the City Hall of Tbilisi to create a contemporary design feature connecting Old Tbilsi with the new district. The official opening took place on May 6, 2010. The bridge stretches over Kura River providing a view of the Metekhi Church, statue of the city's founder Vakhtang Gorgasali and the Narikala Fortress on on side, and Baratashvili Bridge and Presidential Office on the other.


Georgia Flag lighten up at Bridge of Peace, 19:05 P.M

It was beautiful to see the Bridge of Peace specially when it was lighten up. The view from the Bridge of Peace was amazing. You can see the calming river reflecting the city lights, and the busy roads on the side of the river. We stood there for few minutes to enjoy the scene.


After we descended the Bridge of Peace from other side, we went straight to ropeway station, where it takes us to Narikala Fortress.



Narikala Fortress

Narikala Fortress (view from cable car), 07:17 P.M


Also called the Mother of Fortress of Tbilisi, Narikala is an ancient symbol of Tbilisi's defence. The fortress was established in the 4th century, around the period when the city itself was founded. It was then known as Shuris-tsikhe (Individual Fort). The name Narikala is said to derive from a Persian word for citadel, but another theory says it was the name of the Mongols which means Little Fortress. It was expanded by the Arabs during the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs built the Emirs palace within its walls. King David further extended the builder the fortress in the 11th century. Most of the existing fortification date from 16th and 17th centuries.




View of Tbilisi city from Narikala Fortress, 07:19 P.M

It's such a calming effect to see the whole city on top of the hill near the Narikala Fortress. The weather was cool and the whole ambience cannot be forgotten. We stood there for a long time, just to capture the moment.  We could see the bridge of Peace, Holy Trinity Cathedral Church, the New Parliament Building and every little things out there. I wished to stay there for a while till the sunrises, but unfortunately we do not have much time.




Inside Narikala Fortress compound, 07:30 P.M

The fortress was partially ruined due to hit by an earthquake in 1827 and was not resorted. The fortress looks like an authentic place of Georgia. Inside the fortress, there was a church (St. Nikolas Church), which dates from 12th century. It was renovated in 1996. We cannot enter the church because it was locked. We climbed up the ruined stairs which was so steep but couldn't go further because some of the stairs are missing and cannot jump further. After exploring the fortress, we took a taxi which was already parked in front gate of the fortress and went straight to Holy Cathedral Church- our final stop.







Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi



Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, 07:53 P.M


The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi commonly known as Sameba is the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world and one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. Sameba is a synthesis of traditional styles dominating the Georgian church architecture at various stages in history and has some Byzantine undertones.


The foundation of the cathedral was done according to all traditions: pieces from holy spots were placed in its basement like rocks from the Sion mountain and the Jordon River, soil from Jerusalem and from the tomb of St. George. The Patriarch and the President have laid the memorial nameplates too. Bells for the cathedral were cast in Germany. There are nine of them, and the biggest weighs 8,000 Kg. (Wow)





Interior of the Holy Trinity Church, 08:15 P.M



Close view of the Altar (under renovation), 08:15 P.M

The cathedral is designed in the spirit of modernism, and its architecture has little similarities with old traditions. Faces of the cathedral are done exquisitely with arches and unique fretwork. There are beautiful frescoes created under the supervision of the icon painter  Amiran Goglidze on the walls of the Sameba Cathedral. Catholics Patriarch of Georgia llia II also took part in painting works of the Tsminda Sameba Cathedral; he painted several icons and a big image of the Holy Virgin that can be seen at the entrance. There are two floors under the ground; on the second floor there are museum and conference hall.





Inside the church there are displays of ancient carpet, old paintings and a large handwritten holy bible covered in gold and precious stones (which can be weighed around 140 Kg or more).  It's really nice to see the church from outside specially the dome made of Gold, which shines far away beautifully during daylight.

After exploring the church, we took a cab and went straight to our hotel. There were not much people outside city. The roads were not busy either. The city became calm and silent around 9:00 P.M. The taxi driver was playing Georgian songs, which was soothing to listen during the cold night. We reached the hotel and said 'Madloba' which means thank you in Georgian. The Taxi driver started laughing and said something in Georgian. (wish I knew what it meant)

We requested a wake up call at 3:00 a.m to the receptionist as our flight was early morning at 6: 00 A.M. We went back to our room, freshen up and went to sleep.

That night I could not sleep properly as there are group of people from outside who started to sing some Georgian song and I was enjoying listening to it.

The receptionist called us at right time 3:00 A.M. We woke up, dressed up quick and went to reception lobby with our bags. We saw our tour guide and the driver and took us to the airport which was nearby to the hotel.

We reached the airport and the tour guide wished us a safe happy journey. I know you guys must be thinking, why we haven't bought any wines? Well we bought wine from duty free. Not just wine, but also lots of chocolates and cheese!

3 days isn't enough to discover the whole of Georgia. There are certain other places that is a must to visit like Batumi, Kakheti and a cave city named as Vardzia. And also need to experience Sulphur bath which is in Tbilisi. 

If you have any plans to go to Georgia, please do plan for 1 week atleast in order to see all the attractions of Georgia. To be honest, while doing this blog, there are certain places in Georgia that I really like to revisit again specially the view of the Tbilisi city on top of the hill.(That's my favourite spot).

Day 2: Click Here