Georgia (Tbilisi)

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Georgia is a beautiful country situated in the Caucasian region and located in the cross road of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It has Black sea to its west and Russia to its North and to its South it has Turkey and Armenia and Southeast of Azerbaijan.

The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. A very beautiful, calm and serene place that can be visited throughout the year. We have different activities for winter and summer. We however, visited in Winter which falls between November to February. Winters are very cold and temperature falls below zero degree Celsius.

The people of this country are very hospitable, honest, grounded and extremely helpful. Although language maybe a problem, some of them do speak English.

The generosity and hospitality of the country was experienced at the very beginning when we arrived at the airport, wine was provided to every individual after completing the formalities in the immigration. Since, we were arriving from Kuwait it was visa on arrival for us.

We stayed at Hotel Horizont, which was located 5 miles from Rustaveli Theatre and 6 miles from Tbilisi Opera and Ballet, which is the heart of the city and easily accessible to all places that we needed to visit. The hotel however, did not offer us food, hence it was quiet challenging to order food and going out for dinner so late seemed out of question. The staff however, were extremely helpful and we somehow managed to order a very cheesy pizza.

We stayed for 4 days and began to visit Narikala Fortress, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Mother of Georgia and The Bridge of Peace Svetitskhoveli Cathedral on the first day. The feeling of visiting any holy place always gives me a sense of peace and calm. All the churches and cathedrals here, had a story to tell and we were fascinated by the art and culture of the place which was so different and unique from what we experienced so far.

The Christians here do not follow the Roman calendar hence Christmas in Georgia is not celebrated on December 25th. It is celebrated on 7th of January every year because the Georgian Orthodox church use the old ‘Julian Calendar’ for their festivals. On Christmas day people go on an ‘Alilo Parade’ on the street. Children love to take part in the parade as sweets are distributed. Georgians dress in special clothes and costumes from the Christmas story for the parade. They also hold the Georgian flag and Christmas carols are sung during the parade. Overall, a completely different Christmas experience from the rest of the world.

The Traditional Georgian Christmas tree is called ‘Chichilaki’ which is way different from a regular Christmas tree seen in the rest of the world. This is made out of dry wood like hazelnut or walnut branches. They decorate it with small fruits and sweets. It is also a tradition to burn the tree the day before Georgian Orthodox Epiphany on the 19th of January.

Our next day's visit, which was Gudauri a beautiful snow capped hill station, where you can witness nature at its very best. Gudauri is located 120km from Tbilisi and it usually takes about 2 hours to reach from the capital. It is destination spot for skiing, speed riding and paragliding or even if you just need to take pictures and enjoy the scenic beauty! The snow is so bright that we need sunglasses😂. Some people take a cable car to go further ahead to ski from long distance all the way from above to go down. About 150km ahead of Gudauri is Kazbegi which is at a much higher altitude offering the same winter sports. Overall a must visit place in Georgia. We spent a whole day in Gudauri and did not go to Kazbegi due to heavy snow and the roads were blocked and it was not safe.

What more, we loved it so much we visited the place again the following day to spend more time in the snow. 😁

Finally, the most important topic, the food of Georgia which is highly influenced by the Mediterranean and Middle eastern flavors. The Georgian food and wine is best noticeable through Supra which is a traditional feast featuring a range of assorted dishes accompanied with wine which usually lasts for several hours.

Some of the most popular Georgian delicacies are:

Khinkali: This is a popular dumpling made with variety of filling inside it like lamb, pork, beef, chicken and even vegetarian if requested. Lamb is a favorite for all as it is found in abundance.

Khachapuri: This one is the most relished and satisfying food of Georgia. No meal in Georgia is complete without this and it is Georgian classic cheese and bread at its very best! This is prepared in many different ways either thick/thin or with single / many layers. The shape can vary from round, triangle or rectangle. They also prepare it with egg, potatoes etc.

Misvadi: This is a juicy meat grill which can be made out of veal, lamb or pork. Once grilled these are removed from skewers and shaken in a pot with sliced onions and pomegranate juice. This yummy delicacy gets the flavor from the caramelized onion while the Pomegranate juice makes it acidic and tangy.

There are many other delicacies like Chaqauli, Kharcho with Gomi, Mixed Mushroom stew. They also have many Indian, Italian and Arabic restaurants. However, these are not easily accessible and we must be prepared to eat what is available on the go.

Shopping is an important aspect of any trip and we have lots of souvenirs that we can purchase. Souvenirs like fidget magnets, swords, mother of Georgia, bags and some wonderful pretty accessories for women and many more are available to purchase.

Along with these we should also ensure to buy some of Georgian edible souvenirs like wine, honey, chacha, churchkela and tea. You have to check if your country allows you to bring these back home😒.

You can visit, Old Tbilisi market, Tbilisi mall, Dry Bridge flea market, East point shopping to buy these souvenirs. However, we have to ensure and keep a whole evening free and stay prepared to walk a lot if we need an enjoyable shopping experience.

Lastly, I would like to conclude my wonderful travel experience article by mentioning that Georgia is a very beautiful, relaxing and not so expensive tourist Spot to visit.

We can have an amazing holiday with a touch of European experience in a fairly good price. This will definitely be a holiday to remember if planned well.

Definitely one of our most memorable holidays we had so far.

Photo Credit: Google Images