[Republic of] Georgia on my mind

[kileskus]

Istanbul - Batumi - Tbilisi - Baku (and some stops in between)



With the recent intriguing political developments in Georgia, and having not been to a CIS country in several years, I thought now would be a good time to visit. I had a few Velocity points to use prior to the upcoming changes so redeemed reward tickets on Qatar to Istanbul and then from Baku on the way back.

Georgia is a country of 3.7 million people. It's located east of Turkey, south of Russia, and west of Azerbaijan. It's known for being one of the first countries to convert to Christianity, having a lot of cholesterol-raising but tasty dishes, and hosting a part of the Caucasus mountains, although the most beautiful part is purportedly in Abhazia, the Russian-backed breakaway region that forms one of today's post-Soviet frozen conflicts.

I had wanted to go to Abhazia but my visa application waa denied. According to a local friend, it was likely because entry is not permitted via the Georgian side, although nominally on the Abhazian MFA website they do recognise it as a crossing.

The weather was bad for many days and this was my first time in seven years holidaying with checked luggage. Also, the older I get the less adventurous I become. Therefore, I planned my activities to maximise sleep, minimise having to drag luggage around, and avoid any hint of rain. (The one time I did venture out into a storm, I experienced an inexplicable loss of friction whilst walking along the beach and had an unplanned and unwelcomingly invigorating bath in the Black Sea. Thankfully I had been carrying only my old phone.)

I hope you find something interesting in this report. Feel free to share thoughts/questions/experiences - I feel that coming in winter and not being a wine drinker my views and experiences would differ from others'.


The Mother of Georgia statue meant to represent the Georgian nation. In the left hand she is holding a wine bowl

 

[kileskus]

Istanbul



'Sailing to Byzantium' is my favourite poem. A reflection on the physical frailty tethered to the inexorable process of ageing, it describes the narrator's journey to Byzantium, the erstwhile seat of Western civilisation and religion, for spiritual reinvigoration. 'Ulysses' by Tennyson runs in a similar vein; that narrator however searching more for intellectual and physical renewal.

I have tattoos inspired by both these poems, with the Hagia Sophia featuring in one of them. So it was with some sadness that, having finally arrived to see Istanbul in person, I wasn't allowed to access the ground floor of the mosque, although of course the views from the upper floor are still stunning and there were some of the exquisite mosaics remaining.



At the Grand Bazaar, my Turkish-speaking friend tried to ask permission from management for us to go onto the rooftops, a desire inspired by James Bond and International (a movie based on the sordid story of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International). We were politely told to leave them in peace, but did see an interesting carpet along the way:


The Istanbul war museum has a daily performance of a mehter band, Ottoman military bands associated with the Janissaries, an elite infantry unit comprising Christians from the Ottoman territories, usually from the Balkans. While the Janissaries were not Turks, most mehter music was composed by Turks and was the inspiration for 'Rondo alla turca' among other pieces of western music experimenting with ideas from the Orient.


The band members even dress up in Ottoman military costumes for the performance.

The city also has several shooting ranges that are open until 11 p.m. and include the opportunity to fire Turkish pistols, so that made for a pleasant evening activity after the museums closed and it was too dark and rainy to walk around outside.

I flew Turkish Airlines to Batumi in western Georgia. Check in and boarding were mildly chaotic (no formal priority boarding for business/*A status holders either). The flight was almost completely full. In economy they provided a cold lunch that I thought more than sufficient for a 90-minute flight:



Batumi was raining, so I headed straight to my hotel and finished off the rakı I got from Turkey. I would recommend the Efe brand - they were the first private company to produce rakı and it is delicious. Despite the similarity in name and method of production, I thought it tasted less like rakija and more like mastica. The rakı ran out but the rain did not, so I made a quick trip to the shops to get some Georgian chacha, which is a grape vodka that tasted slightly like rakija and a lot like hand sanitiser.

 

[SuePa]

I'm following with interest, as I'll be visiting Georgia, along with Azerbaijan and Armenia, in September, on a group tour.

 

[kileskus]

Batumi



The Georgian people used to be divided into two tribes by a mountain range. The western tribe was called the Colchis and the eastern the Iberians. It was to the Kingdom of Colchis that Jason and the Argonauts came in search of the golden fleece. The origin of the myth likely stems from the fact that western Georgia is rich in minerals including gold and archaeological evidence attests to advanced goldsmithing techniques employed by the Colchis when it was an ancient Greek colony.


This statue of Medea holding the golden fleece stands in central Batumi. Georgian culture has a strong focus on family (the concept of the clan seen throughout the Caucasus) so I find it a little ironic that they choose to venerate Medea despite her killing her own brother to elope with Jason.

The Colchis and Iberian kingdoms eventually broke up into smaller groups. Unification of the Georgians started in around 1000 AD but it wasn't until around 1100 under King David the Builder that the process was completed. However, the kingdom would split apart again over the coming centuries due to Mongol and Turkish invasions.

Present-day Batumi is the capital of the Adjara province, a semi-autonomous region mainly populated by the sub-group of Adjarians. It's a resort city so in winter there is mainly construction on the beach and many restaurants and entertainment venues are closed. There wasn't a lot to do and the weather meant that the Kolkheti National Park that I wanted to see in the nearby town of Poti wasn't open.


There are a few nice buildings to look at but it takes about 20 minutes to see the whole of the city centre.

The most iconic food in Georgian cuisine is probably khachapuri, cheese bread. The archetypal khachapuri, and that which you will find served overseas in Georgian restaurants, is the Adjarian style. Batumi is the place to get authentic Adjarian khachapuri:


The 'boat' shape is distinct to Adjara, whereas khachapuri from other parts of Georgia will be round like a pizza or square. The filling is cheese with an egg on top. You eat it by putting a pat of butter on it then mixing the cheese, egg and butter together. Once mixed, you rip off pieces of the bread from the sides and dip it into the centre.

The dish on the right is kharcho, a soup made of beef and rice and seasoned with a distinct Georgian spice mix.

Kuchmachi is another western Georgian traditional dish. It's made of chicken or beef offal with chopped walnuts and pomegranate seeds. It's better than it sounds and is quite warming (I had it after falling into the water while walking along the beach), but is quite heavy as I find most Georgian dishes to be.



I took a bus from Batumi to Sarpi on the Turkish border to have a look at the church there, dedicated to St-Andrew.



He's the same guy of the Scottish flag and is the patron saint of Georgia, Russia and Ukraine for his proselytising work. While he didn't convert Georgians to Christianity, he did a lot of preaching here and first landed on the Black Sea coast before heading to Ukraine and then Russia.


In Georgian Orthodox iconostases, Mary will be on the immediate left of the holy doors (the centre doors) and Jesus on the immediate right. Then, right of Jesus would be the patron saint of that church. So in this iconostasis, the icon on Jesus' right is of St-Andew with his distinct wavy hair.


This is the customs checkpoint building in Sarpi. According to the German architects, its design is meant to represent "coming together" and Georgia's "progressive spirit".

After that it was on the train to eastern Georgia. I bought a first class ticket as it was the last ticket remaining. First class gets you more legroom but isn't very helpful if you end up in the 4-seater rows.


The windows are shaded so I couldn't get any good views of the countryside either. The main entertainment of the trip was the English announcement when we were departing Batumi: "Dear passengers, the train is about to depart. Please leave the train."