Tbilisi or Not Tbilsi

We arrived in Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, best known for producing famed 20th century tyrant Joseph Stalin and last summer’s unlikely war, in which Russia, their former master, showed them who the region's real power is. The fallout from that conflict continues now with anti-government protestors, who accuse Bush/Cheney darling President Sakashvili of mismanagement and authoritarianism, setting up shop in the center of the city, camping out with no end in sight. We strolled through the protest area soon after our arrival and saw nothing but a few dozen senior citizens chewing on sunflower seeds. The rebels must have been at lunch.

We are ensconced in a Soviet-era apartment building in a “nice” neighborhood, Saburtalo. The fourth floor (no elevator) pad is spacious and fairly comfortable, although not renovated and far from fancy (the kitchen has induced me to swear off cooking for the duration of our stay). There is a nice grocery store directly across the street, however, and Jen’s work is a short 3 block walk away. We’ve sussed out a couple of good restaurants in the area, established our early morning walking paths, and hooked up internet in the apartment, so it’s all good.

Our trip from Albuquerque to Tbilisi was uneventful. The embassy driver, Shota, picked us up at the airport and delivered us to our apartment, where Lali and her son, George, were waiting for us. Jen’s Russian came in handy right away as between us we know maybe 3 words of Georgian. Our first impressions of the locals were positive. People here are pretty friendly, but not effusive. Everyone tends to wear black and despite warm weather - I have yet to see a pair of shorts on man, woman, or child. Considering the political situation, we had some concern about speaking Russian to the locals. It turns out that just about everyone speaks Russian and doesn’t hesitate to do so. Jen’s Russian studies are paying off big time.

On our first full day in Tbilisi, we met the university rector, Mamuka, for a promised “walking tour”. Well, it turned out to be an extensive driving tour of some of Georgia’s most famous churches. Mamuka’s teenaged son, George, who looked vaguely Beatle-y, did the driving. We first drove to Jvari, high on a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Aragvi. The 5th century church was beautiful. The medieval Georgian architecture is very distinctive. We then drove down the hill to Mtskheta, the spiritual center of Georgian culture, and visited the Svetitskhoveli cathedral complex there. Afterward, we visited the Samtavro Church, now the site of a nunnery. Now starving, Mamuka treated us to a big Georgian lunch featuring such staples as lobio (thick bean soup w/ aromatic greens), khachapuri (kind of a cheese pie), mtsvadi (shish kebab), cheese and bread. Delicious. Exhausted, we returned to Tbilisi and crashed out. After waking up hungry, we discovered our favorite neighborhood restaurant, Teremok, which has an outdoor terrace, allowing us to eat relatively smoke free. Teremok has since become our regular haunt for lunch and dinner.