Alexander Zhidchenko - Tbilisi – Marneuli. Georgia 2 cities in 1 weekend

Photograph Alexander Zhidchenko

© Alexander Zhidchenko, 2018

© Alexander Zhidchenko, photos, 2018

ISBN 978-5-4493-3498-5

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Today the trip to Georgia for our compatriots is incredibly exciting, full of impressions, bright emotions and adventures, immersion in the historical, cultural, gastronomic, natural and everyday atmosphere of this amazing country located in the Western part of Transcaucasia.

Increasingly popular in recent years are taking tours of the sights of Georgia, relatively small in size, but extremely rich in cultural flavor. Someone is going to Batumi to swim in the Black Sea and immerse themselves in the environment of the post-Soviet resort. Someone is going to Kutaisi to see historical and modern Georgia with its rapidly changing architectural decoration. Well, we will go to the main city of the country, the old and diverse city of Tbilisi, which is very difficult to visit in one weekend to cover all its types, avenues, squares and streets, but which must be at least two days long to stay here Before going deep into the country for the sake of mountains, the sea and nature.

So, we have only 2 days to go to the capital of Georgia, for which we have a goal to have an unusually long time – and to feel the rhythm of the city, and turn to the history of the country through the prism of the capital symbols of change, and immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of this people leading Its history since ancient times.

Previously, the answer to this question was complicated. Cheap tickets were almost non-existent, and the trip by rail had its own difficulties. Today, everything has changed – and the air gates of Georgia open their doors to everyone who wants to come here for at least 2 days, at least for 2 weeks, at the cheapest prices in comparison with other countries of the former USSR.

I will give just an example to show how easy it is, because the ticket from Moscow to Tbilisi and back cost me in 2017 a little more than 7 thousand rubles.

The thing is that flights of Pobeda airline flew here during this period. True, I had to make a transfer in Rostov-on-Don, and pass in the Rostov international terminal passport control, but this is a trivial matter.

It was possible to fly back on the flight of Pobeda airline, but from neighboring Armenia, the city of Gyumri. In truth, the trip to Georgia and Armenia was combined in one round, but now I will tell you in detail about the first part of this trip, but the second one is described in the book “Yerevan-Gyumri. Two cities in one weekend”, which will get you closer to the cultural and historical heritage and sights of Armenia.

To tell you the truth, it is very easy to visit these two countries during one tour. At your disposal are trains, buses and minibuses following the Tbilisi-Yerevan route at very affordable prices. But first things first.

The modern name of Georgia, which is also considered European, comes from the name of St. George, the Orthodox patron of this country. It is interesting that the Georgians themselves call their country Sakartvelo.

Its history, like the history of the Caucasus, is the way of the birth and development of dozens of different peoples who have lived in these places since ancient times.

It is known that even in the period of antiquity, in the VIII century BC. here the Greeks settled, and two centuries later the Anatolian tribes from Turkey came to these places. In the III century BC. here Iberian state was formed. It was adjacent to the Persian Empire, Albania, Sarmatia (the late Byzantine designation of the Eastern European tribes). Iberia is considered a pre-feudal state where free farmers and warriors lived. Iberian state had often to fight with the Roman Empire, which managed to capture these territories in the 65th year BC.

In 189 BC. the Roman army defeated the Seleucid army here, and a strong Armenian state was formed. At the turn of the 4th – 5th centuries, the western part of the Armenian state was captured by the Byzantine Empire. The Oriental got the Persians. Byzantium was able to exert great cultural influence on the population of this region. Many traditions in architecture, culture, music, fine arts, after experiencing Byzantine colonization, have survived to this day.

In the 7th century Arab Muslims came here and created a Muslim state – the emirate. Completely from the Muslim dependence, Georgia was able to free itself only in 1122.

In the Middle Ages, many times Georgia was under threat of being under the rule of the Persians or Turks, who had constant claims to this territory. Only the intervention of the Russian Empire decided for several centuries the fate of this country. In 1783, the largest of the Georgian states, the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom, signed the Treaty of St. George, which received the status of a protectorate of the Russian Empire.

In the XIX century, in the Caucasus, and in particular in Georgia, nationalist groups and parties enjoyed great popularity among the youth, in the end of the century there was Joseph Dzhugashvili, the future leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin.

Keshwati Temple in Tbilisi. 1910

After the October Revolution, on May 26, 1918, Georgia declared itself an independent state, which was abbreviated by analogy with the future socialist Germany, the GDR, the Georgian Democratic Republic. It existed in this form for a short time, and on March 18, 1921 its troops were crushed by the Bolshevik army of the RSFSR. The power in Georgia passed into the hands of the Georgian Bolsheviks, and then, together with Armenia and Azerbaijan, it became part of a single Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic (ZFSFR).

In 1936 Georgia gained its autonomous independence, and in connection with the abolition of the TSSFSR it became the Georgian SSR.

In 1990, democratic elections were held in Georgia for the first time, in which several political parties participated. On April 9, 1991, Georgia declared its independence from the USSR.

The country in this period had prospects for rapid economic development, but the war and socio-political contradictions had their own plans, and in 1992—93. the country became very febrile, from which first ordinary residents suffered. Former members of Georgia-South Ossetia and Abkhazia-began a war of independence, as a result of which ethnic conflicts, pogroms, and migration of the population became the most common news stories.