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THE SIGHTS IN TBILISI - REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA
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The citizens of the Republic of Georgia are probably tired of Americans who wonder if their capital city Tbilisi is in a suburb of Atlanta in the State of Georgia. However, adventurous travelers like the readers of High on Adventure all know Tbilisi is the capital city of a nation located to the ea st of the Black Sea with Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey as neighbors. Indeed, it has been a bridge between Europe and Asia ever since the Silk Road routes first served trade as early as a century before Christ. Tbilisi itself is a lovely city straddling the Kura River which flows out of the Caucasus Mountains through Georgia and Azerbaijan into the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water.
Portions of the city have a very European feel. The City Hall faces on a classic open square with a roundabout in the center circling the Freedom Monument, a pillar topped by a golden statue (actually, gilded bronze) of St. George for whom the nation is named. While it looks like it has stood there for ages, it actually only dates to 2006 when the nation was celebrating independence from the Soviet Union which had imposed a soviet government on Georgia in 1921.
Facing on the square are a number of interesting buildings, but of most interest to this visitor from America was the triangular frontage of the Information Center on NATO and EU which had three flags draped facing the Freedom Monument: Georgia’s white and red banner, the European Union’s blue backed circle of gold stars and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) emblem in white on blue. Georgia has had increasingly close ties to NATO but is not yet a member as there are complications due to the presence of Russian forces in two Georgian territories that border on Russia.
The Georgian flag is flown over the entrance to the National Library and as well tops the National Legislature Building on Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main street on the west side of the river.
On the other side of the river, there are areas that also feel very much like typical European cities. Marjanishvili Square, named for a Georgian theater director, glows at night. It is a bustling center both day and night with a major subway station underground. This photo, however, doesn’t show the McDonalds on the other side of the square.
A new bridge of steel and glass with light emitting diodes (or “LEDs”) which opened in 2010, spans the Kura. It connects the old town area with a beautiful park in the new district on the left bank. Designed by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, the glass canopy quite gracefully covers the glass-sided pedestrian bridge.
A Public Services Hall where citizens with business with any of a number of government agencies can get “one stop service” sits on the right bank of the Kura. Designed by internationally prominent architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, the structure has mushroom-like steel canopies over the conjoined office spaces.
Not all the modern architecture has been as successful as the bridge or the services hall. The Fuksases also designed a music theater and exhibition hall that looks as if two stainless steel tubes were emerging from the hillside facing the Peace Bridge. They may look impressive from afar but up close you notice that all the doors are padlocked and there are missing panes of glass. Look through the main glass doors which appear not to have been washed in ages and you see littered emptiness. The project has never been completed and doesn’t seem to have much support for completion in the current government.
The skyline of the modern section of the city has been marked or marred, depending on your taste, by modern towers. The Biltmore and Radisson Hotels are the most prominent - day or night.
Churches dominate no matter which neighborhood of the city you stroll through. Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church was just a block from my hotel; the Kashveti Church of St. George was on the opposite side of the river.
The oldest church in the city is the Anchiskhati Basilica which dates to the sixth century. The newest major addition to the city’s collection of worship sites is perhaps its most impressive, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the principal church of the Georgian Orthodox Church. It was consecrated only fifteen years ago and dominates the skyline on the hills on the left bank.
At the entrance to Tbilisi’s charming old town stands Rezo Gabriadze’s Marionette Theatre. Gabriadze is a playwright, writer, sculptor, actor and director who turned to puppetry and established his own marionette theatre. Performances are a must-see for adults as well as children. He designed his own theater and built a clock tower where a puppet angel appears above to chime the hours.
Within the old town the buildings tend to be small, colorful and often offer a touch of whimsy as is the case with this wine shop.
Public art is impressive throughout Tbilisi. Murals adorn the walls of the underpasses that take pedestrians under major roads and over major bridges. At the entrance to many of the underpasses you can view directories that explain the art … but they are in Russian so they need a bit of translation help for visitors from the United States who are not Russian language experts.
But the art itself is impressive.
Of course, there are many statues of historic figures - one, a fairly traditional statue of artist Mihaly Zichy which dominates a lovely park.
Another, a bit more stylized statue of a saint, stands in front of the old city wall.
Even the pillars supporting balconies of buildings along the major streets can be impressive.
The parks are filled with sculpture. Dedeana Park has a figure celebrating a child at play. A circle of frolicking peasants is at the entrance to the old city.
Whimsy seems to be highly valued in the public art of Tbilisi. A jazz club has a saxophonist embedded in the wall of their building and even the bollards on Rustaveli Avenue demonstrate a sense of humor.
But my favorite of all is the statue “Lamplighter” by Irakli Tsuladze at the entrance to the old city via Baratashvili street. And, yes, at night it lights up!
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