Strolling Around Tbilisi

Old town Tbilisi is surrounded by mountains. Remnants of the old town wall are still visible and the Kura River running though town adds to the atmosphere.  Contemporary art is scattered around old buildings.  The mix is very charming.

The lamplighters of the past wore clothes like this.  The clothing demonstrates that Georgia has always had people from a wide variety of cultures living here.

Traditional street sweeper.

The postman, on the right, chatting with a neighbor.

Contemporary tower symbolizing that we always need to lean on someone in hard times.  It may be family, friend or a stranger.  

Peace Bridge

A 19th century caravanserai - traders on the Silk Road would stop in here to rent a room upstairs, or trade their goods on the first floor. Just by looking at this photo I can smell the cat odor.  Our guide told us this is a sign that people still live here.

Walking along the Kura River.

View from the cable car.  The tubular buildings are museums.

Tower on the old city wall.

Sioni Cathedral

A Night to Remember

After a full day sightseeing in the charming old city of Tbilisi, we went to a local restaurant that specializes in serving local Georgian wine and food.  The owner greeted us with a toast, and then he and friends, sitting at the table with us, sang Georgian songs throughout the dinner.

Our host is holding the traditional wine tasting vessel.  In the old days, men would travel around with this item stuck in their belts - always prepared to sample the Georgian wines.

A lovely toast welcoming us to his restaurant.

The ceiling

The five men at the end of the table sang for us.

The co-owner of the restaurant joined in on this song.  The female voice softened the sound of the music.

Georgia is known for it's hospitality, and we have certainly experienced it.  If you have the chance, come to Georgia.  The food and music are amazing.

Still in Georgia, But Location Known

We've done a lot of driving the last two days. We've driven about 6 hours per day through the amazing Caucasus Mountains.  I finally know where I am.

We took the Georgian Military Highway to Gudauri, which is a ski resort built by Austrians.  No views for us as we were fogged in.

Room with a view.  I tried to picture this covered in snow.  The ski lift is right in front of our room.

After our one night in the highest village on the Military Highway,  we headed back down the mountain and stopped at the cave town of Uplistsikhe, which means Lord's Castle.  People may have populated these caves before 1000 BC.

This hole is man made, and is where the residents would have stored their wine!  We are in Georgia, after all.

While some of the caves were used to celebrate pagan rituals, the area was eventually Christianized.  This is actually a functioning church.

Next, we stopped at the town of Gori, the birthplace of Stalin.  Although we visited the Stalin Museum, I did not take photos.  I did learn, however, that Stalin's granddaughter lives in Portland Oregon.  Did you know that?

Somewhere in Georgia

We sat at a "Georgian Table" in two different private homes in the mountains of Georgia today.

Here's the luncheon table, before the food started arriving.  Each bottle contains a different kind of wine, cha cha, or brandy.

One of my favorite dishes was cheese pelmeni.

In addition to cooking a huge variety of amazing dishes, our hostess spins, dyes and knits.

Our host and hostess at dinner are at the far end of the table.  The other men are professional musicians who broke into song throughout the meal. The pitcher near the host is filled with the local wine made in a a terra cotta jar.  Those plates on the table represent just a few of the many different dishes served throughout the evening.

Today proved that too much of a good thing is wonderful.  As is Georgia.

Exploring Sheki

Late morning at the local farmers' market.

Candy, kind of like baklava and halvah.

May is rose petal season for jam.

This is sheep country - fleece, lamb, mutton.

There are lots of Russian cars in the countryside.

Inside Sheki Palace.

Stained glass window workshop, within the grounds of the local khan's palace. Stained glass windows, as seen above, are made with birch frames.  No lead, no nails. Each window is like a geometric puzzle.

Christian church.

Afternoon view from our balcony.

Moonlight Over Sheki

We were up early and on the road northwest to the smaller mountain town of Sheki, in the Caucasus Mountains.

Right now we are basically following the trail of the oil pipelines.

We left behind the oil rigs, and the dry terrain and started climbing the mountains.  At one point, the landscape went from dry to green!  We're out of the steppe and in to the vineyard and dairy farming areas.

It was dark by the time we arrived in our hotel room in Sheki.  We were just in time to sit on the balcony and watch the full moon rise over the mountains, while listening to a symphony of the most amazing frogs.

Baku

Baku is a sprawling city, rich with oil and natural gas money.  Originally it was a small walled city on the Caspian Sea.  The walled city still exists, but the amazing new city is overtaking the old.

Strolling through the old city.

We are not at the Sidney Opera House.  This is a shopping mall on the Caspian Sea.

Office buildings resemble natural gas flames.

For my knitting friend, Cam, I have included hand made socks.  They are not knit, but made with the carpet knotting technique. These were at the State Museum of Azerbijani Carpets and Folk Art Museum.