Further Adventures around Tbilisi

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008--Tbilisi and Mtskheta

I felt bad this morning. Yesterday when I awoke, it was 8:05. When I went out of my room, the family was up and busy. I worried that I had kept them from getting as early a start as they might have. So this morning, I went out of the room about 7:50 thinking they would be up and around again. Instead, it was quiet and Andrew, the son, was sleeping on the sofa. His father came out of the bathroom obviously having just gone there from his bed. They got up and made my breakfast, but I wish I had stayed in the room longer and let them rest more. Eduard, the father, explained that most Georgians sleep late, since offices do not start work until 10:00. Tomorrow I will not be in such a rush to leave the room. If I awaken early, I will just read from my present book.

I forgot to write yesterday about the funeral procession I witnessed. I happened by a side street just as the funeral had ended and the crowd was coming onto the street. The hearse was standing there with a photo of a man in the window and with the flowers tucked behind bars on the sides and on top. The caskett was lifted into the hearse, and the procession began. The widow walked behind it wailing and shouting at the top of her lungs. Behind her came the sons with arms around each other and crying. Next came an elderly lady who may be the mother of the man. Then maybe 200 mourners in black were behind them. The procession turned the corner and went down the street. The widow continued her noisy grieving as long as I was in earshot of her. I imagine this is normal, but I wonder if there would be criticism if a woman did not feel like demonstrating her grief so?

For breakfast today, Irine, the mother, made a new Georgian dish for me. It is a cold dish made with fried eggplant spread with a walnut mixture and folded over. It is delicious and would a good snack to make back at home. They say I must buy some spice mixture here for making it, but surely there will be a recipe on the Internet that will also include how to mix the right spices for making it. In addition, I had the bliniskis again along with more fig preserves and honey. I have noticed that her fig preserves (whole figs with a bit of the stem attached) are made just like the pear preserves that I make at home, so I may try making some myself someday.

I went on an adventurous outing today. There is a town named Mtskheta not far north of Tbilisi. It is an older town and has 3 very old churches--two in the town and another on top of a high hill across the river. It is normal for tourists to go there and see all three, but to see the one on the hilltop requires most people to hire a taxi to take them there, wait, and then bring them back at a cost of about $14. My guidebook suggested a walking route that would allow me to see it all without the taxi, but it meant having to take a bus to a point on the highway and climbing up to the hilltop church.

Eduard, the father, wrote me a note in Georgian that said, "This foreign tourist wants to be dropped off the bus below Jvari Church near the km 21 marker." I took the metro to the bus station, asked for the Gori (a town beyond where I wanted to be dropped off) bus, and showed my note to the driver and his assistant. There was an argument. The driver apparently thought that where I was going was too close to town and that I should take a bus to the town of Mtskheta. But the assistant and a couple of men around him argued for me to be taken there. Anyway, they let me on the bus. And they stopped where I wanted to get off. By that time, the driver was in a good mood and he and his assistant would not let me pay for passage.

My guidebook had said that I should go up the "trail" to the church. Well, I could see a 4-wheel drive track that went between the hill with the church and another hill, but I thought maybe there must be a direct hiking trail since the author did not say to follow the 4-wheel drive road. Twice where I saw trails going up off this roadway, I started climbing. It wasn't easy. It was steep, and I had to hold onto scrub bushes to keep from sliding and falling. Both times, I came to sheer rock faces about 2/3 of the way up the hill that were too steep and too crumbly for me to go further. I had to climb back down both times. After that, I stayed on the 4-wheel drive roadway hoping it would turn up to the church from the back side of the hill. Finally, a branch of the roadway did, and I had no trouble going the rest of the way up.

I was the only tourist at Jvari Monastery. It is a simple and old church at a fantastic location. I enjoyed seeing it and being there. But I would have been disappointed if I had paid $14 for a taxi to bring me there. It wouldn't have been worth that price to me.

My guidebook had explained that there is a walking route that could be taken to get me across the river to the town of Mtskheta. It would not have been easy to find if I had gone to Mtskheta first, but from Jvari Monastery I could see the 4-wheel drive roadway I needed to take, the meadow I was supposed to cross, where I should cross the 4-lane highway, the walking bridge that would take me across the river (the only way across anywhere near there), and the direction I should go to get to town after crossing the walking bridge. So I had my route in my head as I left the top of the hill.

I had no problems going down. I did pick up lots of small burrs as I walked across the meadow. I tucked my pants legs into the tops of my socks in an effort to avoid getting ticks. (I had done this even earlier for the climb up the hill, too.) I was able to cross the expressway when there were gaps in the traffic long enough to keep it from being dangerous. I found the footbridge with little trouble. And I walked into Mtskheta which is really a quiet, small town today.

I first came to Samtavro Church which is a nunnery. It is an old church that is also rather plain inside. But there were some nice paintings and ikons. There were many young nuns inside, and they were going through an elaborate procedure of approaching each painting, kissing its frame, and genuflecting in the complicated process I have observed before.

From there, I continued to the old Sveti Tskhoveli Cathedral which is the largest church in Georgia and one of the fanciest. It is marvelous. There are fascinating old frescoes inside. And the ikons have gold, silver, and enamel on them. Former kings and queens of Georgia are buried there, too. One interesting thing is that Georgia was pagan before Christianity arrived here, and sculptures of cows, pagan symbols for fertility, were incorporated into the front and rear facades of the church when it was constructed. So far, it is the best place I have visited in Georgia.

I caught a marshrutka, a small mini-bus, back from Mtskheta to Tbilisi. It dropped me at the same metro station where I had left by bus. Then I took the metro to the area near the Tbilisi State University, the main university here in town. Beside the university and continuing for some way is Ilia Chavchavadse Street, a wide boulevard lined with wonderful old apartment buildings that have all been restored that have fancy shops along the street level. This is an area where many of the expatriots (foreigners who are living here doing business of one kind or another) have settled. It is the nicest part of Tbilisi for the moment, although the center of town will be nicer when everything there is restored and all the new construction is completed. There was one spoiler, though. They allow cars to park on the sidewalk along this street. A car actually honked at me to move out of his way as he drove DOWN THE SIDEWALK!!

I returned on a parallel street that is also where expatriots are settling, but it wasn't nearly as restored yet. By then, it was 16:30, so I stopped at a bakery and bought a small pizza-like pastry and ate it. I also got a cola to drink.

As I continued walking back to town to return to the apartment, I heard music. I walked down a small alley to hear it better. A woman was playing a piano and she and a man were singing. I just leaned against a wall and listened as they sang three songs. While doing that, it caused a bit of a disturbance in the neighborhood. I could tell that some of the people didn't like me standing there. One woman made some children playing near there go into their apartment I guess out of fear I was there to molest them. Anyway, after 3 songs, I hated to just leave. The window to the apartment was open, so I applauded about 3-4 times and then walked away. Soon, I heard someone saying something. The man and woman were at the window to see who had been clapping. They motioned for me to go around the corner to the doorway. I did, and the man came out. He took my hand and pulled me toward the apartment. I went in, and they performed four more songs (two Italian and two Georgian ones) and served me coffee, a very thick, dark, and sweet brew. It was so nice to hear them sing. The room was what I have seen in Russian films--walls covered in patterned wallpaper that was probably from the late 40s/early 50s, sofas, books, a case with glassware, doors with glass panels, and windows covered in white lacy curtains. The piano was against one wall, and a harp stood in the middle of the room. A dining table, where I was asked to sit, was in a corner. The couple spoke no English, and I could not speak Georgian or Russian, the languages they knew. But the music was so relaxing and nice. They surprised me when I thanked them using the Georgian word madlobt and indicated I would go. They went, too. I think they were there borrowing the piano. Another lady who lived there and brought the coffee remained when we left.

When I got back to the apartment, the family had just returned from an outing to their garden in the countryside. They brought back many small plumbs that were very soft and sweet. They also brought back another fruit that was softer and sweet with a bit of sour after taste. Unfortunately, Andrew, the son, has developed a cold and was feeling poorly. I told them about my day and asked some questions regarding my departure in two days. They said I could leave my suitcase here rather than carry it around Georgia with its bum wheel. I will take just what I need in my small backpack. And they said I can stay here the other two nights that I plan to be here in Tbilisi. Also, Andrew has a friend in another town I will visit who can house me when I go there.