New Georgia border crossing provides a whimsical welcome

by Jessica Marati on
Customs checkpoints tend to be dreary, depressing places.

A rare exception is the new Georgia border crossing with Turkey, located right at the crossroads between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. There, German architect Jürgen Mayer H. recently unveiled a modern, state-of-the-art border crossing that rises from the shores of the Black Sea in a white, whimsical squiggle. How’s that for a friendly welcome? The building houses standard customs facilities, a terrace viewing platform, a cafeteria, staff rooms, and a conference room. According to J. Mayer H., the project represents “the progressive upsurge of the country.”

Georgia, a former Soviet state, has only recently started to attract tourists drawn by the charming capital city of Tblisi, the ancient religious sites of Mtskheta, and the fresh, delicious cuisine. Hopefully off-beat architecture and design like that of the new Georgia border crossing continues to develop along with the country’s infrastructure.

[via Fast Co.Design, image via Jürgen Mayer H.]

Travel in the southern United States for free with Megabus

by Jessica Festa on

Who doesn’t love free travel? With a new hub in Atlanta, Georgia, Megabus is giving away 10,000 free seats to travelers using their new routes during trips taking place November 16 to December 16, 2011. The eleven cities included in the new route leaving from Atlanta include:

  • Birmingham, Alabama
  • Mobile, Alabama
  • Montgomery, Alabama
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Chattanooga, Tennessee
  • Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Memphis, Tennessee
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Gainesville, Florida
  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Orlando, Florida

To take advantage of the offer, just enter the promo code ATL10K when reserving your seat online.

Mtskheta: Easy day trip from Tbilisi

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Mtskheta is Georgia‘s ancient capital, a little village about 15 miles to the north of Tbilisi. It is home to a number of very important Georgian religious sites and functions to this day as a kind of spiritual heart of Georgia. It was in Mtskheta that Georgia adopted Christianity in the 4th century. Today the town receives a steady stream of domestic and foreign religious tourists and hosts various official Georgian Orthodox Church ceremonies. To be clear, Mtskheta is no garden variety tour bus pit stop; its historical sites form a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There are several places in Mtskheta that should be included on a day trip from Tbilisi. One, Jvari Church, is actually located far above the town on a hill, above the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers. (For the view from Jvari Church over Mtskheta, see above). On Sundays, the 6th-Century church fills up with throngs of worshipers and tourists and feels quite intimate.

A second site of great interest is Antioki Church, located along the riverbank in Mtskheta. The church, rather incredibly, dates to the 4th century. It is a diminutive chapel, simple and beautiful, surrounded by a flowers and lawn. The church’s caretaking nuns can often be seen on the grounds, tidying things up. The interior walls are decorated with bright new murals.

The star attraction in Mtskheta is the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, an enormous church originally built in the 4th century and rebuilt in the 11th century. The throne of the patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church sits in the center of the church. Georgian kings are buried here, though the cathedral’s most incredible claim extends to Jesus Christ, whose robe, ostensibly brought to Mtskheta from Jerusalem following his crucifixion, is said to be buried underneath the cathedral.
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral interior.

Mtskheta can be a very inexpensive day trip from Tbilisi. Admission to all of the above sites is free. A guide is not required at any stop along the way, though multilingual guides materialize to offer their services for a fee at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.

Transportation to Mtskheta is also inexpensive. A marshrutka (group minibus) from Tbilisi’s Didube bus station (adjacent to the Didube Metro station) to Mtskheta costs one lari (60 cents). A taxi from Tbilisi to Jvari Church and then on to Mtskheta (with the taxi driver waiting at Jvari Church for a half hour or so) should cost no more than 30 lari ($18). A taxi doing a full Tbilisi-Jvari-Mtskheta-Tbilisi loop should run no more than 50 lari ($30). You may be able to arrange less expensive taxi fares if you’re traveling with a local. Here’s a general Tbilisi taxi tip: Always bargain down to your desired price before entering the taxi. If a driver is unwilling to drive you for your requested fare, wait it out. Another taxi driver will come along soon enough.

Be sure to check out other Far Europe and Beyond series articles.

Tbilisi insider Q&A: Nina Andjaparidze

by Alex Robertson Textor on

To walk around central Tbilisi with Nina Andjaparidze is to feel as if you’ve been invited into the exciting beating heart of the local social scene. Andjaparidze, the Director of the Tbilisi International Film Festival, seems to know everyone in town; moreover, she seems to know everything there is to know about the artistic heritage as well as the contemporary state of culture in Tbilisi. An afternoon wandering with Andjaparidze was one of the highlights of my Tbilisi visit.

Q: Define your occupation.
A: I started working for the Tbilisi International Film Festival in 2000 and became Director in 2002. I love my job. The festival aims to introduce the general public to new, highly artistic cinema production. It is one of the most significant events in Tbilisi’s cultural life and is highly regarded by both Georgian and foreign cinema experts. I’m very proud that festival has hosted world-famous stars as well as Georgian film directors and actors currently working abroad.

Q: What are the most magnificent things about Tbilisi in your view?
A: The medieval town has been preserved in the very structure of the streets in the Old Town. There’s also the ancient fortress and the city’s religious architecture. I can feel the Old Town when I walk in its streets, and each time I wander through familiar places look new to me. This, I think, is the most remarkable feature of this town.

Q: What would you most want to share with visitors about Tbilisi?
A: Visitors should find the way of life in Tbilisi very attractive. Tbilisi represents a mix of eastern and western traditions. Folklore, various traditions, songs and dances all embody this mixture. Taking a steam bath is one of the traditional attractions and should also be interesting for visitors.Q: Tell us about your neighborhood, Vere. It’s known for being home to artists and intellectuals.
A: Many visitors comment on the relationships between neighbors in Tbilisi. Houses in Tbilisi are structured around balconies and galleries facing a patio. This provides an open environment for communication between neighbors, an opportunity to share common joys and sorrows. This social atmosphere is what I like best about Vere.

Q: Where do you like to travel within Georgia?
A: Within Tbilisi, there are many places with beautiful views of the Old Town, like Narikhala Fortress. One of the best views is from the plateau of Mount Mtatsminda, the highest point in Tbilisi. Beyond, I like the mountain districts with their old villages. Some regions like Svaneti and Khevsureti haven’t changed much in centuries.

Q: How do you see tourism in Georgia developing?
A: I think that our numerous pre-Christian and Christian monuments should be at the core of the development of cultural tourism in Georgia.

Q: Lastly, how about a Tbilisi secret?
A: There are some strange places in Tbilisi, like the city’s underground tunnels. The tunnels were used to drain storm waters and also to serve as secret passageways leading away from the city’s fortresses. Reportedly there were also some secret tunnels connecting the state agencies during Communist rule. It is possible to walk the full length of the neighborhood of Sololaki underground, though this activity is more or less inaccessible for visitors.

Check out other Far Europe and Beyond series articles.

Georgian cuisine: Adjarian khachapuri and other delicious things

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Georgian cuisine has not really received its international due, and this is a shame. It is an exciting cuisine that takes its cues from points east and west, relying on an extraordinarily fresh local bounty.

Part of what renders Georgian food so insanely good is this very freshness. Shops and stalls in Tbilisi groan with local fruit and vegetables in mesmerizing variety. One example was the finger grape, a variety more elongated than any grape I’d ever seen before. While the meats are seasoned wonderfully in Georgian cuisine, it is the local vegetables, fruit, and cheese that really stand out. A happy byproduct of this focus on vegetables and fruit: Georgian cuisine is strikingly vegetarian-friendly.

One of my Tbilisi restaurant discoveries was Shavi Lomi, at Amalglebis 23 in Sololaki. Everything I samples at Shavi Lomi was delicious, but what brought me back three times, frankly, was the sunflower oil on their tomato and cucumber salads, which were tossed with herbs and tiny rings of very hot pepper. Never had I tasted such fresh and delicate sunflower oil; for that matter, every last thing in the salad tasted as if it had just been picked or rescued from the soil.

But for all of its healthy hallmarks, some of the most exciting culinary things on offer in Georgia aren’t exactly heart-smart. One of the star local dishes, a juicy dumpling called khinkali that requires a quick tutorial before being devoured, is typically stuffed with meat. Cheese- and mushroom-filled khinkali are also available, but the meat-stuffed variety predominates.

And then there’s khachapuri, specifically the Adjarian khachapuri, pictured above.
Shavi Lomi’s astonishingly good salad.

Khachapuri is one of Georgian cuisine’s most dependable mainstays, a delicious savory cheese bread that comes in a range of forms. The Adjarian khachapuri, shaped a bit like an illustration of an eye, is a particularly delicious variety. The center of the Adjarian khachapuri is filled with butter and a raw egg; the egg cooks in the hot cheese and butter of the savory pastry as it is being served. It is filling and very good, the sort of thing that the diet-conscious will necessarily experience as a guilty pleasure.

There are plenty of places to sample Adjarian khachapuri in Tbilisi. My first morning in Tbilisi I was taken to Mitrofane Lagidze at Kostava 19 to sample one of the most beloved specimens. Named after a soft drink inventor of the late 19th Century, this cafe also serves a range of quite sweet Georgian soft drinks, including a distinctive bright green tarragon soda. The cafe may blast dance music at midday under unflattering lights but it is a fantastic place to sample khachapuri. A very filling large Adjarian khachapuri here costs 8 lari (about $4.75).

Visitors should by all means strike out beyond Mitrofane Lagidze’s fluorescent khachapuri palace to try local food. Two choices popular among locals in celebratory mode are Shemoikhede Genatsvale (more than one location; I sampled the branch at Marjanishvili 5) and Restaurant Begheli (Tamarashvili Street). Begheli is a particularly grand place for a fancy dinner. I joined a feast there where I was introduced me to the deeply Georgian tradition of toasting. Kebabi in flat bread, two porridges, lobio, kinkhali, fish, cheese, soft drinks, two bottles of vodka, coffees, and some nondescript desserts worked out to around 17 lari ($10.25) per person.

Check out previous installments of Far Europe and Beyond.