Tbilisi

During orientation I didn't get the opportunity to really explore Tbilisi what with the jetlag, the long training hours, and the cold weather. Over the weekend I finally did a little sightseeing in the capitol. I'm rather lucky because my village, Nukriani, is right next to the town of Sighnaghi, and Tbilisi-bound marshrutkas leave from town at 7am, 9am, 11am, 1pm, 4pm, and 6pm. Alternatively, Sighnaghi-bound marshrutkas leave from Tbilisi's Samgori station at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 6pm.

I had successfully navigated public transportation in random countries before, but this was my first time doing it alone in Georgia. I had done my research, and I knew that I needed to get off at either the Isani or Samgori stations in Tbilisi. Fortunately, Samgori was the last stop, so I wouldn't be able to miss it. From there I could either take the metro or a taxi to Freedom Square and walk to Why Not Tbilisi Legend Hostel. Tim, a veteran TLG volunteer in Sighnaghi, had kindly given me a Metro Card, so all I had to do was put some money on it and take the metro in the proper direction. I started feeling a little nervous when the marshrutka still hadn't shown up by quarter after 4. Fortunately, several teachers were leaving school just then, and they waited with me and helped me flag it down. All of my jitters subsided when Chris, a veteran TLG volunteer in my village, boarded the marshrutka a few minutes down the road. The marshrutka ride took about an hour and a half to two hours, and Chris got me as far as Freedom Square. The hostel was a short walk away, and one of the friends that I was meeting had already arrived.

Adjarian Khachapuri

That evening I went out with a group to a restaurant in Old Town, and I ate Adjarian khachapuri (აჭარული ხაჭაპური) for the first time. Khachapuri is bread filled with cheese, and it reminds me of the fiteer that I ate in Cairo. Anyway, Adjarian khachapuri has a semi-raw egg or two on top. We also ate khinkali (ხინკალი), which are dumplings filled with meat, mushrooms, or cheese. There is actually a technique to eating khinkali. You can't use silverware, and you have to bite part of the dumpling and suck out the juice. Also, you shouldn't eat the top of the dumpling, but I do anyway.

At the Dry Bridge Market

On Saturday I saw the Soviet Occupation Museum, went to the Dry Bridge Market, strolled through Old Town, hiked up to the Narikala Fortress, saw some churches, and finally had some good wine. The museum was worth seeing, especially since the lady selling the tickets gave me the student price of 1 lari even though I told her I was no longer a student. The museum's basic message was that the Soviets killed a lot of people in Georgia. The Dry Bridge Market was great! There is a bunch of nifty artwork, useless junk, souvenirs, and Soviet relics. It doesn't hold a candle to the Khan il-Khalili, but I still enjoyed it. The sellers don't harass you, which I really appreciated. Old Town was just okay. I feel like perhaps I missed the main drag, but the hike up to the fortress was awesome and awesomely tiring. After that, my Georgian acquaintance, George, showed me and my two Canadian companions some churches. Women must cover their heads in Georgian Orthodox churches--just like in mosques.

View from the fortress

Later that evening, I finally tasted good Georgian wine! My family makes wine, but it tastes like vinegar. Before coming to Georgia, all I had read about was how delicious the wine was, but all of the wine that I had tasted prior to Saturday night had been a total letdown. There was a little shop around the corner staffed by an English-speaking Georgian, and she sold sweet, red wine. Because it's sweet, she referred to it as women's wine, but hey, that's fine with me. I like my wine to taste like juice.

Wine shop near the hostel