We’ve now been in Tbilisi for 24 hours. We came knowing political uncertainty existed and that as we travelled in beautiful Georgia things were happening that we didn’t really understand.
Where ever we’ve been we have felt welcomed, albeit in a more reserved way than in Turkey, but none the less genuine. It’s a bit like the difference between the UK and Italy. The UK more circumspect and reserved in the welcome, Italy more direct and demonstrative. Different, but neither less than the other.
Waking in the night we heard singing on the streets nearby. Not rowdy, not leery, nor drunken. Singing from the heart and singing from a sense of unity, singing coming from a lot of people.
For breakfast I’d promised Juliet eggs and smoked fish, so after a coffee I set off to find a bakery in the morning drizzle and also to buy some smoked fish from the Carrefour just round the corner.
When we arrived, the day before, we struggled to find a bakery, this morning it was easy as the smell of freshly baked bread was wafting down the street, and all I needed to do was follow my nose. Georgian bread a makes you wonder why all bread isn’t cooked the same way. Each bakery has a clay oven, much like a tandoor, on to which risen and fermented dough is slapped. Within a couple of minutes something wonderful is extracted.
Wandering around in the rain waiting for Carrefour to open I was aware that this was not a normal morning in Tbilisi. There were a lot of police around and many of the main rods around our AirBnb were blocked off to traffic.
After breakfast Juliet and I wandered up to Freedom Square, on our way to the old fort. Freedom square is not really a square, more a circus, with a massive column in the middle on top of which sits a gold statue of St George. It’s an impressive place. This morning though it didn’t seem like the tourist destination that it should be. Parked around the column were numerous busses each filled with riot police. Many with balaclavas over their heads. While it didn’t feel intimidating as the body language was calm and not aggressive, it didn’t feel normal. Tbilisi definitely felt edgy.
We’ve walked around a number of the tourist spots today and been up to the old castle on the hill above the city. It’s a wonderful place. Quirky, reminiscent of Barcelona with a bit of Paris thrown in. At this time of year it’s not over run by tourists – I don’t know if it ever is overrun.
Later this afternoon we ventured out to post a card and walked up to the Parliament building, where the focus of the demonstrations were centred. By this time the rain had passed and the sun was shining. The crowd in front of the building predominantly made up of young people many adorned with Georgian and European flags. Mixed into the crowd where journalists and camera crews. Around the periphery police, but nothing like we had seen earlier in the day.
At one point we observed masks being handed out, within in the groups of protestors, presumably to protect against tear gas.
Walking through the crowd, we felt safe as we observed the scene around us. Large speakers in front of the Parliament building, Viva La Vida, by Coldplay coursing down Rustaveli Avenue. If you didn’t know you’d have been easily mistaken that there was a festival going on that you’d just wandered into.
There’s hope in the air, hope that peaceful demonstration can determine history. One just has to pray that the power players agree and allow Georgia to continue the journey that is being actively directed by the youth of the nation. A journey that most people we’ve encountered seem to support.
In the 24 hours we’ve been here, we know that Tbilisi is a fantastic place, one that we’ve only scratched the surface of and sadly one that we will leave in a couple of days. But it’s one that we feel immensely privileged to visit at a time when change seems to be the order of the day. We just hope that change happens in a peaceful way and that the people of Georgia continue to create a wonderful welcoming place for travellers from all over the world. It’s a unique place, a place that gave the world the gift of wine. With wine came sharing. With sharing comes understanding.
We love Georgia and the people. May the the sharing continue.
More maps please of this epic journey. I am fascinated by where you are but also intrigued as to how you got there – physically not philosophically which would take many chapters and the excessive use of the word eccentric.
As Robert Crumb would say – Keep on Trucking