After exploring part of the Georgian countryside yesterday, Steven and I wanted to tour more of Tbilisi, its capital. Very near our hotel was the Tsminda Sameba or Holy Trinity Cathedral - luckily we didn't have to hike up a mountain to this cathedral as we did the monastery of the same name just yesterday! The biggest symbol of new Georgia and celebration of regaining independence from the Soviets was consecrated in 2004. Towering above Tbilisi, it also honored the 1500 years of Georgian Orthodox Church at the same time.
I was surprised to learn the cathedral was the third tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world and one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. The cathedral was part of the entire complex which also included the residence of the Patriarch, a monastery, a school of theology and academy, hotel, and also nine chapels, five located underground.
The main entrance was closed as it was only used for major festivities.
As with most places of worship, it gave me a feeling of peace and serenity but even more so when one of the robed priests began praying with or speaking to a dozen faithful and then gave them Communion. During this time, four men, off to one side, began to chant which was then amplified throughout the huge cathedral. The priest then retreated behind the altar doors which were then closed.
An icon depicting St. George slaying the dragon was one of many very special ones.
Standing by the front door, I could readily see how the area down to the complex's entrance at the bottom of Elia Hill could easily accommodate 15,000 people.
The wonders of technology and maps.me then directed us along this path toward town!
Views of the old City Walls:
Seeing this sculpture, I could only think of the old joke of how many ... ( you fill in the blank!) does it take to switch a light bulb?
The most fascinating area for exploring Tbilisi was the Old Town where Tbilisi began and which we wandered through several times.
One of the most unusual Clock Towers anywhere surely must be this one which looked like it came straight out of a fairy tale! I guess that's not far off the mark considering it was built by puppet master Rezo Gabriadze during a renovation a few years ago of his puppet theater next door. Since we were a little early for the 'show' which was to begin at noon, we continued wandering down the pedestrian-only and particularly charming Shaveteli St.
A few steps from the Clock Tower took us to Anchiskhati Basilica, Tbilisi's oldest surviving church and often referred to as its loveliest. The 6th century Basilica was named for the icon of Anchi Cathedral in Klarjeti, now located in Turkey, which was brought to Tbilisi in the 17th century.
The weathered frescoes and old stone blocks spoke of the church's age.
A large crowd gathered in front of the Clock Tower to watch as an angel popped out of a door near the top to strike the bell with a hammer twelve times as it was noon.
That was followed by a parade of characters, including a bride and groom, who made an appearance in another part of the Clock Tower!
Was the whole 'show' hokey? I guess, but I found it quite endearing and a welcome change of pace from all the churches we had and still would be seeing!
Yesterday had been such a long day it was nice then spending an hour or so just relaxing in Erekle II Park, opposite the Residence of the Catholicos Patriarch, the head of the Georgian Apostolic Church. Steven and I remarked while in the park how, in comparison to previous trips, we'd already spent more time on this one just reading in my case or Steven playing games on his iPad in parks rather than being on the go, day in and day out. I hope that continues so we don't burn out.
The quiet Residence led to a busy thoroughfare bordering the Mtkvari River and the most emblematic of Tbilisi's new structures, the elegant glass and steel Peace Bridge.
From the middle of the bridge which had opened in 2010, we could see the recently rebuilt Presidential Palace in the left background and the gold-domed Holy Trinity Cathedral on the right in the background. The tubular-shaped and either, depending on whom you speak to, unfinished or unused concert hall and exhibition center was in the foreground.
While walking across the bridge, I don't think we've ever been asked as many times anywhere whether we wanted to take a boat tour!
From the church we had panoramic views to Europe Square in the foreground, the old city walls, the eye-catching Peace Bridge and the Palace again. The Old Town, where we had walked from, was on the left.
Beside the church was a statue of the mighty King Gorgasali, overlooking Old Town.
Back in Rike Park, we caught a cable car up to Narikala Fortress. Unlike all other cable cars or the like anywhere in the world we've been on, there was no one at the station in Tbilisi ensuring people got on, or later, off safely, much to my surprise.
The Metekhi Church and statue again:
How exhilarating being aloft in the cable car that only started operating in 2012.
Our first view of the Narikala Fortress:
As we got off the cable car, we noticed a peacock. Sadly, this wasn't the first Georgia tourist site where we'd seen handlers with monkeys, macaws or other exotic other animals hoping to entice people to have their pictures taken with the animal perched on their shoulders for a fee.
From the top of the station it was a short walk along the ridge to Kartlis Deda, the 20 meter tall statue of Mother Georgia, erected in 1958 as part of the festivities marking the 1,500th anniversary of the city's founding. The aluminium symbol of Tbilisi held a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other, symbolizing how Georgians fought off enemies or welcomed guests. I loved that sense of both nurturer & protector of Georgia.
On the hot, hot day, we walked down from the statue what seemed like a gazillion steps to get views of the Narikala Fortress from a variety of angles! The Fortress dated back to the 4th century when it was a Persian citadel.
Most of the walls were built in the 8th century when the palace was inside the fortress. Subsequent Georgians, Turks and Persians captured and patched up the palace but it was wrecked in 1827 when a huge supply of Russian munitions that were stored there exploded.
The magnificently carved chair is reserved solely for the priest presiding over the Orthodox Service.
As in other Georgian churches, we observed people placing beeswax candles in front of and then kissing or worshipping the ancient icons. Despite the throngs of tourists and believers alike, I still found it to be a quiet and peaceful place.
Having been privileged to visit a good number of Georgian churches already, it is clear that Orthodox faith and practice is an integral part of the culture of Georgia.
Another tiny park, another chance to sit down a spell and also admire more tiny sculptures!
One of the cobblestones and picturesque streets of charming Old Town Tbilisi:
In Tsarist times, Old Town's Meidan Square was the location of the city's bustling bazaar. The shopping has been replaced with cafes, tourist haunts and plenty of cars to keep you on your toes!
We figured we didn't quite have our fill yet of churches for the day so headed over to the Armenian Cathedral of St. George since we were so close!
The church had colorful 18th century frescoes unlike all but two of the churches or monasteries we'd visited in Armenia.
Though the cathedral was five aisles wide, the emphasis seemed to be on its dramatic vertical space as the huge dome created a larger, much brighter space than was typical of most Georgian churches.
Exiting the metro station downtown, it was sad to notice an old woman going through a tough time.
I thought the bridge was a marvelous example of modern architecture in Georgia and it made it fun to walk across from one side of the river to the other.
A better view of the interestingly shaped building was from Rike Park.
Nearby was this concrete piano!
No one could say Tbilisi doesn't lack for unusual sculptures and things to talk about in its parks!
On a rocky outcrop above the river was Metekhi Church built on the site where Vakhtang Gorgasali made Tbilisi his capital in the 5th century. The church was built in the late 13th century and had been reconstructed many times since, including currently! The church was another of the perfectly perched Georgian orthodox churches erected so many centuries before. During the Soviet era, Metekhi was used as a theater after several failed attempts by the city's leader to destroy the building.
The remains of the old fortress once encircled the church.
In a corner of the church, we watched as a line of older women waited seemingly to pray with the priest one-on-one.
So much of Tbilisi's older architecture was interesting to look at with its many wrought-iron balconies.
I loved this view of the avante-garde Peace Bridge.
The best view yet of the towering Holy Trinity Cathedral we'd visited first thing that day:
Past Mother Georgia were the ruins of a fortress that housed an Arab observatory and the enormous private residence of Georgia's richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who was prime minister from 2012-13.
Inside the fortress was the Church of St. Nicholas which was rebuilt in the 1990s with funding from a police chief of all people!
After retracing our steps back across the Peace Bridge to the Old Town, we stopped at the Sioni Cathedral which used to be the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Church until Holy Trinity Cathedral was built in 2004 and named for Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Originally built in the 6th and 7th centuries, it was destroyed and rebuilt many times, with the current version mostly from the 13th century.
The church is of special significance to Georgians because, according to legend, it is home to the sacred cross of St. Nino who brought Christianity to Georgia. A replica of the cross made from vine branches bound with the saint's own hair was behind this bronze grille with the original kept safely elsewhere in the cathedral.
I smiled when I saw this sign that said "I rescued some wine that was trapped in a bottle." As you know, Will, I thought of you then!
Outside was the tomb of Armenia's poet, Sayat Nova, who was killed there in the Persian invasion of 1795.
At the beginning of the day, Steven and I began ticking off all the pluses of what we'd liked so much about Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, as we'd just come from there - the many parks, the prevalence of drinking fountains as well as water fountains, the vastly enjoyable Dancing Fountains, the very attractive main square, dirt cheap ice cream cone stands all over the downtown area, the pretty sidewalk designs that varied almost block to block and the fact that church, monument and sculptures signs were also in English and I could probably go on.
I was surprised about our first impressions of the much bigger city of Tbilisi that is far more on the tourist radar than Yerevan - the condition of the metro is frankly appalling for a nation's capital; the number of people begging at every single church and wherever tourists gather is unsettling; the sidewalks are in much worse shape than its poorer neighboring capital; there are fewer parks, stray dogs roam all over the city streets where we saw none in Yerevan; there are far fewer public water fountains; far more trash litter the streets; and there is a infinitely greater police presence in Tbilisi though, for us, absolutely no increased sense of personal danger unlike we felt throughout South America last year.
However, by the end of our second full day, Tbilisi had definite charms that were missing in Yerevan - its Old Town, the huge fortress that commanded such a presence over the city, the stunning views from so many places, some innovative architecture, gorgeous churches one after another largely because of frescoes that are absent in Armenian churches, the cable car ride and again I could go on!
Next post: Deserters' Market & Places of Worship of Many Faiths!
Posted on September 2nd, 2018, from Batumi, Georgia.
it may not be Yerevan but it still looks agreeable.
ReplyDeletePaul, We found Tbilisi far more than 'agreeable' after getting over certain aspects of its infrastructure that we thought were surprising and disconcerting for a capital city.
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