9/2: Batumi, Georgia: Batumi Blvd, Riveting Ali & Nino Sculpture & Old European Charm!

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We took a marshrutka or shared van from Kutaisi to Batumi, Georgia's summer holiday capital on the shore of the Black Sea, arriving after noon. Spending three nights there sounded extremely relaxing as long as it meant we wouldn't see any churches, monasteries, mosques or museums the entire time. You know if you've been reading the most recent posts that we'd toured so many places of worship and also museums in both Armenia and elsewhere in Georgia that we needed a break from being 'culture vultures!'

Batumi developed in the late 19th century as the western end of a train line from Baku, Azerbaijan (where we are now!) that then carried one fifth of the world's oil production. In the early years of the 20th century it became known as a fashionable resort at the tip of the Russian empire. That changed when the nearby border with Turkey was closed during the Soviet era. Beginning in 2004, the Georgian government aimed to make Batumi a fun place to visit and it's become like a mini-Dubai with eye-catching architecture that we couldn't wait to explore.

We headed immediately to Batumi Boulevard, a lovely park hat runs about six kilometers along the shore. Probably the oldest attraction in Batumi, construction of the boulevard began when the Governor of the Batumi District assigned the German gardener, Reseller, to create a park along the sea shore of Batumi Old Town in 1881. I am getting ahead of myself here but we soon realized the Boulevard with its trees, fountains, cafes and beach bars was the life and soul of Batumi.

Steven and I love beaches but rarely visit them on our overseas trips as we get our beach fix for about a month every summer at a state park in Florida. However, we couldn't resist walking on the narrow path toward the water since we'd never seen the Black Sea before and wanted to see if it would be warm enough to go swimming in the next day.

We've never seen a beach quite like this one before - as you can see, there's obviously no sand here, just a gazillion of the flattest rocks you're ever likely to see. The rocks made it hard to walk on unless you're far more sure-footed than I or many decades younger as I saw kids scampering on the rocks with nary a care!

There were changing areas and showers at intervals all along the beach but our hotel was only a few blocks away so we had no need of either the following day when we hung out at the beach for several hours.

A few hardy souls braved their bodies on the rocks but most people rented chaises and umbrellas for a small fee near the water's edge.

I just noticed Steven had taken this picture of me with my cell camera while I was taking a shot along the beach!

While strolling along the boulevard or trying to relax at the beach, it was impossible not to hear these 'flying machines' making regular passes over the water. I am sure the views must be spectacular and the ride exhilarating but whatever those contraptions were, they made a fearsome racket. I'm sounding like a curmudgeon and showing signs of my age, aren't I?!

Along the Boulevard were lots of sculptures that caught my eye. This one was of Jason Gordeziani, famous Georgian gardener and decorator, who lived from 1877-1960. I loved how it was fittingly a 'live' sculpture with a living plant, something I found very unusual.

Here are some examples of Batumi's innovative architecture that has helped to make the city especially popular for Russian tourists.

Seeing Batumi's Colonnade made me long for a pizza with you both at Ottawa's Colonnade, Lina and Christine!

The Batumi Tower has to be one of the most unusual buildings ever constructed. When it was completed in 2012 as a Technical University, it was the first building ever to include a Ferris wheel built into the facade!

Hanging 330 feet above the ground were eight air-conditioned cabins with room for a total of 40 people. Because of financial concerns, the tallest building in Batumi lay empty for two years but I believe it is now a hotel.

Another eye-catching building was the Alphabet Tower that showcased Georgia's unusual alphabet and was also a monument to its culture.

One of the great things about the city's Batumi Boulevard is how it seemed to have been designed with everyone's enjoyment and safety in mind. People could stroll along one section while others could rent bikes or scooters on a parallel track to greatly reduce the chances of accidents when walkers and bikers crossed paths. We had already walked a few kilometers on the Boulevard before it curved inland a bit to accommodate more attractions.

Near the northwest tip was a large Ferris wheel and lighthouse.

Coming in for a water landing was the contraption I wrote about earlier!

In the background was Batumi's Green Cape where the city's Botanic Gardens were located, a sight we saved for the following day.

We had walked to the end of the Boulevard to the harbor expressly to look at this eight meter high, literally moving metal sculpture I had read about by Tamar Kvesitadze and Pataa Sanaia known as Ali & Nino that was installed in 2010. They seemed to be static initially until we began to intently watch and then realized their movement as they ever so slowly approached each other and merged. 

The two lovers from Azerbaijan and Georgia represent a Muslim boy, Ali, and a Georgian princess, Nino, from a famous 1937 novel by Azerbaijani author Kurban Said. The tragic story ends with the lovers separated by the invasion of Soviet Russia.

A reviewer on Trip Advisor beautifully stated the following: "Essentially, Ali and Nino are a quest for truth and reconciliation in a world of contradictory beliefs and practices – Islam and Christianity, East and West, age and youth, male and female." 

We watched, absolutely riveted, for about 30 minutes as they slowly rotated, coming increasingly closer to each other.

Nino, ever so gently, leaned her head momentarily on Ali's shoulder.

Seeing them become one:

Watching Ali and Nino's love story unfold was also amazing from a technological point of view of how they moved in synchronization, fitting one into the other. 

And then their moving apart with the love story beginning anew made me appreciate how lucky we were viewing one of the top 10 most romantic statues in the world. 

Here's a link to the entire performance if you want to check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce7XbcAtDOY

This intriguing, angular building was the Radisson blu Hotel.

A sneak peak of one of Batumi's Dancing Fountains - don't hold your breath as they weren't a patch on Yerevan's Dancing Fountains!

We'd never seen tiny sculptures before visiting Georgia's capital city of Tbilisi. Here were a few more!

If we had to be dragged away from the beach, the Boulevard and the mesmerizing Ali & Nino sculpture, discovering Batumi's charming Europe Square was well worth it! Located in the center of the city and surrounded by unique and exquisite buildings, the square was one of the most beautiful sites in the center of Batumi. 

On one corner of the square was this attractive edifice whose sign indicated it was the Autonomous Republic of Ajara. I knew that Batumi was in Ajara but had figured that was just another state in Georgia and nothing more than that. However, I read online that after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ajara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. Another curious fact: Only in November, 2007 did Russia end its 200 years of military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base in Batumi. 

This area of Batumi made me feel like we'd suddenly been transported to an European city. Obviously it had made others feel the same since it was called Europe Square after all!

Even McDonald's had a pretty swanky piece of real estate on the square. It won building of the year nomination in 2013!

The Medea Monument, unveiled in 2007, was placed in the center of the square as a symbol of ancient Georgian connections with the European world. Medea was a Georgian woman from Argonauts myth who took the Golden Fleece to antique Greece from the oil-rich Georgian state of Colchis.

Just a couple of blocks away was another, far less appealing side to Batumi with many rundown buildings. 

Just across the street from one particularly ugly one was a synagogue.

Before coming to Batumi, we hadn't seen bike lanes in either Armenia or the rest of Georgia. Though they seemed like a great idea, the only bikes we saw during our three plus days in the city were on the Boulevard. Steven and I both commented that we sure did see a mind-boggling number of both Mercedes Benzes and BMWs in both Armenia and the rest of Georgia, both in far greater proportion to other cars anywhere else, except possibly Albania.

This restaurant popped out for me, because it wasn't until then I recalled there were virtually no painted homes we'd seen again in either Armenia or elsewhere in Georgia. 

Next post: Strolling through the city's Botanic Gardens AND going to the Dolpinarium!

Posted on September 8th, 2018, from Baku, Azerbaijan.

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