This article is from WeChat official account:Nine lines (ID: jiuxing_neweekly), author: old artists, from head Figure: unsplash
On July 1, Georgia reopened to foreign tourists. It was the first country in the world to officially announce the resumption of inbound travel.
This country that once became a new Internet celebrity because of low consumption and high cost performance is called “God’s back garden“.
Georgia is called “God’s Back Garden”/unsplash
From the mountains of the Greater Caucasus in the clouds, to Batumi on the shore of the Black Sea with plenty of sunlight; from the old town of Tbilisi, which has a history of over a thousand years, to the deep grottoes with frescoes in the east;
From the capital of the last era full of monasteries to the red wine town where the grapes fragrant, The diversity of Georgia’s landscape is even far greater than many countries dozens of times larger than it.
1. The Eurasian landscape is integrated, and here are the prices of Southeast Asia still maintained?
“I am from Georgia.”
“I went to your Georgia when I was traveling in the United States.”
“It’s Georgia! Georgia, a Transcaucasian country! Not an American state!”
In our impression, Georgia has always been…
Wait a minute, where is Georgia?
When it comes to Georgia, many people don’t know where this country is/unsplash
When this name is mentioned, most people can’t even remember the location of this country. It is too low-key and inconspicuous, and the English name is often confused with the state of Georgia in the United States.
However, Georgia, which has such a weak sense of existence, has extremely rich and diverse landscapes.
Georgia has a land area of 69,700 square kilometers, about the same size as Ningxia. It is sandwiched between the vast Russia and the Eurasian crossroads of Turkey, and it is almost invisible on the map.
Georgia is sandwiched by Russia and TurkeyIn the middle/google map
This small country with a population of only more than three million people has the scenery of forests, plateaus, mountains, and coastal areas. There are also a large number of monasteries, European towns, Soviet buildings, and “God’s back garden.” “The hometown of red wine”, “Stalin’s hometown” and other labels, the most important thing is that it is too cheap.
In the old town of the capital Tbilisi, take a cable car or climb up the fortress on foot to overlook the old town of Tbilisi. The river flows through numerous buildings with red roofs and the Holy Trinity Church stands in the distance. Compared to the Czech town of celebrity CK, the location of “Witch’s Delivery Service” in Zagreb, the Old Town of Tbilisi has the same color, but it is more profound and vast.
At twilight, the lights of the old city are lit up, like a starry night in a fairy tale world.
Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia/Picture provided by the author
There are too many tourist resorts under the banner of “wine town”, but the small town of Sighnaghi in Georgia is the true hometown of wine. The famous French Bordeaux has a shorter history than others. Big cut.
The landlord’s wife picked the mature blue grapes on the balcony. The whole Sighnaghi outside the window looked like a small Greek town on the Mediterranean coast. Every family’s balcony was covered with vines, and the town was covered with blue slate. The building is mainly in bright red, which is very leisurely. You can also take a car to the wine estate to watch the brewing process.
Red Wine Town Signagi/Photo provided by the author
A country located in the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. The plateau and snow-capped mountains stretch along the northern border of the country. Many tourists yearn for the Alps. In fact, Mestia, Georgia, has the same magnificent scenery.
There is a village called “The Hometown of Black Trees”. It is as quiet as a paradise. It is the highest village in Europe. It is backed by snow-capped mountains. The river flows down from the clouds. The tower stands next to the houses in the village. You can walk into the depths. Seeing the glacier, there is only one bus from Mestia every day, and the most commonly used means of transportation is a carriage.
Georgia’s Mestia/Photo provided by the author
On a small country, there is the highest village in Europe. It sounds like Georgia seems to be a highland country, but with its backing on the Greater Caucasus and the Black Sea to the west, it has a special geographical location that is the seaside resort city of Batumi .
This city, known as “Las Vegas on the Black Sea”, gathers Europeans who come to sunbathe every holiday. The cable car above the city moves slowly, the beach is wide, and it costs two to three hundred yuan. Can live in high-rise coastal viewing rooms, as early as the Soviet Union, is a popular holiday destination for Europeans.
Sculpture in Batumi/Picture provided by the author
Many people think that myths and stories happened in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and ancient Persia. They probably didn’t expect that after Prometheus stole the holy fire, Zeus was imprisoned in Georgia.
Take a car from Tbilisi to Stepantzminda, and follow the military highway into the Greater Caucasus mountains, the cloud-filled Kazbek, the monastery is faintly visible on the mountain peak, towering into the cloud of desolation, It is indeed like a prison where the gods hold prisoners.
On historical sites, Georgia also has its own Dunhuang. Many famous cave sites in Europe are located in Georgia. The underground Davit Gareja monastery group is carved out of rock, and there are still different shapes and mottled murals.
The ancient city of Mtskheta, divided into three by the river, was once a religious center, following the church style of the 11th century. The entire ancient city retains the medieval architecture and monastery architectural style, and is included in the World Heritage List .
As early as two years ago, Georgia had a small fire, because compared to European countries, it is simply the price of cabbage, two or three hundred yuan can be used to live in a good hotel, public transportation and taxi prices are very cheap.
The combination of prices in Southeast Asia and the scenery of all levels in Europe has also made Georgia a small hit in the tourist market.
The highest village in Europe—the hometown of Wushu/Photo courtesy of the author
2. Long historical evolution, landscape in the post-Soviet era
“Tbilisi(Note: Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia) Outside the city, there is a small bungalow, this is From 1904 to 1906, Stalin and his comrades ran the “underground printing house”.
Those who visit Tbilisi must pay homage to the relics of this revolution. The “Guest Inscription Book” is full of praises in various languages. “
Tbilisi Underground Printing Office/tripplannera
Decades ago, the famous writer Mao Dun was invited to Georgia. At that time Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. He wrote “The Underground Printing House of Tbilisi”. This article was selected as a middle school language in the 1980s. textbook.
This printing office, which is buried deep underground and recorded the beginning of a huge history, has become the only impression of this distant country for generations of Chinese.
In the eyes of the Chinese, the image of a small country covered by the temperament of “big brother” is really single and one-sided. As long as we look back at its historical evolution, all we can think of is the Soviet Union.
Looking back in the ancient history of Georgia, you will find that it has a long existence, almost becoming the origin of a race on the European continent. The archaeological team discovered the remains of ancient humans from 1.8 million years ago. After textual research, Georgia is the home of the first European.
Tbilisi’s underground printing All rusty iron ladders can lead to the underground/tripadvisor
The sad and awkward situation of the mottled printing press is an aspect of the Soviet Union’s related history in this small country.
However, the traces of the old era are not so easy to be erased and forgotten. The landscape of the post-Soviet era is like an old film projector in this country.
Tbilisi can be seen everywhere in the narrow and deep subway tunnels, the elevators are extremely fast, and the Soviet-style air-raid shelters are no different from Russia.
The subway in Tbilisi is long and deep/wiki
A street performer with a Russian accordion in the square plays “In a Faraway Place” and “Sorbus Tree in the Urals”.
Many surrealist, post-modern Soviet buildings have long been abandoned, but they attract ruin lovers from all over the world to come here to take pictures.
At the dry bridge market on weekends, there are even people selling Soviet rubles and their Soviet passports at the stalls.
In Gori, the small town where Stalin was born, tourists almost always visit his museum. Although it has been criticized for “distorting history” and “ideological propaganda”, it is still the reason for attracting many foreign tourists.
The town where Stalin was born-Gori/wiki
The Liubai band sang “for Siberia, for the Caucasus, for you, for us.” That huge and remote country, scattered into pieces and falling into this small place, has become a history of being cleared and venerated.
Three, in the neglected corner of the world, the leisure life of Georgians
In the Caucasus, known as the Gunpowder Keg, Georgia’s relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the unrecognized countries here are not friendly. Tourists will step on thunder if they are not careful.
Georgian scenery/unsplash
Entering Georgia with an Abkhaz visa may face jail, and you cannot enter Azerbaijan with the entry stamp of Karabakh on your passport…
In 2004, after the “Rose Revolution”, Georgia fell to NATO. In 2008, a war broke out with Russia for the control of South Ossetia. In the end, South Ossetia became independent and Abkhazia declared its independence.
Such news always gives people a sense of insecurity. It seems that there are always disputes in this country.hair.
But the world’s most influential database, the website Numbeo, based on the crime data of various countries in the first half of 2016, announced that Georgia, after South Korea and Singapore, became one of the three safest countries among the 118 countries that participated in the survey.
As a famous ancient capital, the capital Tbilisi is called Jerusalem in the Caucasus. The Russian Orthodox Church, the Georgian monastery, the Islamic mosque, the postmodern buildings abandoned in the Soviet period, the Khrushchev Tower… No wonder it will be Called “Jerusalem of the Caucasus”.
However, the history of different eras is mixed together, but the character of Georgians is not constrained by the past.
Every household in the suburbs grows grapes and makes wine. Georgians are extremely addicted to alcohol. They start drinking in the afternoon. Whether it is on the street or in a bar, holding a bottle of mineral water can make them very happy. Of course, They love their own “Chacha”-a spirit made from grapes.
Georgia’s chic and leisurely feeling can only be felt when you go deep into this country.
Georgia’s life is very leisurely/unsplash
They are not rich, but there is a sense of comfort everywhere. They enjoy time, drink, dance, and live full of art. You can see various art statues and graffiti everywhere in the city.
In the red wine town of Sighnaghi, a young man who took tourists around the town on a motorcycle spoke fluent English. He said that he did not want to go to the capital Tbilisi. He was born in a small town and was used to being lazy Life, so I returned to the town after graduation.
Tbilisi night/unsplash
Every food in this country has a sonorous name. The Georgian steamed bun is called Khinkali, which can be filled with cheese, mushrooms, and meat. The eye-shaped egg cheese tower is called Khachapuri, and the sweet nutty candied fruit is called Churchkhela.
Egg Cheese Tower Khachapuri/unsplash
Georgians are traditional in their bones. They love local food, but their acceptance of foreign food is also very high. You can see Italian restaurants and French restaurants everywhere on the street. In Tbilisi, the most popular restaurant is A Japanese food store.
It is said that Georgians reject the Soviet Union and hate Russia, but when you go there, you will find that they don’t care about these disputes, and they don’t care about being marginalized and forgotten.
They are very friendly to tourists. Almost everyone here speaks Russian. The old people still feel a little sad when they talk about the Soviet Union. People in Georgia are still living day after day.
On the military highway in the northern part of the country, on a mountain, stands a cylindrical hollow building, which is filled with colorful murals.
It is introduced in the guide book that this is the “Georgian-Russian Friendship Monument”. After the war with Russia in 2006, the existence of this monument was really embarrassing, but when I passed by here, the locals were erecting ladders. Painting and repairing murals.
George-Russia Friendship Monument/wiki
At such a moment, facing an attitude beyond conflict, we will probably understand why this country is called “God’s back garden”, not just because of the vast forests, mountains and seashore.
In the 1950s, because of Stalin’s preference, a Georgian folk song “Su Li Ke” was played on the Chinese radio in a loop. The innocent child sang: “Nightingale sings beautifully, bowing her head and thinking, as if she is answering gently , You guessed it, it was me.”
Georgia, which floats up and down in every great change, under the forgotten Greater Caucasus Mountains, seems to no longer care about the historical trek.
This article is from WeChat official account:Nine lines (ID: jiuxing_neweekly), author: old artists