Autumn Years Summer 2024

the ruins of the Narikala Fortress, and at one scenic location, the Tbilisi Waterfall comes cascading down. Shardeni Street is a small pedestrian street where many restaurants, craft stores and historic buildings are found. A short distance away is the Bridge of Peace. This pedes trian bridge crosses the river and is re markable for its delicate design.

and a number of old paintings. After a lunch of Georgian delicacies we returned to our hotel to prepare for flights home. Armenia and Georgia are two ex Soviet republics that had been under harsh communist Russian administra tion. Everyone you speak to will com ment on how much better life has been since their independence. The peoples

statue of a former king, Heraclius II, holding a sword in his outstretched hand. As in Armenia, the food here is ex cellent. We dined on such traditional Georgian food as khachapuri (cheese pie), khinkali (meat filled dumplings) and mtsvadi (grilled pork) and drank saperavi (red Georgian wine). The next day we decided to take in the sights of the capital city. In the center of Tbilisi sits the Holy Trinity Cathedral commonly known as the Sameba Cathe dral. It is a huge structure surrounded by walls circling the whole complex. The church is a recent addition to the city, having been built at the end of the 20th century. Its gold dome can be seen from just about anywhere in the city. Tbilisi is known for its religious plu ralism that goes back to the days of the Silk Road. Multiple churches and synagogues, a mosque and even an old Zoroastrian temple can be found. As we walked the streets through scenic Old Tbilisi, we followed the banks of the Kura River, which runs through the cen ter of the city. Overlooking the city are

Alaverdi Monastery in Georgia on the way to Tbilsi.

in both republics have ancient traditions that they continue, and they are very proud of their heritage. It is obvious that they enjoy a friendly competition and rely upon one another for support dur ing these times. They fervently preserve their ancient sites, while their cities and towns are remarkably clean and litter free. Both cultures are very welcoming to Americans.

The remainder of the day we decided to leave the city and head out to several historic loca tions. Our first stop was Jvari Church, a medieval church that stands on a mountaintop overlook ing two rivers. This an cient structure was built in the year 656. Our last stop was Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, a large build ing filled with frescoes

Bob and Angela enjoying Georgian fare with their guide Gaga Buishvili.

SUMMER 2024 I AUTUMN YEARS 57