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| Thursday, October 2, 2008 1:53 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| [Image:Mtkvari River in Tbilisi.jpg] View of Tbilisi and Mtkvari River Welcome to Tbilisi, Georgia Here is a spectacular view of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgia is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, on the legendary Silk R |
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| On Rustaveli Avenue |
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| Saturday, November 10, 2007 10:53 AM -0500 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Today was another brilliant, crisp day. Once again we could see Mt. Kazbeg clearly on the horizon, and the sky was a clear, deep blue. Since my departure time is inching nearer (I'll head for home this coming Wednesday, November 14), I decided to d |
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| Sameba (Holy Trinity) Cathedral |
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| Monday, November 5, 2007 4:01 AM -0500 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Yesterday, Sunday November 4, was a crisp, clear fall day. We've had clouds and drizzle here for a week, and then Saturday evening a wind storm brought cooler weather. The wind howled and sang all around us, and the electricity went off for a while |
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| The Revolution is at 2:00 P.M. |
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| Saturday, November 3, 2007 5:57 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Yesterday and today there have been huge demonstrations (100,000+ people) in front of the Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue. The crowds are demanding new parliamentary elections and are protesting actions of the current Saakashvili government. |
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| The Ethnographic Museum |
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| Friday, November 2, 2007 3:54 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| FYI We have internet access again! When we moved to the new apartment on Oct. 21, we didn't have the internet installed there. And of course even simple things take a while--so today we are finally back on line. We still don't have wireless acces |
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| Churchkhela, New Furniture, and a Street Cat |
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| Saturday, October 20, 2007 5:31 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| A Georgian treat that has always been a favorite of mine is churchkhela, a traditional snack prepared in the fall, when grapes and walnuts are at their peak. Village women string walnuts and then dip them into hot grape syrup, much as candles are |
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| Tina's Birthday Party |
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| Saturday, October 20, 2007 4:14 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Tuesday, October 16, was not only my grand-daughter Meegan's birthday, but it was also the birthday of Tanya's sister-in-law Tina. We were invited to Tina's party and we had a lovely time. [Image:Food.jpg] In true Georgian style, th |
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| Tbilisi Pizzeria |
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| Thursday, October 18, 2007 8:47 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Since we decided to leave Mtskheta and return to Tbilisi because of all the crowds there, on the way home we began looking for a place to eat. Of course all the people who had been in the churches were now jamming the restaurants. We stopped at |
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| Jvari Continued |
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| Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:03 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| The interior of Jvari Monastery [Image:Jvari cross.jpg] [Image:jvari window.jpg] View of Mtsketa from Jvari Window According to traditional accounts, it was here in the early 4th century that Saint Nino, a woman evangelist credited with con |
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| Jvari Monastery |
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| Tuesday, October 16, 2007 4:17 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| October 14, this past Sunday, is a Georgian Orthodox church holiday. The churches were packed all day, and services were broadcast on TV. I made several attempts to discover exactly what the holiday was all about, but the answer seemed to be dif |
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| Observations |
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| Saturday, October 13, 2007 4:45 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| October 13, 2007 Georgian, Russian, English Sixteen years ago when I was here last, there weren't many advertising signs around the city, and those few were in Russian and Georgian. Now there isn’t a single word of Russian to be seen any |
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| Jubilee Concert |
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| Monday, October 8, 2007 1:38 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Jubilee Concert at the Conservatory [Image:Image054.jpg] Sunday evening Tanya and I were invited by Irina Jorjadze to a concert at the Conservatory. This performance was the first in a series of concerts given in celebration of the |
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| Chandeliers |
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| Monday, October 8, 2007 1:11 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| The last few days here have been spent working on getting the new apartment ready. We’ve made several shopping trips for chandeliers, and Kakhi has been running all over getting electrician’s wire, outlet and switch covers, and letting the wor |
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| | Odds and Ends | | | | | Wednesday, October 3, 2007 1:52 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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We Find Rakakees! |
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You might recall that last week we saw a sign in Old Tbilisi advertising "Beer and Rakakees." No one could tell us what these delicacies were, so Tanya and I decided to find out for ourselves. It turns out that Rakakees are little hot appetizers. These were filo pastry stuffed with smoked cheese and fried. They were very nice. Now we know exactly what Rakakees are! |
Tanya really enjoyed the Rakakees, with pineapple juice.
 Above is the statue of a famous painter, Lado Gudiashvili. |
More Views of Old Tbilisi . |
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Below, Tanya in Old Tbilisi |
When we had Khinkali last Sunday, I gave my camera to Giorgi and told him to take lots of photos of the restaurant, which is decorated to look like a traditional Georgian hunting lodge. |
Here are the photos Giorgi took:
A Stuffed Owl |
There were animal skins on the walls. |
Rustic Utensils
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A Ram's Head |
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"Abesalom da Eteri" at the Paliashvili Opera House |
Above, View of the Foyer at the Opera |
Sunday evening, Tanya and I went to the Opera to see a performance of“Abesalom da Eteri”.Even though I’ve seen it many times, I never tire of it. The story, setting, costumes, music, are all wonderful, and of course it all brings back our Surry Opera performance in 1987, when Dad was with me here. Timur Gugushvili’s performance was faultless. At one point he and Eteri kneel, raise their hands, and sing a marvelous duet. Timur is sixty years old and I wonder whether there are many people his age who can kneel AND then sing so beautifully at the same time in front of a packed house!
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Irina Jorjadze, Pat, and Timur Gugushvilibackstage after a performance of "Keto and Kote." |
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| Khinkali |
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| Wednesday, October 3, 2007 4:48 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Tuesday, October 2, 2007 [Image:03102007_125125_0.jpg] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below, the Sameba Church in the Alaverdi District [Image:Sameba Church in Alaverdi District.jpg] Every morning w |
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| The Bichebi Boys |
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| Wednesday, October 3, 2007 3:34 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Monday, October 1, 2007 For the first ten days that I was here, only Tanya, Kakhi, and I were in the apartment, because the boys, Tornike and Giorgi, and their mother, Nino, were on a trip to Italy to participate in a choral competition. Now |
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| At the hippodrome |
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| Monday, October 1, 2007 11:09 AM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Saturday, September 29 Just a few blocks from Saburtalo Street, there is a horse-racing track called the Hippodrome. It is a green zone right inthe middle of the city. Sixteen years ago, Tanya and I used to walk through it on our way to the Insti |
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| Old Tbilisi |
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| Saturday, September 29, 2007 1:03 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Friday September 28, 2007 Tanya and I have been working very hard on our textbooks, and the fact that the household is half-moved into the new apartment and half-packed here makes everything a little more hectic. The phonesring constantly with |
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| Shopping with Omar |
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| Monday, September 24, 2007 12:38 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| [Image:Omar the Taxi.jpg]Monday, September 24, 2007 Tanya's neighbor, Omar the cab driver, takes us everywhere we want to go, and today he spent several hours with us shopping for bathroom fixtures. Finding the basins and commodes wasn't difficult |
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| Tea with Eka and Bakuri |
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| Monday, September 24, 2007 12:07 PM -0400 | By: Pat Taniashvili |
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| Sunday afternoon Bakuri and his wife Eka invited Tanya and me to their apartment for tea. They have three children: Dato (8), Gio (5), and Dachi (4). As you can imagine, these three young boys have lots of energy, and they zoomed around the pl |
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