About Georgia: Lost Paradise

Dazzling blue the Caucasus glaciers, like ships with raised sails.
The Caucasus Mountains Gorges are like hieroglyphics, opening its secret meaning not to anyone.
Mountain chains like mysterious links are the echoes of eternity.
Even the colors in the mountains seem to be different. You can reach the azure sky above the mountains wrinkles.
Time seemed to slow down its race at a dizzying height.

Georgia is a special country. According to the legend, when God distributed the lands to nations, the Georgians were a tableful and come late. But most of their table toasts praised the name of Lord, and God gave them a piece of land designated for him. Therefore, the nature of the country is so incredibly beautiful.

The country is small, as her towns: Kutaisi, Batumi, Borjomi, Zugdidi, Gori and others.
The capital of Georgia Tbilisi represents different kind of glamour and originality.
Eclectic nationalities, architectural styles, cuisines and cultures in general are distinguish Tbilisi from other places.

Small cities are attracting people by lot of interesting monuments, antiquity breathing and at the same time, privacy.
At lunch time flavor of wine and barbeque fried on vine brushwood will chase you all around.

Georgia’s different regions are known for their hospitality and goodwill. The country is open to all visitors. First of all, visit the amazing cave complex Uplistsihe city, which is located 10 km. from the city of Gori. The mentioned cave fortress city is found in the annals of 1. BC., Uplistsihe’s golden era already fallen by 9-10 cc. All the buildings are carved into the volcanic rock Kvernaki.

The uniqueness of Georgia for tourism is that it could be considered as miniature continent; just a few steps to the side give the opportunity to see something unexpected. It seems that if the country is intended to be a tourist area, but the trials and political upheavals sometimes hindered its development.

The second important and interesting ancient complex is David-Gareji Monastery.
David Garedji is similar to the Egyptian desert – the cradle of Orthodox monasticism, Nature of the Kakheti region indeed is identical with Egypt and Palestine. One of the Syrian Fathers, Saint David, met here Reverend Father Dodo of an old family of Kakheti region nobles. Monk’s cells were carved in the rock cave.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the XX century the monks were expelled from the monastery and temples – partially destroyed, many caves were rummaged in search of gold, and some even exploded, but the monastery still retains the grace of ascetics who lived here. The monastery complex is reopened to the public.

The northern part of Georgia is the Greater Caucasus with the highest point-Shkhara (5068 m), the next highest peak – Kazbegi (5047 m). There are many glaciers in the highlands. In the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, there are 500 grottoes.

Opposite to the mountainous part is the Colchis lowland, located between the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. Ancient Colchis history remembers journey of the Argonauts, who came for the Golden Fleece, and the region was the site of the story Paustovsky, with the same title.

The vast alpine meadows, sub-tropical broad-leaved forests with evergreen shrubs, ancient pines of Borjomi Gorge, Eldar pine groves in Eastern Georgia – all this natural wealth is protected in 15 nature reserves, the main of which are Lagodekhi, Borjomi–Kharagauli and Kintsvisky, etc. Eco-tours attract many visitors.

Many mineral springs led to the creation of about 40 resorts, the most famous of which Borjomi and Tshaltubo.

The unique Georgian alphabet is included in fourteen of the world’s existing alphabets. Ancient manuscripts are clear for modern Georgians without translation.

Wall Murals VII-XIII cc. which is rich in Gelati Monastery, Ateni Temple Church in Bethany, Kintsvisi and others. Georgian painters, known worldwide: Niko Pirosmani, Lado Gudiashvili, David Kakabadze, Elena Ahvlediani. Art combines as the local national as well as European style.

National Folklore which is polyphony without accompaniment and has a 3000 years history. UNESCO proposed the Georgian polyphony in the list of intangible world cultural heritage.

Whether your choice will fall on the mountainous part of Georgia, Svaneti, where it is still preserved medieval life mode and ancient defensive towers or you prefer European Batumi, with its chic nightclubs, azure coast and amazingly looking architecture, you will be enchanted by the local atmosphere.

National food – is a high art. In Georgia barbecue should be eaten without pork and knofe, as is the idea to fry it on the grill, which implies a picnic. Also, the national dish khinkali (big raviolis) also doesn’t requires fork and knife, because if khinkali is pierced with a fork, you will lose the most gusto this dish.

Real Georgian tableful, called "supra" – always leads by toastmaster “Tamada”, who is responsible for the guests’ entertainment, and come up with original and joyful toasts.

It is noteworthy that all regions of the country can boast with varieties of cheese. In Samegrelo prefer soft cheese “sulguni” of which produce cheese dish with mint-gadazelili, in mountainous regions prefer cheese Guda, the name of which is derived from the method of its manufacture in the sheep bag, "Guda."

Georgian meat dishes have rich choice: young lamb with spices, stewed in white wine – flavored chakapuli; khinkali – the favorite dish of the mountain of Georgia; Kuchmachi – the hot dish cooked with "ketsi", a special kind of clay pans, liver, tongue, or lung and traditional chakhokhbili (stewed in tomato sauce chicken) – before, prepared only from a pheasant meat, "khokhobi" in Georgian means pheasant.

And of course many types of shashlik: veal, pork, sturgeon, which are cooked on skewers and served with different sauces: plum-‘tkemali’ spicy sauce, sweet and sour “narsharap’ or spicy tomato sauce “satsebeli”.

High level of security in the country is attracting more tourists, even at night you can safely walk down the streets.

The real Georgian spirit can be felt at the festival of grape harvest- Rtveli, which is held each fall. Wine producing in Georgia has as early as the 5th millennium BC. history, nowadays in the country’s are cultivated about 500 hundred species of wine: red dry "Saperavi", sweet "Hvanchkara", semi-dry "Kindzmarauli" though with the scent of berries, "Mukuzani" and "Akhasheni", white "Tsinandali", "Manavi" and many others.

For dessert, try the traditional sweetness: churchkhela (nuts thickened marshmallow from grape juice).

Once you enter this beautiful country, you got a risk of falling in love with its forever. Welcome back!