Trip & Travel

#What is Georgia famous for?

#What is Georgia famous for?

Today’s episode about the famous things across the globe is about Georgia (the country!), so we have asked our fellow travel blogger Baia of “red fedora diary” What is Georgia famous for? This is her insightful response!

Georgia, still an undiscovered destination to many, is tucked between Europe and Asia. This small former Soviet country binds a lot in – ancient cities, diverse food culture, snowy Caucasus mountains, Black Sea coast, delicious wine, and lush nature. If you are one of those travelers who hasn’t visited Georgia yet, here’s an introduction of the things Georgia is known for.

Things Georgia is Famous for

The first Europeans

According to an archeological expedition in Dmanisi, where a 1.8 million-year-old skull was found. This is the oldest human skull found outside of Africa. After the discovery, the skulls of the oldest Georgian couple were called Zezva and Mzia and are displayed at the National Museum in Tbilisi. 

Birthplace of Wine

Georgia has been making wine for more than 8,000 years and recently broke the GUINNESS World Records by being the oldest wine-making nation based on the wine residue found on one of the clay jars Georgia uses for producing the beverage. Its unique winemaking process is even listed as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 

Georgian language

Georgia has its own language and alphabet spoken by only around 4 million Georgians in the whole world. It is among the world’s 14 unique and oldest languages. The alphabet underwent three different script development and what Georgia uses today is called Mtavruli, having 33 letters.   

Sulfur Baths

Georgia is rich in hot spring and sulfur waters. Tbilisi, the capital, has a whole district dedicated to these sulfur bathhouses called Abanobubani. It even gave the name to the city, where word Tbili in Georgian means warm. 

According to the legend, King Vakhtang Gorgasali was hunting in the lush wild nature in the territory of today’s Tbilisi when he discovered the warm waters by accident and decided to build a city around it. 

In general, sulfur water is believed to be beneficial for skin and general well-being. It’s advised to bath in this natural hot water of around 40C temperature for only one hour. 

Holy Trinity Cathedral 

Tbilisi is home to the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world – Holy Trinity Cathedral, also known as Sameba in Georgian. Spanning on more than 3,000 sq. meters both inside and outside, it is also one of the world’s largest religious buildings by total area. 

Finished in 2004, it took almost ten years to complete the construction, and today is the primary cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In terms of the architecture, the building is a combination of traditional Georgian church architecture with undertones of the Byzantine era. 

Things Georgia is famous for - The religion
Holy Trinity Cathedral

An abundance of Food

Georgian cuisine is as diverse as its landscape where every region here has its own traditional dish. The cuisine is influenced by Georgias neighbors and invaders, such as Persians, Ottomans, and Russians. Additionally, Medittereaninan trances can also be found here. Due to this, the meals are heavy on the dough, meet, various strong and flavorful spices, and walnuts. However, there are plenty of plant-based dishes to cater to vegetarians as well. 

The most popular meals by locals and foreigners are meat dumplings called Khinkali, pizza-like cheese pie Khachapuri and its boat-shaped version called Adjaruli Khachapuri, eggplant in walnut sauces and appetizer plate called Pkhali to name just a few. 

What s Georgia known for? Georgian cuisine
Georgian cuisine

Hospitality

Georgia, generally, is a very hospitable country where every guest is considered as a ‘gift from God’ no matter if a person is a foreigner or not. Georgians love treating their guests like royalty. However, this hospitality can seem a bit too much, especially when hosts constantly insist on eating if they see an empty plate in front of you, or chugging the glass of wine instead of sipping.  

Two of the most ancient cities in Europe

Two cities and former capitals of Georgia, Mtskheta and Kutaisi, are among the list of Europe’s 16 ancient cities. Mtskheta, located only 30 minutes away from Tbilisi, was formed only around 3,000 years ago. Kutaisi in western Georgia has been inhabited from as early as the second millennium BC and used to be the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Colchis. 

Mountains and lush nature

Bordering with the Caucasus Mountains, Georgia is a paradise for nature and hiking lovers. Wild and untouched nature backdropped with the snowy Caucasus mountains is what awaits a visitor here. Six out of 10 highest peaks of the Caucasus are within the territory of Georgia. Mt. Shkara in Svaneti is the highest at 5,068 meters above the sea level, followed by Mt. Kazbegi in Stepantsminda. 

Apart from these highest peaks, Georgia is known for its canyons, karst caves, semi-desert terrain, and alpine lakes to name a few. Intrigued? Here are some of the most unique and best places to visit in Georgia

Kazbegi in the Caucasus is one of the most famous things in Georgia
Stepantsminda

Krubera and Veryovkina Caves

Located in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in western Georgia, Veryovkina and Krubera caves are the Earth’s deepest known caves. The first one is 2,212 meters deep, while Krubera hasn’t been fully explored and the deepest traversed point is 2,197 +/- 20 meters. 

Ukrainian Speleological Association reached a depth of 1,710 meters in 2001, making it one of the deepest known cave in the world after the Lamprechtsofen in the Austrian Alps. Over the course of ten years, the Association continued the exploration and reached a depth of 2,197 meters. 

20% occupied by Russia

Georgia and Russia have had tense political relations for several centuries now. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a one year war (1992-1993) broke out between Georgia and Russian backed up Abkhazia, a Black Sea region of Georgia. The conflict heavily affected both sides; it left Abkhazia’s towns devastated and destroyed, while the post-Soviet Georgia suffered significant financial, psychological, and human damage. The war forced hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia to flee their homes and become refugees seeking home all over the country. 

Recently, Russia and Georgia had another, yet, short-armed conflict in August 2008 in another bordering region with Russia – South Ossetia. Russian army unjustifiably crossed the state border and started the South Ossetian conflict before the Georgian side could respond. Russia blamed Georgia for being aggressive and offensive to South Ossetia and launched extensive air, land, and sea invasion with the goal to enforce peace. The war lasted for around 10 days until Georgian forces retreated. 

Today, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are breakaway regions controlled by Russia, where none of the Georgians (except those living there or having relatives) can travel to. Border with South Ossetia moves several centimeters very often, causing various villages to either leave or stay in a conflict zone. Russia, along with Syria, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Nauru recognizes both regions as independent states.

Ski Resorts

Due to its highland landscape, Georgia boasts with several ski resorts perfect for skiers, snowboarders, and even heli-ski lovers. Gudauri is the most famous ski resort offering tree-free slopes at various altitudes. Bakuriani, covered in coniferous forests, is a perfect family-friendly destination where adults can also enjoy the adrenaline-boosting downhill. And if you are after even more extreme sports, try high altitude slopes of Hatsvali and Tetnuldi ski resorts in Svaneti. 

Things Georgia is known for
Georgia has one of the best spots for sky in the world.

Highest villages in Europe

Among other things, Georgia is also known for its highest permanent villages in Europe. The villages of Ushguli in the Svaneti region and Bochorna in Tusheti, are nestled at 2,100 and 2,345 meters above sea level, respectively. Both of them are mountainous areas where summers are short and winters are breezy and snowy. 

What is georgia famous for? the lost villages in the caucasus
Ushguli village in the Svaneti region

Georgian National Dances

Georgian National Dance has roots in sports games, military moves, and dances performed during various holidays and celebrations in the Middle Ages. There are more than 15 different dances, out of which only two, Khorumi and Perkhuli, are among the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia.  

Polyphonic folk music

Apart from the national dances, Georgia is also known for its choral folk music, which even got the attention of UNESCO and listed it on its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2008. Georgian polyphony has three different types: Polyphonic dialogue over a bass background sang most in eastern Georgia, a complex frequented in Svaneti, and three partly improvised versified parts traditional to the west.

Georgian song in space

The spacecraft Voyager 2 that was sent to space in 1977 includes one of the most popular Georgian folk songs “Chakrulo” sung mostly at celebrations and festivals. The Golden Record features 116 images, spoken greetings in 59 languages, traditional folk music from around the world, and different natural sounds. 

Joseph Stalin

Whether Georgians are proud or not of Joseph Stalin (Ioseb Jughashvili) being a Georgian is quite a debatable subject. However, it’s part of history and can’t be overlooked. 

The leader of the Soviet Union was born in a small town called Gori, around one hour drive from Tbilisi. If you are interested in learning more about his (mostly good) deeds, you can visit house-museum in Gori and explore his private, 83 tone railway carriage he used to travel with. 

Stalin is possibly the most famous sun of Georgia
House-museum of Joseph Stalin in Gori

Katie Melua

Not a lot of people know that the world-famous singer and songwriter Katie was born in Kutaisi during the Soviet times. At the age of 8, she moved with her family to the UK and lives there ever since. 

She released her very first album at the age of 19 called Call Off the Search and reached the top of the UK charts selling more than 1.8 million copies in the first five months. 

Throughout her career, she has been listed as UK’s best selling and Europe’s highest-selling female artist in 2006. And Sunday Times Rich List published in 2008, she was nominated as the seventh richest British musician under thirty. 

George Balanchine

Giorgi Balanchivadze or George Balanchine was a ballet choreographer and a co-founder of New York City Ballet, making him one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century and a father of American ballet. 

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, George was a sone of a Georgian opera singer and composer Meliton Balanchivadze and went to the Imperial Ballet School. 

He created his trademark ‘neoclassical style‘ in the ballet by modernizing the standards and techniques he adopted at the Imperial Ballet School and combined them with various schools of movement he learned on Broadway and in Hollywood. 

Niko Pirosmani

Often called Nikala or just Pirosmani, Niko was a Georgian naive painter who reached fame after his death after being relatively poor for most of his life. He worked on a variety of ordinary jobs to make the ends meet and painted everyday rustic scenes honored today for their image of the country back in that time. Part of his works is on display at National Gallery in Tbilisi. 

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What is Georgia known for?
What is Georgia famous for?

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