Georgia (country)

World : Caucasus : Georgia

Flag

Quick Facts

Capital	Tbilisi
Government	republic
Currency	lari (GEL)
Area	total: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 69,700 sq km
Population	4,960,951 (July 2002 est.)
Language	Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
Religion	Georgian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 11%, Russian Orthodox 10%, Armenian Apostolic 8%, unknown 6%

Georgia is a country in Southwestern Asia. It lies at the eastern end of the Black Sea, with Turkey and Armenia to the south, Azerbaijan to the east, and Russia to the north, over the Caucasus Mountains.

Map of Georgia

Regions

Administrative divisions: 9 regions, (mkharebi, singular - mkhare), 9 cities* (k'alak'ebi, singular - k'alak'i), and 2 autonomous republics** (avtomnoy respubliki, singular - avtom respublika); Abkhazia or Ap'khazet'is Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Sokhumi), Ajaria or Acharis Avtonomiuri Respublika** (Bat'umi), Chiat'ura*, Gori*, Guria, Imereti, Kakheti, K'ut'aisi*, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, P'ot'i*, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Rust'avi*, Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Shida Kartli, T'bilisi*, Tqibuli*, Tsqaltubo*, Zugdidi*
note: the administrative centers of the 2 autonomous republics are shown in parentheses

Cities

Tbilisi - Capital

Ports and harbors: Bat'umi, P'ot'i, Sokhumi

Other destinations

Svaneti - Highest region of Georgia
Ushguli - Highest Village in Europe - UNESCO Heritage Site
Mtskheta - Old Capital of Georgia - UNESCO Heritage Site
David Gareja - Cave Monastery
Mt. Kazbegi - Picturesque Mountainous Area
Vardzia - Cave Town - 12th c.

Get in

By plane

There are flights to Tblisi from a number of European and Asian cities, including London, Paris, Vienna, and Moscow. Lufthansa now flies direct from Germany to Tblisi.

By bus

There are direct bus services from Istanbul, Turkey, which stop at various places on the route and terminate in Tbilisi.

By boat

There are boat services to Batumi from Istanbul and Odessa. At the time of writing the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon was closed to passenger services.

Get around

Marchriutka

Marchriutkas are minibuses that operate on fixed lines. After finding out the number of your route, flag down a Marchriutka at the street. In Tbilisi, they will take you most anywhere for under half a lari. There are also Marchriutka lines from city to city. These usually terminate at bus stations.

Metro

Tbilisi has a metro system; only two lines.

All signs inside metro are in Georgian only (no Russian, no English) -- and stations are announced in Georgian only. Take a bi-lingual map with you if you are not proficient with the alphabet / pronunciation.

Talk

Languages: Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Alphabet: Georgian uses the Mxedruli alphabet, which is unrelated to both Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.

For language-fans, Georgian and its related languages are a real treat. For everyone else, they could be a nightmare. Georgian is a Caucasian language, which means that it is related to other languages nearby but nothing spoken on the European continent. While the formidable consonant clusters are frightening enough as is, the addition of a foreign alphabet will render communication very difficult indeed.

Buy

Costs

Eat

The cuisine of Georgia is justly famous throughout the region (visitors to Moscow will have noticed the amount of Georgian restaurants). The two "national" dishes are "khachapuri" (A cheese filled, salty bread) and Khinkali (minced, spiced meat in a dumpling, served in enormous quantities). A traditional Georgian feast, or "supra" is a sight to behold.

Drink

wine

Definitely try out Georgian wine. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to export home-bottled wine, which is often the best kind. Georgian wines are actually quite famous. It may be true that they are unknown in the West, but this does definitely not include some 280 million people. This is roughly the population of former USSR where Georgian wines used to be a welcomed drink at any dining table.

beer

Georgia has a number of beers, the most common brands are Kazbegi and Argo. Outside of Tblisi it is very difficult to find anything other than Kazbegi.

Sleep

Outside of Tblisi (where there are numerous options for 3 star plus accommodation thanks the the NGO presence in the country) private homes are always the cheapest and most enjoyable option. If you can master a little basic Russian (which everyone speaks) going to the central square or market will probably land you a place to sleep and a hot meal for an an agreed price.