FEAST OR FAMINE

The Mestia Museum of History and Ethnography in Upper Svaneti was established in 1936. With a magnificent view of the surrounding mountains, this small museum holds an interesting collection of artifacts of Georgia, but specifically to this unique isolated region, home of the Svans. The location is distinctly medieval and the icons, hunting implements, cookware, furniture, art, military armour, and clothing reflect its ancient history. The black and white photographs of local highlanders in everyday situations are fascinating. The museum also has one of the oldest New Testament manuscripts in Georgia and a rich collection of 9-11th century parchments. The archeological and ethnographical materials are varied and well displayed (most with English as well as Georgian labels). A guide is also available to explain the background and history of the collection. The museum used to be in a Svan tower, the iconic towers of the region, but moved to a new building in 2003. There ar...

The Bridge of Peace, Tbilisi’s ultra-modern pedestrian walkway, is a fascinating structure of glass and iron. It connects the ancient city of Tbilisi—now a growing suburb of cafes, restaurants, tourist shops, and art galleries—to the new district (to-be-developed) across the Mt’k’vari River. Italian architect, Michele De Lucchi, and French lighting director, Philippe Martinaud, created an 150 metre bridge, not merely as an architecture of engineering, but also as a piece of artwork. Constructed in Italy, it was transported to Tbilisi in 200 trucks. As the bridge was being assembled, the lighting was erected on sight. The Peace Bridge emits universal messages of peace in Morse code via 30,000 white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and 240 sensors. These are mounted on the steel framework that supports the green-tinged roof, or canopy. On the parapets on each side of the bridge (the low walls), additional LEDs are mounted in a grid pattern. During the day, the bridge is serene a...

During the Easter weekend, a packed audience watched the beguiling and mesmerizing puppets in Rezo Gabriadze’s The Battle of Stalingrad. The actual Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 – February 1943) is recognized by historians as a turning point in World War II at which more than a million lives were lost. So the play is no Easter picnic for children. It’s a well-crafted depiction of loss, love, lies, fate, anguish, and despair. Since it debut in 2002, and international performances throughout the years, the Georgian play has achieved critical acclaim not only for its character portrayal of the tragic, the comic, and the absurd, but also its visual depiction of war. This is not surprising given the talent of the production team. Master marionettist, Rezo Gabriadze, now in his 70s, is the writer, artistic director, puppet designer, costume designer, and music co-director (with Elene Japaridze). The puppets, crafted by Shmagi Savaneli, Luka Gonashvili and Vladimer Meltser are an ...

Before independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia was a leading agricultural region. Output grew by 10 percent a year and the sector contributed 45 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). But with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s independence, agriculture has been steadily declining. In 2007 it fell to 12 percent of the GDP and in 2009 it was just 9 percent. Georgia’s President, Mikheil Saakashvili, said his country was stuck in The Middle Ages with highly fragmented and unproductive farms and dependence on imported goods. A UNDP report published in October 2010 indicated that farmers represented 50 percent of the workforce in Georgia, yet the country imports 70 percent of the food it needs. This increases the price of food. With donor support and government planning to bring Georgia’s agriculture into the 21st century, the focus is on improved technologies and increased income generating skills in farming regions. The strategy is to im...

Georgia, the birthplace of wine, has a problem. Not many people know how good the wine is, and now the Georgian Wine Association is on a mission to sell its country’s wine to the world. Kvevri, the old tradition of fermenting and storing wine is credited with the reason why Georgian wine has its unique taste. Kveri, specific to Georgia, are huge well-crafted clay pots lined with beeswax, placed underground. Unfortunately, the highly skilled craft of kvevri making is dying out as artisans are becoming scarcer. The Georgians now have a priority to interest young people in this ancient skill. Not only is the style of fermentation unique, but the number of grape varieties in the country exceeds all other countries. There are 525 indigenous varieties. The Georgian Wine Association is targeting markets in the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and China. Europe is also a targeted market. However, the association stresses that it will promote the quality of their countr...

Formerly titled Too Far From Home, Out of Orbit (2007) is a captivating true chronicle of three astronauts – Americans Kenneth Bowersox and Donald Pettit and Russian Nikolai Budarin - stranded in space for three months. Space shuttle Endeavour lifted off in November 2002 as Expedition Six. The mission objectives were to: (1) deliver cargo to the International Space Station; (2) relief the three astronauts on board ISS so that they could return to Earth after six months in space; and (3) remain on ISS for four months to learn how to live in space. Already onboard the ISS were Expedition Five’s two Russian cosmonauts and a female American astronaut. The ISS was a stepping stone to further space exploration: a giant “mobile” built and equipped by the United States and Russia, as well as Canada, Japan, Brazil and 11 European nations. Docking was achieved successfully, the crews exchanged places, and the Expedition Five team returned to Earth. The three Expedition Six crew...

During the weekend that I was in the ski region of Mestia in Upper Svaneti in the north of Georgia, a famous professional skier was also in the region. Alberto Tomba, the retired Italian professional skier, winner of three Olympic gold medals, arrived in Georgia to visit the ski resort. The three-day visit, supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Georgian Ski Federation, was aimed at promoting Georgia as a skiing destination. After a press conference in the capital, Tbilisi, Tomba flew to Mestia. Although it was springtime, there was plenty of snow on the alps. From Mestia, he also visited Gudauri. Tomba ‘La Bomba’ (Tomba, the bomb) won gold in both the slalom and the giant slalom in 1988 at the Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. Four years later, he claimed back to back gold in the giant slalom and silver in the slalom at the 1992 Albertville Olympics in France. Tomba also won two gold medals at the Alpine World Ski Championships at Sierra Nevada, Spain, i...

In April 2011 Synovate, a global market research firm with its head office in London, announced the results of a Global Trends study on “green behaviour” in which 22,000 people across 28 countries were interviewed. Respondents were asked about their recycling habits, and their purchasing habits of ecological products and organic foods. They were also asked about their general beliefs in order to determine if there was a correlation between beliefs and green behaviour. The study found that women around the world ranked higher than men across all green behaviour categories. People aged 56-65 years ranked highest in recycling and buying ecological products, while people aged 46-55 years ranked higher in purchasing organic food. Those aged 16-25 years scored lowest across all categories. Recycling waste at home was more popular amongst women, with 54 percent saying they recycle waste, compared with 48 percent of men. Respondents in Canada (88%), South Korea (86%), and...

Human Rights Watch has released their annual World Report. World Report 2011: Georgia indicates that Georgia's human rights record remained uneven in 2010. More than two years after the August 2008 Georgian-Russian conflict over South Ossetia, the government has not effectively investigated international human rights and humanitarian law violations, the report claims. Russia continued to occupy Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and strengthened its military presence in the region by establishing a military base and placing an advanced surface-to-air missile system in Abkhazia. The April 2010 European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan progress report commended Georgia for improvements in judicial reform and fighting corruption, but raised concerns on several issues including prison overcrowding, minority rights, and media transparency. In July 2010 Georgia and the European Union (EU) began negotiations for an Association Agreement, which e...

During my weekend in Mestia, in Upper Svaneti in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, with my work colleague and his family, we stayed at Nino Ratiani’s Guesthouse – the host was well-known to my work colleague. The hearty traditional food is cooked in their kitchen and there’s plenty of it. We had bread, khachapuri, kubdari (bread with pork stuffing), home-cooked vegetarian pizza, kupati (pork sausage), chvishdari (baked bread made from corn flour mixed with cheese), potatoes, salads, vegetable soup, mixed vegetables, cheeses, yoghurt, honey, walnut cake, and berry jam. Around Mestia are numerous small villages to visit, such as Lagami, Latali, Tskhumari, Becho, Etseri, Pari, and Ushguli. Within Mestia is the Museum of History and Ethnography, village churches, and the memorial house of Mikheil Khergiani founded in 1983. Khergiani was a famous Georgian mountaineer and rock climber who died tragically mountain climbing in Italy in 1969. Around the town of Mestia and acros...

On the week of 8-9 April, I traveled to Upper Svaneti (Zemo Svaneti) in the Caucasus Mountains, with a work colleague and his family. Most people travel to Mestia, the main administrative centre of Svaneti, by air, but we traveled by road. The distance from Tbilisi to Mestia is 456 kilometers and typically takes 8-10 hours. Because it was to be a crazy brief weekend in Mestia, we left at 3:00am. By the time we arrived in Zugdidi it was 8:00am. Tako had prepared traditional Georgian food of bread, potatoes, Gurian khachapuri (bread, like Turkish pide, with boiled egg inside), cheese khachapuri, mushroom khachapuri, and meatburgers. It was raining and cold, so we stopped at the Turkish Doner Café, the only eatery open. There were no bathrooms there, so we drove to the Wissol gas station before returning to the café. We were permitted to eat our “picnic food” inside, thanks to the hospitable Turkish owner. We ordered coffee and sat at the red tables. A sealed road from T...