Details Of Tbilisi, Georgia

Walking and snapping, strolling and recording. What's on display, Tbilisi?

Lonely lookout. On the parapet wall that overlooks the city.

The Mother of Georgia statue, strong from the rear. Mighty foot of a socialist sculpture near the art museum. Strong from the ground.

Getting schooled on an Old Town wall.

Failures in photographic deception, covering a wall and a leftover attraction from a festival.

The luck machine, in a passage tunnel underneath a street.

Seeing The Old In Old Town Tbilisi

Sometimes Ye Olde Europe is quaint, lovely and one big gelato shop. In Tbilisi, Georgia, large sections of the old town have resisted redevelopment, gentrification, touristification. What some sections have not resisted is the ravages of time and lack of upkeep. Old is just old.

Heading into a section of ancient housing.

Streets are tight, masonry is crumbling. Newish building propping up old and failing.

Fenced in. Set for redevelopment, keeping out scavengers, delaying the inevitable collapse? Yes.

Fantastical remnant. Peeps built whatever fit into whatever irregular space was allotted. Active. Laundry still hanging, even if the host building is failing.

A small sign of care, a steel buttress, holding back collapse, waiting for a restoration to save the property. Crossing fingers. 

Appreciating The Art Museum In Tbilisi

The National Gallery art museum in Tbilisi has some nice national treasures. Time to gaze.

Classic exterior, good wrapping for some goodies inside.

There's a nice park next to the museum and one of the more impressive statues in the space is a grand socialist sculpture holdover from Soviet times. Topless women kicked ass. Labor strife, 1970s style. The bell bottom revolution.

A large gallery room is devoted to the works of Georgia's most beloved painter, Nikoláy Aslánovich Pirosmanashvíli. He worked during the late 1800s, received little recognition while alive, and led a poor life filled with odd jobs. His outsider, folksy depictions of everyday life are now considered iconic, preserving a period of Georgian culture, time, identity.

Here is a small selection of his paintings. Picnic. Display, don't play with your food!

Heroic domestic animals.

Threshing. Dogs and kids stay in the tent.

Gosha's Great Art Around Tbilisi

Walk around old Tbilisi in any direction for over a block or so and you're bound to run into a great piece of Goshaart. His work is everywhere; utility boxes, construction fences, any vertical surface that's a blank canvas. Clever, colorful, now iconic.

Funny mashup. The monster from the original Alien movie, gazing lovingly as a baby alien sprouts from the national food of Georgia, the khinkali dumpling.

Utility boxes. Tough black rabbit and a Dr. Who police box.

More utility boxes, custom adjusted to the existing power gauge windows. Science is so cool!

Still more utility boxes. The boy likes their ubiquity. Delicate ballerina and a return of the Alien monster. The boy likes aliens.

Creative construction mural. The various poses are a tribute to Michael Jackson signature dance moves. Can't beat it.

The Great Synagogue Of Tbilisi

The main synagogue in Tbilisi gets the nice moniker of Great and it was built by Akhalsikhe Jews from 1895 to 1903. The building stands out for its impressive size and Georgian red brick style.

The big boy. Or girl. Probably, now a they.

Jewish details. A silver mezuzah at the front gate. Over the entrance door, tablets.

The colorful, intimate interior of the synagogue.

The usual temple detritus, shelves crammed with religious books and piles of prayer shawls, tallit. Outside, a sort of Wall of Fame lineup of past rabbis and other important holy guys. Looking a bit like playing cards or mug shots.

Also outside, a large photo billboard of old Jerusalem, a view of the sacred Western Wall. Eyes on the holy prize.

The Mighty Zion Cathedral Of Tbilisi

One of the landmarks of Tbilisi is the Zion Cathedral and it's easy to see why it's famous. The place is a medieval masterpiece, all imposing, symmetrical and full of good art and gobs of gold leaf inside.

Exterior view. Not too big, not too small, just right.

Inside, gold bling reigns.

Jesus, hanging out. A bit of an artwork sleight of hand. A freestanding painting, not a sculpture. Enlightened.

More paintings, mysterious monks, serious men in charge.

One of the faithful flock paying a visit.

Trapping Tourists In Turkistan

What do you do if you've got one amazing Silk Road era site and not much else? To keep the crowds beyond an hour? Build a modern tourist extravaganza! The folks in Turkistan just completed a meandering canal complex, lined with shops, hotels, performance halls, attractions, a museum, whatever keeps 'em coming and staying.

The centerpiece of the place is a giant, man-made lake, complete with a ruined sort of pirate ship fountain. Splashy.

Big halls with distinct architectural features. Drama, performance, convention. For rent.

Looking down the main pedestrian plaza, path. Busy planting welcoming flowers in the new garden bed.

New, old icons. Some sort of immersive theater in the shape of a giant, golden egg in a nest and a sculpture of the big bird of Kazakhstan, a falcon. Egg, nest detail. The big lay.

The canal runs a few blocks, several bridge crossings, better to get you to the Nike store or coffee cafe.

The Underground Mosque In Turkistan

It gets hot in Turkistan, so hot during the summer that the only civilized place to pray is underground. When in doubt, dig.

Mosque entrance. Nothing significant above ground, except souvenir stalls disguising the place.

Heading down. Prayer hall area. The mosque is an active archeological dig.

Another section of the mosque, restored and now a museum.

Ancient artifacts. Old book, old robes.

Detail of a diorama that depicts the place as a teaching madrasa. Study up!