Tbilisi, Georgia
Tbilisi, known as Tiflis in the past, was founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang I Gorgasali, the monarch of the Kingdom of Iberia. As the capital and the largest city in Georgia, Tbilisi is home to a population of approximately 1.5 million residents at the point of writing.
The photos shown in today's post are pretty much arranged in chronological order in which they were taken, with a few exceptions. To recap, when my BFF and I arrived in Georgia, we took a bus from Tbilisi International Airport to Tbilisi Railway Station.
Station Square is the metro station next to the main railway station.
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| The transport card, which can also be used on buses across Tbilisi, costs GEL 2.00 (~S$1.10). |
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| That's certainly not the metro network, but rather that of bus, perhaps? |
The metro system comprises only two lines. Station Square is the only interchange station between the two lines. Taking a public transport in Tbilisi is very affordable with a flat rate of GEL 0.50 (~S$0.25) per journey.
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| The escalator ride to the platform takes about two minutes. |
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| During my stay in Tbilisi, I didn't get the chance to sit down onboard the metro train at all. |
Below are photos of the platform area of Technical University and Liberty Square metro stations respectively.
Have a look at the following photos that chronicle our leisurely walk from the area near Medical University metro station to
Tbilisi Zoo.
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| The temperature that afternoon was 10 degree Celsius with adequate sunlight, making it comfortable. |
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| Wendy's seems to be a big player in Tbilisi. |
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| Students were walking out of Technical University, holding presumably exam question paper. |
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| That's a Chinese restaurant near the zoo, but we didn't try it. |
After spending time in the zoo, we walked through an underpass with colourful graffiti. We also had the chance to interact with the painter.
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| Dalmatian with a 3D effect! |
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| Totoro! So cute~ |
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| The 51 m tall Monument of Heroes was erected in 2009 to commemorate the fallen soldiers in the past. |
From there, we continued to find our way to reach Rustaveli Avenue.
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| Tbilisi Concert Hall was built in 1971, having the capacity of 2,000 seats. |
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| Underground shops are a common sight in Tbilisi. |
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| I'm not sure who's that. Anyone knows? |
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| Realising that the metro station is across the road, we made a U-turn to find a pedestrian crossing. |
The name Shota Rustaveli is close to the heart of the locals as the medieval poet is considered to be one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature.
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| What's behind the antique door? |
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| Rustaveli wrote "The Knight in the Panther's Skin", a Georgian national epic poem. |
Not far from Liberty Square are the parliament building and the Museum of Fine Arts as shown below in that order.
The statue of St. George, made of bronze and covered with gold, stands at the Liberty Square.
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| They were working on some Christmas decorations. |
The statue is 5.6 m tall, gifted to the city by Zurab Tsereteli, a sculptor famed for large scale and at times controversial monuments. He has served as the President of the Russian Academy of Arts since 1997.
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| Facing the statue is Courtyard by Marriott. |
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| Such a lovely atmosphere in the evening~ |
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| Have you tried churchkhela (Georgian candle-shaped candy made of grape must) before? |
On one of the evenings, we took the metro to Marjanishvili station and subsequently walked along David Agmashenebeli Avenue.
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| 19th century classical architecture all around~ |
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| Whatever that building is for, it seems to be have been shut down for good. |
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| There's a small park along the way. We saw some people doing skateboarding there. |
The rest of the post shall be dedicated to Old Tbilisi.
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| That's St. George Armenian Cathedral of Tbilisi. |
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| I'm not sure who's that, but he only lived for 42 years from 1903 to 1944. |
The Old Tbilisi that we see now is a product of the refurbishment programme initiated by Mayor Gigi Ugulava in 2010. Old and damaged houses and cobbled streets have been renewed to make the district more pleasing to the eyes of visitors and locals alike.
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| A remnant of autumn~ |
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| I forgot to take a close-up photo of the statue of Vakhtang I Gorgasali after lunch. |
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| I love Tbilisi. Do you? |
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| It's said that the sulphur-rich water has got healing properties. |
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| I purposely waited for the bride and her groom to come into the picture for a dramatic impact. |
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