About Food – Georgian Salad

Georgia is blessed with wonderful fresh vegetables, ideal for making delicious, refreshing salads. This recipe uses Georgian Imeretian cheese but a substitute could be mozzarella cheese. Ingredients: Tomatoes, fresh parsley, fresh purple basil, green peppers, onion, 1.5 tbs white wine vinegar, 1 tbs vegetable oil and Imeretian cheese. Preparation. Chop the tomatoes and add to a … Continue reading

About Food – Mushroom Chashushuli

Mushroom Chashushuli is a family meal made with potatoes and mushrooms. It is especially good with new potatoes. Ingredients (4 servings): 700 grams of small new potatoes, 500 grams of mushrooms, 6 cloves of fresh garlic, 2 hot green peppers (or mild if you prefer), 2 large onions, 50 grams of fresh purple basil, oil and … Continue reading

About Celebrations – Independence Day in Georgia (დამოუკიდებლობის დღე)

Georgia became part of the Russian Empire in 1800. On May 26, 1918, shortly after the collapse of the Russian Empire and in the midst of the Russian Civil War, it declared independence and The Democratic Republic of Georgia was created. Independence was short lived. Unable to withstand an invasion by Soviet Russia the Democratic Republic of … Continue reading

About Food – Chakapuli (Georgian: ჩაქაფული)

Chakapuli (Georgian: ჩაქაფული) is a popular Georgian stew made with lamb or beef, dry white wine, tarragon leaves, unripe (sour) green plums, green onions, green peppers, green coriander, garlic and salt. It is popular in the Spring when the plums are unripe. Ingredients (6 servings): 700 grams of diced lamb or beef. 150 grams of wild sour green plums. 200 … Continue reading

About Sights – Egnate Ninoshvili Museum

During his short life and brief literary career Georgian writer Egnate Ninoshvili (ეგნატე ნინოშვილი) (1859-1894) wrote stories and novellas vividly depicting the harsh life of the Georgian peasantry and the greed of tsarist officials. Before taking up writing he worked as a teacher, telegrapher, typesetter, and manual laborer. His first literary works were articles for the Georgian … Continue reading

About Sights – St. George’s Church and Monastery complex in the village of Ubisa

St. George’s Monastery is situated in the village of Ubisa (Georgian: უბისა) in the Imereti region of Georgia. The monastic complex comprises the 9th-century St. George’s Monastery founded by St. Gregory, a tower and fragments of a 12th-century defensive wall. The four-storey tower was built by Simon Chkondideli in 1141. The monastery contains a unique … Continue reading

About Architecture – Davit Agmashenebeli Avenue, Tbilisi

Davit Agmashenebeli Avenue (Georgian: დავით აღმაშენებლის გამზირი) is named after David IV of Georgia and is located in an historic district of Tbilisi close to the left embankment of the Mtkvari River. Much of the area was built by the German contractor Friederich Vezel in the 1880s. It is one of the most popular shopping streets in … Continue reading

About Food – Lobio with Nuts (ლობიო ნიგვზით)

Lobio (Georgian: ლობიო), is a popular Georgian dish made with kidney beans and usually eaten with Mchadi and marinaded vegetables. The Georgian word ‘lobio’ means ‘beans’. There are a number of varieties of this dish and in this recipe we show how to make a particular Georgian favorite – lobio with nuts. Ingredients (4-6 servings): 400 grams … Continue reading

About History – Ballooning in Tiflis

The first hot air balloon flight in Georgia was undertaken by a French balloonist called Bede on 10 November, 1882. Bede rose into the air in a Montgolfier balloon from Mushtaidi Gardens in Tiflis (old name of Tbilisi) and reached a height of 200-300 meters. The Frenchman went on to carry out several flights in Tiflis, including … Continue reading

About Food – Ham Chashushuli (რაჭული ლორის ჩაშუშული)

In this recipe we will show how to make a ham dish from the Racha region of Georgia. Ingredients: 150 grams of smoked ham (we used Georgian ham from Racha), 2 large carrots, 2 large onions, 1 clove of garlic, ground pepper (black and red), quarter tsp of ground coriander, 50 grams tomato paste or … Continue reading

About Sights – The Money Museum of the National Bank of Georgia

The Money Museum of the National Bank of Georgia in Kvareli in Kakheti Region is the place to go to see the centuries-old history of money circulation in Georgia, from the 6th century B.C. up to the present. The exhibits cover twenty-six centuries and contain Colchian tetri, Alexander the Great staters, coins of the Roman Republic and Empire, … Continue reading

About Sights – The Giorgi Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography (Georgian: გიორგი ჩიტაიას სახელობის ეთნოგრაფიული მუზეუმი ღია ცის ქვეშ)

The Giorgi Chitaia Open Air Museum of Ethnography (Georgian: გიორგი ჩიტაიას სახელობის ეთნოგრაფიული მუზეუმი ღია ცის ქვეშ) was founded in 1966 by the famous Georgian ethnographer Giorgi Chitaia, whose name it bears. The open-air museum is located on a hill overlooking the Vake district of Tbilisi. The 52 hectare site houses around 70 buildings that … Continue reading

About History – “Savage Svânetia” by Clive Phillipps-Wolley

“Savage Svânetia”, by Clive Phillipps-Wolley, was published in 1883 and describes the author’s experience of travelling in Svaneti in the late 19th century. Though it has a hunting focus, the book also vividly describes life and culture in this mountainous region in the northwestern part of Georgia. The book has several wonderful illustrations of the mountains, … Continue reading

About Food – Barbecue Pork with Red Onion

Barbecued meat is very popular in Georgia both as a family meal and also at feasts and celebrations. Pork is the most popular meat, followed by chicken. In this recipe we will show you how to prepare barbecued pork. Ingredients: 1 kilo of pork, 2 medium sized onions, 3-4 tbs white wine vinegar, 100 ml of … Continue reading

About Sights – Tbilisi Funicular Railway

The Tiflis Funicular railway was constructed to develop the uninhabited Mtatsminda plateau that overlooks the city and was opened on 27 March 1905. The railway carriage accommodated up to 50 people and the journey time was 6 minutes. Vaso Kvavilashvili, the first locomotive-driver of the Funicular recalls: “At first people feared that the rope might … Continue reading

About Food – Sweet Peppers with Walnuts

In this recipe we will show how to make a popular Georgian dish of walnuts and spices wrapped in sweet peppers. It is quite spicy so you may want to reduce the quantities of spices or omit some. Ingredients: 5 sweet peppers, 150 grams of walnuts, half tsp dried Blue Fenugreek, three quarters tsp of dried coriander, 1 tsp … Continue reading