Tbilisi: new heights

  1. If you didn’t manage to catch the legendary performances of the Puppet Theatre, at least enjoy a street performance at midday.
  2. Forbidden tricks.
  3. The Kura River embankment with a view of the Ceremonial Palace (also by de Lucchi) and one of the Exhibition Hall’s horns.
  4. The impressive walls of the Patriarchate of Georgia.
  5. The Bridge of Peace and an air balloon hovering thoughtfully at a moderate altitude.
  6. It’s even on wheels!
  7. Tree of life from a different angle. In the background is the Darejan Palace.
  8. Ronald Reagan reminds us that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
  9. And the hoopoe has nothing to say in response.
  10. Functionality vs. aesthetics, no clear winner.
  11. Beauty is in the eye of the sitting.
  12. Instead of viewing two or three m² from a wheeled basket, I recommend taking the cable car in the center.
  13. Halfway up, a view opens up of the Norashen Church, the spire of the Theological Ceminary, the Sioni Cathedral, and the TV tower on the hill.
  14. From above, one can also see the Public Service Hall, the perpetually closed Exhibition Hall (aka Saakashvili’s pipes), and the Trinity Cathedral.
  15. All this splendour is sternly overlooked by the monumental Mother Georgia, which survived several noticeable transformations since 1958.
  16. At the foot of the monument.
  17. On the same hill stands the medieval Narikala Fortress, severely damaged by a gunpowder warehouse explosion 200 years ago.
  18. The Botanical Garden on the other side of the hill.
  19. “Resistance” by David Natidze.
  20. The bicycle is man’s best friend! (It’s even for two, if you look closely.)
  21. The National Academy of Sciences subtly combines Stalinist Empire style with Moorish balconies.
  22. A tub with a late-Soviet bas-relief frieze in the style of traditional ceramics near the Telegraph hotel.
  23. On Rustaveli Avenue, one can often come across wonderful bronze statuettes made by graduates of the Academy of Arts.
  24. The Opera and Ballet Theatre built in the neo-Moorish style in 1851.
  25. Stained-glass window of the Avandi wine shop.
  26. The famous high relief “Saxophonist in the Wall” is now somewhat lost among the protest graffiti and their censorship.
  27. Young rebels on the steps of the Parliament prepare for a long siege.
  28. Alexander Pushkin looks at his beloved Tiflis with a melancholic elegy.
  29. St. George at Freedom Square admires the sunset sky.
  30. Soothe my sorrows.