Day 1: Tbilisi City Tour

The travel days are never part of the trip regardless of the time you arrive at your destination, which is why when planning a person should always, in my point of view, not count those days as part of the trip unless it was something simple like dinner or lunch at a certain place.

After a long night rest, a warm shower, and a healthy breakfast, we decided that this day would be best spent around the city of Tbilisi.  After heading down to the lobby to meet my parents, my father already booked a private tour for four adults.  Demitrit (I am still searching for his business card and will post it once I find it) showed up about 30 minutes later greeting and welcoming us to Georgia.  He then started his tour.  The thing about Georgia is that it has a long history so most of our visits were historical.

The tour started of with a visit to the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi commonly known as Sameba. It is the main Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi. The Sameba Cathedral is constructed on the Elia Hill, which rises above the left bank of the Kura River (Mtkvari) in the historic neighborhood of Avlabari in Old Tbilisi. (no entrance fee)

General Fact: Sameba is a synthesis of traditional styles dominating the Georgian church architecture at various stages in history and has some Byzantine undertones. 

Holy Trinity Cathedral
Tbilisi, Georgia
Hind Al Ameri

Holy Trinity Cathedral
Tbilisi, Georgia
Hind Al Ameri

After the Holy Trinity Cathedral, we went to see the statue of the founder of Tbilisi, King Vakhtang I Gorgasali,  which is next to Metekhi church. Metekhi is a church and a fort which served also as a king’s residence; hence comes the name Metekhi which dates back to the 12th century and literally means “the area around the palace”. 

Statue of King Vakhtang I Gorgasali
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We then moved down to the cable car so we could go up to the fortress. The cable car is very easy to use, you just buy a public transport card (which our guide already had) and add credit to it (we added 3 GEL to our card for 3 people), and the views from the cars of the city are very nice. It moves quickly and the ride is short but it is worth it. The cars themselves are well maintained and safe.  

Cable car
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The view from the cable car
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At the end of the ride is Narikala; which is an ancient fortress overlooking Tbilisi and the Kura River. The fortress is on a steep hill between the sulphur baths and the botanical gardens of Tbilisi. 

History fact (Narikala): Also called the mother fortress of Tbilisi, Narikala is an ancient symbol of Tbilisi’s defence. The fortress was established in the 4th century, around the period when the city itself was founded. It was then known as Shuris-tsikhe ("Invidious Fort"). The name Narikala is said to derive from a Persian word for citadel, but another theory says was the name that Mongols used, meaning “little fortress”. It was expanded considerably by the Arabs during the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs built the Emir’s palace within its walls.

Narikala Fortress
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The view from the top
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Instead of taking the cable car back down we decided to walk down the steps passing by a odd looking tree (see picture below).  As you may notice that the tree is covered with plastic-bag-strings all tied up along the stems of the tree.  This is a “wish tree”; same idea as a wishing well or coin drop at a fountain.

Wish Tree
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This is not the end of day 1 tour, but until next time.

Hind's Travels Advice:

For UAE Nationals: It is always advised to register on Twajudi, which is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when traveling to enable the UAE embassy to contact you in case of any emergency.

"UAE MOFA" is now available through your smartphone, you may download it through the AppStore/Google Play, or register on Twajudi online.

Happy traveling!

Hind