Argonauts

According to Greek legend Georgia’s first recorded tourist group arrived on a mission to seek the Golden Fleece. Furthermore they found it – a fact given credence by the ongoing Svanetian technique of panning for gold through sheepskins.

Antiquity is another of Georgia’s great resources. Stone, Bronze and Iron Age settlements pepper the landscape; the finds fill the museums. The marvelous discovery of “Colchis gold” in the ancient Colchis area by the Black Sea, is now on display in Tbilisi’s National Museum.

Recently archeologists have discovered the skull of a 1.8 million year old hominid at Dmanisi, in the foothills of the lesser Caucasus. This historic find provides a key link to humankind’s earliest transitions between Africa and Europe.

Georgia – the birthplace of wine. Wine-growing has a long tradition in Georgia. It’s impossible to imagine daily life, the traditions or the picturesque landscapes, without it. Legends of Georgian wine emerge from the distant annals of history. Slate cuneiform tablets from the 9th century BC describe both the Assyrian conquests and their demands for tribute. All of the vanquished had to pay exclusively in gold, save for Georgia whose wine became an acceptable currency for the Assyrian kings. Archeologists tell us that viniculture dates back 7000 years in the Caucasus.Many believe the generic word“wine” stems from the Georgian word “gvino”.With over 500 original grape varieties and a strong culture of growing, is it a surprise that Georgian wine will match any in the world.

Georgia is rich in cave architecture. The thirteen story monastery at Vardzia, found beside the Turkish border, is carved into sandstone hills. So too is the ancient town of Uplistsikhe on the historic Silk Road. Perhaps most memorable is the large complex of cave monasteries located just south of Tbilisi in the semi-desert, at David-Gareji. Founded in the 6th century, the richly frescoed caves look out on a vast sandstone landscape above a monastery that still functions.

With such an abundance of delicious food and wine, over thecenturies Georgia has developed a strong tradition of table culture. Not content with merely eating and drinking, the ceremony has evolved into a key stratagem of culture survival. Georgians have a saying that the guest is the gift from God. Essential to the table ceremony is the Tamada or toast-master. He guides the mood of the meal by introducing eloquent, often moving toasts at key moments, starting with “friendship”. This moment represented Niko Pirosmani- one of the Georgia’s favorite artist ( born 1862)- on one of his famous paintings. He developed his own very original “naive” style of painting. Today he is regarded as one of the world’s most outstanding “primitivist” painters.

In 1977, when the US spacecraft Voyager” was launched, it carried the traditional Georgian song “Tschakrulo” on board as a part of the world’s cultural heritage. The charm of Georgian traditional music isits polyphony – anenchanting combination of archaic and modern harmony. In 2001 UNESCO acknowledged Georgian traditional music as “a masterpiece of the world’s intangible cultural heritage”. Georgians are rightly proud of their tradition of polyphonic songs. The Greek historian Strabo records the multi-voiced chants of Georgians riding into battle in the 1st century BC. Georgian dance, like its polyphonic songs, remains a major cultural export. The vigorous, leaping dances, clashing swords, flying sparks, daggers quivering in the floor, combine elegantly with the graceful, gliding female dances.

The greater Caucasus mountains extend from the Black to the Caspian Seas. Among them are Europe’s highest mountain ( Elbruz at 5642 m.) and numerous summits over 4000m. Mt Shkhara, at 5057 meter, is the highest in Georgia. Mt. Kazbek at 5033, is most popular among mountaineers. Georgia is a paradise for hiking, mountaineering and winter sports. With over half its landmass as mountains, much of it covered in virgin forest and completely free from mass tourism, Georgia is unique.