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 … Read more
About Sights – St. George’s Church and Monastery complex in the village of Ubisa
Ubisa (Georgian: უბისა) is a small village and medieval monastic complex in the Imereti region of Georgia, about 25 km from the town of Kharagauli. 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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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, … Read more
About Art – Vasil Roinashvili (ვასილ როინაშვილი)
Vasil Roinashvili (ვასილ როინაშვილი) (1879-1958) studied the basics of photography in the studio of the famous Georgian photographer Alexander Roinashvili before traveling to Europe and Russia. In 1905 he returned to his homeland, settled in Telavi and married Sophio Kazakhashvili. He built a house and made a photo studio on the first floor. He also created a garden that … Read more
About History – 19th Century Georgia in The Illustrated London News
Established by printer and newsagent Herbert Ingram The Illustrated London News was the world’s first illustrated weekly newspaper. The first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842 and by 1863 the newspaper was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, a huge circulation in comparison to other British newspapers of the time. From about 1890 onward The Illustrated London News made increasing … Read more
About Art – Ivan Petrovich Pranishnikoff
Ivan Petrovich Pranishnikoff was born in Kursk in Russia in 1841. During his life he was a painter, businessman, journalist, illustrator, cartoonist, translator, friend of Turgenev and friend and official painter of Tsar Alexander III. He fought for the unification of Italy alongside Garibaldi, and participated in the war of independence of Montenegro. Pranishnikoff was … Read more
About History – The ‘Spirit Wrestlers’ of Georgia
The Doukhobors (Russian: Духоборы) living in the Ninotsminda District of Samtskhe-Javaheti region of Georgia are a religious community exiled from Russia in the mid-19th century. The word Doukhobor means ‘spirit wrestler’ in Russian. Considered to be heretics by the Orthodox Church in Russia for their rejection of church ritual many Doukhobors chose exile in the Caucasus region … Read more
About History – The Photography of Dmitri Ermakov
Dmitri Ivanovich Ermakov was born in Tiflis (the old name for Tbilisi) in Georgia in 1846. After graduating from the military topographic academy in Ananuri he opened his own photographic studio in Tiflis and by the end of the 1870s he was a renowned photographer, winning awards in many exhibitions in Moscow, Italy, Turkey and … Read more
About History – Photographs of Vittorio Sella
In 1889-1896 the famous mountain-climber and pioneer of photography, Count Vittorio Sella made a number of climbs in the Caucasus Mountains in the Svaneti region of Georgia. Over his lifetime, Sella photographed many of the major mountain ranges all over the world and his pictures were exhibited by the Royal Geographical Society. In his earliest climbs … Read more
About History – “Oath and Silver Eaten”
Hidden away from the outside world and only accessible by road for five to six months a year is the extraordinary land of the Khevsurs – Khevsureti. It is a place where ancient pagan traditions survive, and medieval fortress towers stand testament to centuries of conflict with neighbors and peoples of the North Caucasus. The practice of raiding each … Read more
About Culture – Atnigenoba Festival
Around 100 days after Easter an ancient festival called “Atnigenoba” takes place in villages in Tusheti (Georgian: თუშეთი), an isolated mountainous region in the north east of Georgia where life has remained largely unchanged for centuries. Although the Tush are Christian, their culture has retained elements of Georgia’s pre-Christian beliefs and pagan practices still persist. Each village in … Read more
About Culture – Georgian Dance (Part 1)
Georgian dance (Georgian: ქართული ცეკვა) is a celebration of life and of Georgia’s rich and diverse culture. Each dance portrays the characteristics of the region in which it originated. The mountain dances, such as Khevsuruli or Mtiuluri, are different from valley or lowland dances — e.g. Acharuli and Davluri. The costumes are different for every dance and resemble … Read more
