Georgia History

History

Georgia is a land filled with magnificent history and unparalleled natural beauty. Archaeologists found the oldest traces of wine production (7000-5000 BC) in Georgia. For those of us in the West, we unfortunately get precious little exposure to this stretch of land between the Black and Caspian seas. However, this is changing drastically. Georgians are not Russians, Turks or Persians, nor do they have any ethnic connection with other people. However, there are theories which link Georgians to Basque, Corsican and North Caucasian people. Georgians are very proud of their own language, which is in its own language group, completely unrelated to Indo-European, Slavic languages, Semitic or any other languages (there have been suggestions that Georgian and Basque are related but there is little evidence for this other than their mutual status as language isolates). Georgians have been embroiled in struggles against world’s biggest empires (Scythian, Roman, Byzantine, Mongol, Persian, Ottoman, Russian, etc) for centuries. This little country was invaded thousands of times and destroyed as many. However, Georgians have managed to preserve their cultural and traditional identity for 5,000 years. The countryside is covered with ancient towered fortifications, many of which house ancient churches (including one of the oldest in Christendom) and monasteries. Georgians gradually became a Christian nation in the first century, and Christianity officially became a state religion in the fourth century (one of the first Christian states in the world) with the evangelism of St Nino of Cabadocia. The Georgian cross is recognizable, for it was forged by St Nino with grape vines and her own hair. The grape and the vine thus hold important places in Georgian symbolism. The conversion to Christianity meant that Georgians would have a historical cultural leaning to the West instead of the with the Muslims in the region (Turkey and Persia to the South). Nonetheless, Georgian culture stands at the cross-roads of civilizations. Her culture and traditions are not linked to any other, they have a completely independent civilization of their own. During the Soviet era, Georgia was the Riviera of the USSR and set the highest standards for food and drink. Russians may love vodka, but the Georgian wines were favoured by the Soviet elite. The coastal areas of Georgia (Abkhazia and Adjaria) enjoy sub-tropical conditions and beautiful beaches (imagine pine trees and mountains covering the coast line). During Soviet era, Georgia flooded Russian markets with high quality tea, wine and fruits. Georgia, on the periphery of the Soviet Empire, also contributed greatly to the dissolution of the USSR with calls for independence (Georgians had managed to dissolve many empires before). Georgia stood on one of the key routes of the Silk Road and now plays a role in geopolitics with oil pipelines stemming from Azerbaijan and bound for Turkey. This proud nation is still in transition after the fall of the Soviet Union. The tense relations with Russia (and deepening friendship with the USA and the EU) has closed off the once indispensable Russian markets. Imagine cities with narrow side streets filled with leaning houses, overstretched balconies, mangled and twisted stairways, majestic old churches, heavenly food and warm and welcoming people. All of this with a backdrop of magnificent snow peaked mountains, and the best beaches of the Black Sea.