May Day in Mtskheta and an evening in Tbilisi

Mtskheta and Tbilisi

Being May Day today, we decided to head out of Tbilisi for the day and over to Mtskheta which is about 20km north of Tbilisi. Of course, we got there via marshutka which we arranged at the Central Bus Station by the bazaar near Dudube metro station. Once we found a man in front of a mini van waving a Mtskheta sign (in Georgian and Russian) I purchased tickets from a small makeshift booth nearby and within 15 minutes the marshutka was on its way.

Mtskheta

A UNESCO heritage site, Mtskheta happens to be one of the oldest cities in Georgia and the area itself has been inhabited since before 1,000BC. It was once the capital of the Kingdom of Iberia. Much has changed since then with the streets abound with stone houses and markets, a nod to its past as a major trading post. In modern days the town has a laid back vibe, and the most prominent industries appear to be tourism, souvenirs, and homemade garden wine which can easily be purchased just by asking any of the townfolk by their houses more or less the following question in Russian "Можете ли вы купить здесь вино?".

Eventually we ended up at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, which was built back in the 11th century. It was so hot today that a local monk was spraying water at passerby's every few minutes.

Following a stroll through the winding souvenir markets I came across a couple of fellow Polish tourists who were keen to share a taxi with us to the Jvari Monastery not too far from the town. It was about a half-hour taxi ride to the car park followed by a brief walk uphill to the monastery. The view of Mtskheta and surrounds from the monastery hill was spectacular. If anything it felt a bit like southern Europe to me, in combination with the scorching hot Spring weather today.

On the way back to Mtskheta we stroke up some convo with the taxi driver (they all seem to be called Giorgi) about his background, made easier by the fact one of our new colleagues from Mtskheta spoke near-fluent Russian.

In the late afternoon, we explored the thermal sauna section of the old town in Tbilisi. It was a bit better maintained than the central part though with narrower streets and that strong sulfur smell you get at proper thermal saunas. After weighing it up for a while I decided to try one of the saunas, one of the only ones that didn't require a booking in advance or a group of people.

After paying the bargain price of 4 euro for entry to the men's sauna section, I left my stuff in the changeroom, grabbed a towel, and experienced a very "Soviet" sauna experience. Definitely something I wouldn't recommend for those that are very self-conscious or shy about being in the nude amongst strangers. I must've stood out like a sore thumb when I tried getting into the boiling hot sulfur pool. A large Georgian man just laughed and said that a man doesn't worry about discomfort. After feeling like I was going to melt for a minute or two I gradually got used to the heat and actually felt better. Over in a far corner, an elderly man was getting the birch branch treatment, essentially getting his back beaten up by a bunch of twigs from a burly Soviet looking man about three times his size.