This is a project of collecting postcards from all over the world.
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Friday, August 23, 2013
Georgia - Batumi
Colonnades - Seaside Park
Batumi, Georgia
Sent by Maria of United Kingdom who sent this postcard from Georgia.
Batumi (Georgian: ბათუმი, formerly known as Batum) is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, anautonomous republic in southwest Georgia. With a population of 180,000 (2008 census), Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in agricultural produce such as citrus fruit and tea. While industries of the city include shipbuilding, food processing, and light manufacturing, most of its economy revolves around tourism. Since 2010, the face of the city has been transformed by the construction of new high-rise landmark buildings and the renovation of the Old Town. (read further)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Statue Of St. George
Statue of St. George in The Freedom Square, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Sent by Khatuna, a facebook friend from Tbilisi in Georgia.
The St. George Statue erected on the central square of the city was set up in 2006.the author of the 60 meter statue is the famous Georgia sculptor Zurab Tsereteli who gave the statue to the city free.
The opening ceremony of the statue coincided with November 23 –St. George feast and the date of rose revolution 3rd anniversary. At the foot of the newly erected statue the concert was held on that day.
The statue is easily spotted from any point of the city. The high colon decorated with Ion column top supports the statue of the saint on the horseback. The gilded statue attracts attention even from the far distance.
The statue symbolically depicts the victory of kind over the evil. The iconographic style of the saint is widely spread and is even on the coat of arm of Georgia.
It should be noted that hitherto the depiction of the saint in the form of the round statue did not exist in Georgia. And we can freely say that St. George statue is the first such occasion.
The statue is called the statue of freedom as well as. The saint is considered to be symbol of strength and victory. The St. George statue is the symbol of freedom and independence for the Georgian nation. Source.
Georgia - Upper Svaneti
Ushguli Commune.
Svaneti, Georgia.
Sent by Khatuna, a Facebook friend from Tbilisi in Georgia.
Upper Svaneti is an exceptional landscape that has preserved to a remarkable degree its original medieval appearance, notable for the distribution, form, and architecture of its human settlements.
The earliest references to Svaneti occur in the works of Strabo (66 BC-AD 24), when it had already been settled for many generations and had achieved a high level of culture. From the 4th century AD it was a vassal-state of the Kingdom of Lazika. In the 8th century the Abkhaz Kingdom was established in western Georgia, to be in its turn absorbed into the united Kingdom of Georgia that was finally consolidated by David the Builder (reigned 1089-1125). A strong movement for Svan independence developed, and its feudal lords often chose the side of forces opposed to the Georgian state. This did not hinder the political and economic growth of Georgia, which spread to cover much of the region between the Black and Caspian Seas under George II and his daughter Tamar in the succeeding centuries. This was accompanied by a cultural flowering, of which Svaneti was one of the main centres, famous for its schools of metalwork, painting, wood carving, and architecture. These skills were employed by the Church, which was also rich and powerful in this period; most of the churches in Upper Svaneti date from this period. Although not affected by the catastrophic Mongol invasion, Svaneti found itself increasingly isolated, and as a result its economy and culture declined in the 15th-18th centuries. Part of Svaneti was eventually overrun by Princess Dadeshkeliani in the 15th century, but further inland, on the upper reaches of the Inguri River, the people of Upper Svaneti preserved their independence, with Mestia as their capital, until the coming of the Russians in the 19th century.
The mountainous region of Upper Svaneti occupies the upper reaches of the lnguri river basin, between the Caucasus and Svaneti ranges. The characteristic landscape of Upper Svaneti is formed by small villages, dominated by their church towers and situated on the mountain slopes, with a natural environment of gorges and alpine valleys and a backdrop of snow-covered mountains. The most notable feature of the settlements is the abundance of towers, especially in Mestia and the frontier villages, such as Ushguli and Latali. These towers usually have from three to five storeys and the thickness of the walls decreases, giving the towers a slender, tapering profile. The houses themselves are usually two-storeyed; the ground floor is a single hall with an open hearth and accommodation for both people and domestic animals, the latter being separated by a wooden partition, which is often lavishly decorated. A corridor annex helped the thermal insulation of the building. The upper floor was used by the human occupants in the summer, and also served as a store for fodder and tools. A door at this level provided access to the tower, which was also connected with the corridor that protected the entrance.
Many of the tower-houses have disappeared or are collapsing into ruins. The village of Chazhashi has, however, been preserved as a museum-reserve. Here more than 200 towers and 400 houses have survived. The village is situated at the confluence of the Black and lnguri rivers, an easily defensible location. It is protected by two castles above and below the village; the lower castle has a small hall church known as Lashkdash; another church known as Matskhvar in which medieval wall paintings are preserved stands on a nearby hill. The houses are built from irregularly sized stone blocks and sometimes local slate set in lime mortar. The churches of Upper Svaneti are generally very small and not ornamented with carved external decoration. Internally, however, they are noteworthy for their wealth of wall paintings, carved doors, processional and altar crosses, and illuminated manuscripts. They range in date of construction from the early 9th to the 17th centuries, with a creative peak in the 10th-12th centuries.
The excellent natural conditions and the unity of architecture and landscape give this region an original quality of its own. The wealth of monumental and minor art (metal work, manuscript illustrations, textiles and embroidery, wood-carving, icon painting, ancient forms of musical and oral folklore, vernacular architecture) are of paramount importance for the study of Georgia and the Caucasus. The monumental mural painting of Svaneti is of great importance in the study of the origins and development of Georgian and eastern Christian art. (Source)
Lagodekhi Protected Areas
AGENCY OF PROTECTED AREAS
Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Georgia.
Sent by Khatuna, a Facebook friend from Tbilisi in Georgia.
Lagodekhi Protected Areas are located in the most northeastern part of Georgia, in the Lagodekhi District. This includes the Lagodekhi Strict Nature Reserve and Lagodekhi Managed Nature Reserve along the southern slopes of the main range of the Great Caucasus. The height of the Protected Areas varies within 400-3500 m above the sea level.
Lagodekhi is a very rich district. It is characterized with temperate humid subtropical climate. The reserve is abounded in water. The Ninoskhevi, Shromiskhevi, Lagodekhistskali and Matsimistskali are the main rivers originating in the high mountains and creating many water cascades and waterfalls, which then flow quietly in the lower zone of the forest.
In the Lagodekhi alpine zone, one can meet several very nice lakes of glacial origin; the largest of them is the Black Cliff Lake, the depth of which reaches 14 m. It is located on the Russian-Georgian border.
Treasure of Lagodekhi Protected Areas is its nature. There is an alternation of vertical zoning and habitats in this vast territory. The level of endemic species is amazing. 121 species of Lagodekhi flora are endemic to Caucasus and 9 – endemic to Georgia. Among the lasts, 7 species are endemic to Kakheti or they are local endemic species of Protected Areas. Lagodekhi is famous for its very well preserved beech and hornbeam virgin forests.
There are many pre-Christian ruins of houses and crypts in Lagodekhi District. The most important discoveries of Bronze age were made on the territory of the village of Ulianovka. Monuments of early Christian and mid centuries were found in Lagodekhi and its surroundings. Some of them, like the Machi (Tamari's) castle are located in the territory of the Strict Nature Reserve. The 11th century St. Tevdore’s Church, ruins of the 8th century Lakuasta’s castle, Churches of Poni, Areshperani and Khoshta and ruins of early Christian and mid centuries buildings and bridges are located near the Protected Areas. Read more here.
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