Georgia is a country located at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region, bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north and east by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. It covers 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and has a population of around 4 million. Georgia is a representative democracy governed as a unitary parliamentary republic. Tbilisi is the capital and largest city, home to roughly a quarter of the population.

Tourist attractions include more than 2,000 mineral springs, over 12,000 historical and cultural monuments, four of which are recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi and Gelati Monastery, historical monuments of Mtskheta, and Upper Svaneti). Other tourist attractions are Cave City, Ananuri Castle/Church, Sighnaghi and Mount Kazbek.

Georgian architecture is influenced by a number of architectural styles, including several each for castles, towers, fortifications, palaces and churches. The Upper Svaneti fortifications and the castle town of Shatili in Khevsureti are among the finest examples of medieval Georgian castles.

Contemporary architecture in Georgia is evidence of a dynamic transformation in the country. New glass and steel buildings and structures arise beside old buildings as symbols of government transparency. 

Today the country is home to some striking examples of modern architecture that have their own unique Georgian twist.

Customs and Traditions

New Wine Festival 

Usually the festival is held in one of green areas in Tbilisi in the beginning of May. Travellers, bloggers, journalists, winemakers and sommeliers from all around the globe enjoy tasting more than 60 varieties of excellent Georgian wine of the last harvest. Traditional Georgian barbeques and fresh bread are available at the festival. Accompanied by Georgian dances and songs performances, the festival lasts the whole weekend.

Vanashen Secondary School

Hasmik Charkhchyan

A special wine unique to Georgia is its orange or amber wine, made by fermenting grapes in a clay amphora called a qvevri. It’s traditionally used to toast anything from God to family to property to animals, and a shot is drunk from a ram’s horn.

Yerevan Basic School № 75

Naira Zeynalyan

Amber wine

On the 22 of March 2017, the “supra”, which is a traditional Georgian feast, was added to the list of international cultural heritage by UNESCO. Its unique status gives this item of Georgian heritage a legal form of protection and proves that the supra meal is something more than a simple feast. It is a ceremony involving plentiful rituals, to feed both body and soul.

Yerevan Basic School named

after Alexander Blok N122

Sirine Kosyan

Wedding Traditions

Georgian wedding is a beautiful, entertaining and rich holiday with observance of all original customs of Georgian people. Family creation in Georgia has three stages: machankloba -  marriage proposal, nishnoba - betrothal and kortsili - wedding. According to beautiful custom the groom during the bride's entering their future house should climb on the roof and free a white bird. Then the newlyweds are offered a wedding glass of wine. In order to make new home prosperous they throw grains of cereals to the house corners and give the newlyweds wooden ornaments – “chiragdani” which mean “the life tree”. During her walk around the house the bride should touch a cauldron which is a symbol of home and go round a pot with oil or wheat three times. 

Yerevan Basic School named

after Alexander Blok N122

Hakanush Ghevondyan

Yerevan N123 basic

           school

You can not imagine traditional Georgian weddings of local residents and foreigners without dances and polyphonic singing. At a traditional Georgian wedding, newlyweds must also perform a traditional dance. This is a long-established tradition, and no variations are provided here. Although it is called the dance of love, the newlyweds, dancing, do not touch each other. “Kartuli” symbolizes the gentle, respectful attitude of the groom to the bride and fascinates all guests at the festive table.It should be noted that UNESCO recognized Georgian songs as a unique phenomenon in world culture.

Liana Markosyan Hrazdan N 2 Basic School

Traditions of Hospitality

Traditions of hospitality in Georgia are professed in no uncertain terms in the Georgian proverb:

“Every guest is a gift from God”. One of Georgia’s best known national monuments is Kartlis Deda – Mother of Georgia. Her statue stands high above Tbilisi bearing a sword in one hand and a goblet of wine in the other. This represents Georgia’s protective and hospitable attitude towards guests.

Anush Hakobyan

Koghb school N 2 ARMENIA

Over centuries, Georgian people developed traditions of, and a reputation for, generosity and hospitality.This can be experienced in a Georgian’s home or in the street, in a village bazaar or on a Tbilisi subway.

Georgian traditional clothing is an apt reflection of the cultural heritage of Georgia’s native peoples. Within the conventional attire of its national clothing, the Georgian people’s adaptability, devotion to tradition and appreciation of aesthetic beauty is conveyed.

Every Georgian dinner has a toastmaker, or Tamada in Georgian. The person is the “leader” of the dinner, whose main job is to keep a pleasant conversation with the audience present at the table, entertain them, be respectful and deliver good toasts on different topics. Being a Tamada at a big celebration is a respectful and responsible task, as is choosing the right person for it.

Tamara  Mirzoyan

L. Mirijanyan 155 basic school

Culture of Georgia

Shota Rustaveli  mononymously known simply as Rustaveli, was a medieval Georgian poet. He is considered to be the pre-eminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. Rustaveli was the author of The Knight in the Panther's Skin, which is considered to be a Georgian national epic poem.

Vanashen Secondary School

Hasmik Charkhchyan

Naira Zeynalyan

Vazha-Pshavela is modern Georgia’s greatest genius. His finest works are tragic narrative poems (Stumar-maspindzeli, Gvelis mchameli that combine Caucasian folk myth with human tragedy. Young Georgian poets and prose writers were subsequently inspired by European Decadence and Russian Symbolism as well as by the highlanders’ folklore that imbues all Vazha-Pshavela’s language, imagery, and outlook. His greatest pupils were the dramatist and novelist Grigol Robakidze and the poet Galaktion Tabidze. Robakidze developed the themes of Vazha-Pshavela’s “The Snake-Eater” in The Snake Skin, a tale of a poet’s search for his real identity. Robakidze also led a group known as the Tsisperqnatslebi, its best poet was Titsian Tabidze, whose work was indebted.

The Georgian National Ballet was the first professional state dance company in Georgia.

In the course of its history the Georgian National Ballet has appeared at the Albert Hall, The Coliseum, The Metropolitan Opera and Madison Square Garden, among others. In 1967, La Scala welcomed them – reportedly the first and the only time a folklore group was given a chance to perform on its stage.

Yerevan Basic School named

after Alexander Blok N122

Sirine Kosyan

This beautiful building of the unique marionette theatre was designed by Gabriadze himself. Among the shows in its current repertoire are: “The Autumn of My Spring”, “Stalingrad”, “Ramona”.

Attached to the theater, and built by Gabriadze in 2011, is one of the city’s most instantly recognizable landmarks: the Leaning Tower of Tbilisi. Keep an eye on the tower on the stroke of each hour, when an angel mannequin comes out to strike the bell.

Yerevan Basic School named

after Alexander Blok N122

Hakanush Ghevondyan

 Though modest in size, The Gabriadze Theater is among the world’s preeminent cultural institutions. Presenting mature puppet performances full of depth and meaning, it has gained the respect and recognition of international audiences and critics alike. The Gabriadze Theater stands in the heart of Tbilisi’s historic Old Town.

Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theater

         Yerevan N123 basic school

Ceremonial crown of the Georgian high nobility, an example of metalwork from the early modern period.

Georgian Museum of Fine Arts  is a private art museum located on the Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia (country). The museum houses over 3500 artworks, created by over 80 artists during the last 70 years.

Tamara Mirzoyan

L. Mirijanyan 155 basic school

Nina Ananiashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Her father, Gedevan, and two older brothers, George and Levan, were all geologists; her mother, Lia Gogolashvili, a philologist. She was a sickly child and at the age of 4, her parents started her ice skating in an effort to improve her health. At 10, she became champion in her age group in Georgia.

Liana Markosyan Hrazdan N2 Basic School

Georgian culture is an exotic, mysterious and ancient culture stretching back for millennia. Elements of Anatolian, European, Persian, Arabian, Ottoman and Far Eastern cultures have influenced Georgia’s own ethnic identity resulting in one of the most unique and hospitable cultures in the world.

The traditional Georgian applied art is mainly represented by high art items from ceramics, metal, wood, and bones. Georgia is famous for its fine jewelry, engraving on metal, armory.

Anush Hakobyan

Koghb school N 2 ARMENIA

The culture of Georgia has evolved over the country's long history, providing it with a unique national identity and a strong literary tradition based on the Georgian language and alphabet. This strong sense of national identity has helped to preserve Georgian distinctiveness despite repeated periods of foreign occupation.