Tbilisi: Rustaveli Street

Rustaveli is, arguably, Tbilisi's main drag.

The Parliament meets/used to meet there. An historic church is there. The National Museum is there. The Russians attacked Georgians there.

Expat hangouts, Prospero's and Entree, are there. There's a McDonald's. A theater. A concert hall.

Marriott Hotel is there; Radisson Blu is just off of it.

Gypsy children and women beg on Rustaveli, as do some Georgian men and women, mostly women.

Tbilisi: Evening Song

Awhile back, Kate, a TLG colleague and I went to an evening of choral singing at the National Parliament Library off of Rustaveli Street.

The Rustavi Men's Choir performed first. Moving and powerful. A real crowd-pleaser.

Toward the end, we enjoyed a really fun, enthusiastic performance of an American folk song, Jericho. I especially enjoyed the soprano shout-out at about 1:12.

If I'd had more space on my SD card, I'd have captured one of the seemingly dozens of songs that consisted primarily of humming. Perhaps these showcased technical virtuosity to those in the know, but as a simple layperson, all I know is one humming dirge sounded pretty much like the other.

There was one exception, however, that I wish I had recorded. The only problem is it was a very long song, and it was such that its beauty and complexity - the sound "story" it told - required that you be there and let it work into your body and brain, slowly.

Tbilisi: Drummer Boys

Recently, there was a street music festival in Tbilisi.

These young drummer boys on Rustaveli Street were a highlight. At about the 34-second point, pay attention to the boy on the far right. He wasn't drumming at this moment, but he played an important role of drawing attention to the solo drummer, with typical Georgian movements in performances of traditional dance/drumming: the right hand on his knee; knees apart; the broad performer smile; the intermittent shouts. An impresario.

 

Tbilisi: The Tbilisi Tragedy

9 April memorial in Tbilisi, Georgia. Parliament building on Rustaveli.

9 April marked the Tbilisi Tragedy.

People left flowers in front of the Parliament building above and at the memorial below.

9 April memorial. Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi, Georgia.

Rustavi: Rustaveli Street and Rustaveli

It's likely every Georgian city, town, and village has a Rustaveli Street. Here's a sampling of what's on Rustavi's Rustaveli Street:

Rustavi, Georgia

Rustavi, Georgia

Rustavi, Georgia

Georgians might say that Shakespeare was the Rustaveli of England. Rustaveli, a 12th century poet, wrote the Knight in the Panther's Skin, an epic poem that I understand every Georgian can quote an excerpt from. Here is the poem in its entirety, in English.

Shota Rustaveli. Credit: Wikipedia

Tbilisi: Courtyard Off Rustaveli Street

Courtyard off Rustaveli Street, Tbilisi

Courtyard off Rustaveli Street, Tbilisi