The first thing I thought of when I looked at the name of the little Georgian town of Mtskheta was “Yeah, Pat, I’d like to buy a vowel.” I still can’t pronounce it correctly. I got close once.
The main reason I went to Gori was to visit the Joseph Stalin Museum. Outside of that, there isn’t much to see, but I took my time to discover what the town had to offer.
Outside of Old Tbilisi, I walked down Rustaveli Avenue to get a look at the more modern parts of the city. I generally stayed along the busy street but wandered off it to see a few things.
Old Tbilisi is the historic area of the city of Tbilisi. It has a number of colorful reconstructed buildings and historic churches to visit. It’s a great place to wander just to admire the architecture and colors. I started exploring the area at Gorgasali Square and worked my way north.
On the east bank of the Mtkvari River across from Old Tbilisi sits Avlabari. Avlabari is the traditional Armenian quarter of Tbilisi, although there aren’t very many Armenians left there today.
Near the mosque in Abanotubani, I found a stairway up to the Narikala Fortress and walked up along the walls to the entrance. If you don’t feel like walking up to the fortress, there IS a cable car that leaves from Avlabari. I didn’t take it because the walk up isn’t that bad.
I started my exploration of Abanotubani at Gorgasali Square (Gorgasali Moedani) in Old Tbilisi. It had a lot of nice reconstructions, especially the hill behind it. There are some restaurants and hotels around the square.
