Having a few days spare in Istanbul I cast around for cheap fares to nearby countries and quickly settled on a flight to Tbilisi Georgia just a couple of hours away. Experience has taught me to lower my expectations for any new country so I arrived in Georgia with a very open mind.

The setting and style of the city surprised me. Laid out on both banks of the languid and muddy Mtkvari River, the heart of this city of 1.5 million is not so large and any attraction of importance is a comfortable walk. Surrounding the city are rugged mountains and perched high about the city is a Soviet style mega statue of Mother Georgia. Just along the ridge from Mum Georgia is the old citadel, though all that remains are the massive walls.

Definitely not Middle East in style, the overall feel is that of an Eastern European city, which given two hundred years of Russian occupation is not surprising. Much of the old city remains, mixed in with intriguing contemporary buildings, though the people drive their cars like other ME maniacs.
The streets are lined with beautiful old trees, welcome in the summer heat and throughout the city are small attractive leafy parks.

Many Muslims, with their obsession with cleanliness, consider Christians as not being very clean and I now see why. While the young people are smartly dressed and tidy, older people have that slobby Russian look about them. During my time in the city I caught several taxis, each driven by a mature overweight, unshaven man who looked and smelt like he hadn't washed or changed his clothes for a week. I kept thinking that my mum would have never let my father out of the house looking like that!!















Unkempt people aside, the famous Georgian wines are  excellent and inexpensive,while the food is also tasty and different and the city has many good restaurants and cafes.

The city is safe, though the people, while not friendly, are not unfriendly either and if you are looking for somewhere a bit different (and inexpensive) to go, put Georgia near the top of your list.