Gaumardschoss 2007

Gaumardschoss, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Many happy hours, moments of friendship, love, Gaumardschoss and delicious Georgian wines I wish you for 2007 with this nice photo of my father and the artist Otari Arisheli

I am sure 2007 will be a great year for all you dear readers of this tiny blog.

Photo: Ralph Hälbig

Marcel Mayers Fotobericht Tschetschenien auf TP

auf Telepolis am 24.12.2006
Sehr lesenswert
http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/24/24225/1.html

Horse Thief, print 2006

horse-thie1, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Horse Thief, 2006

Digital Print on paper, 2nd/10, 69 x 41cm

Hans Heiner Buhr

EUR 300.00

Sakartvelos Gaumardschoss

georgischeflagge-023opt, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Thank you Georgia for all the impact to my life. Since 1996

Bodyguards for Helga

bodyguards, originally uploaded by grijsz.

One of the most outstanding women I met in Georgia

An extented article on the Tsova-Tushs, Batsbs by Roland Topchishvili

Tusheti, Indurta, originally uploaded by grijsz.

"One of the reasons of close economic and cultural relations was the tradition of fraternizing existing in the Caucasian mountains. Tsova-Tushs (Batsbis) and Tushs generally, were often fraternizing not only with other Georgian mountaineers, but also with Kists (Chechens) and Didos (Daghestans).

The appropriate rituals were always followed this tradition. The future blood brothers were dropping silver coin scrapes into a bowl full of milk, than they drank the milk and after that they were considered as, so called - “oath and silver eaten”.

Another form of fraternizing was, when in the same wooden bowl the two men were dripping blood from their cut fingers. There was the other form fraternizing as well. If the candidates’ mothers were alive, they were going to them together and touching mothers’ (each other’s) breasts with their teeth. This ritual was held in the presence of the whole family and the neighbors. The sense of collectivity was characteristic to the mentality of the mountain dwellers. The blood brothers often changed their horses and armament. It was not obligatory, though. "

Roland Topchishvili

A very recommended reading:
http://www.nplg.gov.ge/ic/DGL/work/Englisurebi/Roland_Toplishvili/The_Tsova_Tushs.htm

Viktor Mazurovsky: Caucasian scout

mazurovsky-1opt-medium, originally uploaded by grijsz.

mazurovsky-1opt-detail, originally uploaded by grijsz.

mazurovsky-1opt-sign, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Viktor Vinkentevich Mazurovsky 1859-1923

Виктор Мазуровски

Caucasian scout, 35x22 cm, Oil on board mounted on Canvas, signed, in perfect Condition

For sale: EUR 4.000

Other paintings by Mazurovsky

http://tinyurl.com/y68abw (on Artnet)

http://www.100megsfree4.com/rusgeneral/cossak2.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Fireofmoscow.jpg

http://www.pravoslavieto.com/history/19/1877_Rusko_Turska_vojna_IKONI_na_bojnoto_pole.htm

Early winter silence in Kakheti

kvareli 050-opt, originally uploaded by grijsz.

On the road near Kvareli

kvareli 044-opt, originally uploaded by grijsz.

in the foreground a small graveyard

kvareli 043-opt, originally uploaded by grijsz.

empty roads and poetry

kvareli 003-opt, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Saperavi wineyards near Akhalsopeli

A glimpse of difficulties learning Georgian

everybody knows such beautiful but simple words like "Khatchapuri" aka Cheesebread.
But do you know this nice verb "ბრდგვნა" ? It means "destroy", "slash", "frazzle".

Now try to speak: "b-r-d-g-v-n-a" or the form "we destroy" with 7 consonants before the vowel "v-b-r-d-g-w-n-i-t"

Nice word ! "ვბრდგვნით"

To type Georgian letters this is a very useful tool: The Translit Online Converter
http://ncnever.free.fr/translit/

Aka Morchiladze und sein Bestseller "Santa Esperanza"

In Georgien ist Aka Morchiladze seit vielen Jahren ein Bestseller und sein vom Pendo- Verlag in München verlegtes Buch wurde nun Anfang Dezember über Sonia Zekri und die Süddeutsche Zeitung beim deutschen Feuilleton entdeckt. "Santa Esperanza" ist eines der ungewöhnlichsten Bücher der Saison in Inhalt und Form. Eine fiktive Chronik eines ausgedachten Inselstaates im Schwarzen Meer, fabuliert phantastisch-reale Bürgerkriegserlebnisse aus Morchiladzes georgischer Heimat der Jahre nach der Unabhängigkeit ab 1991. Die 850 Seiten verteilt auf 36 farbige Hefte mit je 24 Seiten zusammengefasst in einer tragbaren Filztasche lassen sich in verschiedenen Reihenfolgen lesen. Ein "Muss" für alle Georgienfans zur Lektüre unter dem Weihnachtsbaum.



Ein etwas älteres und schön langes Interview mit Aka Morchiladze auf Englisch von Marina Vashakmadze hier

Ebenfalls auf Englisch eine Zusammenfassung des Buches bei Taktaka

Eine deutsche Zusammenfassung des Buches auf buecher.de

und hier ein Link zum Buch bei Amazon: Santa Esperanza

Art Villa Garikula and a wonderful vision by Joe Kagle

"IMAGINE. The year is 2020. ART VILLA has been in existence for twenty years as a new center for contemporary art. Karaman Kutateladze, the founder of this special place, stands on the porch of the renovated home of past royalty, looking out over the picturesque, quiet, and beautiful valley of Garikula. The image is calming but there is always an inner excitement when a new workshop of artists and students is starting. He knows with pride that it was his visionary insight that led some artists and social activists to re-establish Georgia’s rightful place in the history of art by creating Art Villa Garikula."
Read the full text by Joe Kagle here

Links to the Art Villa Garikula

http://www.garikula.org

http://www.heinerbuhr.de/wind-vom-kaukasus2.htm

tafel2, originally uploaded by grijsz.

2007 with GERMANIA from Berlin Tegel to Tbilisi

Starting 13th May till 21st October 2007 GERMANIA http://www.gexx.de will operate an additional flight from Berlin Tegel to Tbilisi every Sunday evening. Retour from Tbilisi to Berlin on Monday morning.

Cologne/Bonn - Tbilisi can be booked for every Thursday/ every Friday morning (back from Tbilisi to Cologne) from 29th March till 25th October 2007

Website: http://www.gexx.de

GERMANIA
bietet ab 13.Mai bis zum 21.Oktober 2007 einen zusätzlichen Flug nach Georgien an und zwar erfreulicherweise ab Berlin-Tegel. Abflug nach Tiflis/Tbilissi jeden Sonntagabend und Rückflug nach Berlin jeden Montagmorgen.

Ab 29.März bis zum 25.Oktober 2007 fliegt Germania weiterhin ab Köln/Bonn am Donnerstagabend nach Tbilissi/Tiflis und am Freitagmorgen zurück nach Köln/ Bonn.

Detaillierte Informationen und Preise auf http://www.gexx.de

Silver and Beer

silber-bier, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Holy brewed Khevsurian beer in silver cups, made specially for the Atengenoba celebrations every last weekend in July. See some more images from Khevsureti on http://khevsureti.blogspot.com

Yesterday

I met Levan, the smart Blogger from We Georgians at http://taktaka.blogspot.com and had a couple of delicious fresh brewed beer with him at Kaiser Bräu Tbilisi

Levan and his friend Lego are young aspiring lawyers. Both spent part of their studies abroad in Germany, but decided to return to Georgia, as it seems easier here to start a professional career now.

There I met Avto Sharvashidze a former pupil of mine in Rustavi's 17th school some long 10 years ago, who is very successful at the Design company pixel.ge

Florian Mühlfried on a day-stop in Tbilisi on his ethnological studies in Tusheti and Shiraki gave me the hottest news from the Tushetian shepherders and we had long discussions about the most practical footware in the mountains (Meindl Trekking Boots versus 5-Lari Rubber Galoschi with wool stockings) (Galoschi won:) plans to introduce to the mounteneers at New Year Eve the famous hot strong drink GROG. We think they will like it at cold winter days as a old rule is:

„Rum muss sein,
Zucker kann sein,
Wasser kann sein, muss aber nicht.“ Wikipedia.de

Something like:

Rum has to be,
Sugar may needed,
Water may needed, but not necessarily.

Rapho posted on his georgien.blogspot.com a nice Khevsurian Folksong performed by Dato. Thanks to Avidil and Geostar

The new Georgian passport

I had the chance to see a new Georgian passport and found it just wonderful, like a little history book of Georgia. It is to sad that, the passports will son be filled with all the different foreign visa and the imprinted images will be covered.

passport-7, originally uploaded by grijsz.

passport-6, originally uploaded by grijsz.

passport-5, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Don't wonder Georgians, when next time at the border control the check of your passport takes a little longer...

Nice article by Robert Parsons on BBC

on Georgia's vineyard Kakheti, this beautiful valley of the river Alazani. I bet Mr. Parsons made great wine as this years grapes had been superb.
Link to the article

Here are two more images from Kakheti

lagodekhi-valley, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Don't worry for next winter, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Cattle drive Tusheti 2007

cattle-drive-text, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Cattle Drive Tusheti, Georgia 2007 Link

Viehtrieb Tuschetien Georgien 2007 Link

In the Jungle and above the Clouds

heiner-jungle-new, originally uploaded by grijsz.

clouds caucasus kakheti, originally uploaded by grijsz.

Both photos are made in Eastern Georgia, the first in the forest of the National Park Lagodekhi, the second from the Abano-pass and the view over the Alazani Valley, Kakheti