Top to Bottom in Old Tbilisi

Representing the past and the future, two massive symbols dominate the skyline of Old Tbilisi. One is the broadcasting tower of Georgia's national television network rising high above the top of Mtatsminda (holy mountain). The other is a twenty-metre-tall aluminum statue of Kartlis Deda, known as the Mother of Georgia, at the top of Betlemi Hill, one of many hills, really ancient mountains worn down by the ages like Canada's Laurentians, around which Tbilisi is built. Overlooking Tbilisi with a bowl of wine in one hand and her sword in the other, the Mother of Georgia creates an imposing and powerful image.

During our stay in Tbilisi, Meg Freer and I spent many hours exploring historic sites, museums, restaurants, and other point of interest in and around the old part of the city. Once, with several of our colleagues from The Summer Literary Seminars, we spent the greater part of an evening in a large amusement park on Mtatsminda near the foot of the awe-inspiring television tower. Another time, an early morning climb to visit the Mother of Georgia became a day-long adventure.

While Meg and I spent time together exploring the wonders of this ancient city, we also spent time separately seeking out sites of interest. One morning, Meg decided to climb the path up Betlemi Hill to see the Mother of Georgia up close. She made it to the top, where she walked over to the statue and shot photographs along the promenade. Some time later, when I mentioned in conversation that I also wanted to make that climb, we decided to go together in early morning one day before the sun got too hot.

High above Lado Asatiani Street, near where many of the Summer Literary Seminar participants had lodgings, and where we started our uphill hike, this massive statue shining silver in the Georgian sunshine looks surprisingly small.

The path from Old Tbilisi up to the Mother of Georgia is long, steep, and sometimes arduous. It varies between packed earth, bare stone, and narrow staircases, all close to the edge of the hillside.

The climb is worth it. Beautiful flowers, many of them domestic varieties gone wild, decorate the stone walls of the hillside and the untended yards rising up from below. There are grapes there too, and we even saw a lovely snail clinging to the edge of a step in a stone staircase that's part of the path.

Our day-long excursion began as we walked along Lado Asatiani Street, which eventually changes its name to Jerusalimi Street closer to the river, and turned onto Betlemi Street. We soon reached a broad stone staircase leading up toward the nearby hillside.

We discovered that a similar set of stone stairs leading up the hill is a famous Georgian landmark that dates back to 1850 and had been built by local Tbilisi craftsmen as a gift to their city.

Once we went up these stairs, we had only a short walk past one of Tbilisi's many large churches to the upward path that would take us to the Mother of Georgia.

Where the path ends at the top of the hill, a long and wide paved promenade stretches across the hilltop from the Mother of Georgia statue to the terminal for cable cars that carry passengers from the hilltop to the Peace Bridge across the Mtkvari River far below. Beyond the terminal can be seen the walls of Narikala Fortress, defender of Tbilisi for centuries.

Meg and I walked back and forth along the sunlit promenade until the cable car service opened at 11:00 a.m. Besides being able to see the statue up close, we had magnificent views of the city and beyond. Naturally, we both took a lot of pictures of what we saw from the edge of the promenade.

We had decided to take the cable car down to the city. While we waited, we enjoyed fresh fruit and bottled juices from one of the half-dozen vendors with tables set up near the terminal.

While the cable car terminal below in Rike Park by the Peace Bridge is set into a large, artistically designed building, the terminal at the top of Betlemi Hill is just a concrete ramp extending out from the hillside with a turnaround winch for the cars and a small booth for ticket sales.

Tbilisi's cable cars are very fast. Although the city had looked far below us, it seemed we had only entered the car and it was already time to get off. During our ride down, we did manage to take many interesting photos of the city as well as of cable cars coming up the hill. Meg even took a short video on the way down.

Our destination was the lovely Rike Park set between two large tubular metallic structures, built during the Saakashvili political era as a concert hall and exhibition centre but unfinished to this day, and the ultra-modern Peace Bridge, a pedestrian crossing of the Mtkvari River. The cable car terminal is in the middle of the park, in a striking mirrored building.

Near the terminal, we saw a large public fountain with dancing waters that, powered by an elaborate computer and lit by rainbow lights embedded in the fountain's floor, would move to the strains of recorded music at dusk. Even during the day, people were walking around the fountain and taking selfies with the soaring waters.

Later, as we enjoyed the beautiful summer weather while investigating all the points of interest in the park, Meg discovered a giant concrete piano near the park's exit. Set in front of the unfinished Tbilisi Music Theatre and Concert Hall, this piano is impressive and appropriate. Only the interiors of Mikheil Saakashvili's dream remain unfinished, but the work is to be completed within a year.

Leaving Rike Park, Meg and I walked across the Peace Bridge and back into Old Tbilisi, the ancient city at the centre of modern Tbilisi.

Our planned early morning hike had become an all-day excursion from the top of Tbilisi's Betlemi Hill to the riverbank at the bottom of the valley where this ancient city rests. All in all, it was a very interesting day.

photographs by Meg Freer and Bob MacKenzie / video by Meg Freer