Georgia On My Mind

Tblisi is a city very much more akin to those in Europe than in Asia.  The Christian churches that dot the skyline a stark contrast to the mosques and minarets you're more likely to see in this part of the world.  Although Armenia preceded it as a Christian country, Georgia is more obviously striving for piousness.

Divided in two by a river, Tblisi reminded me a little of Salzburg, with numerous churches lining the banks and an old fortress sitting high on a hill in the background.  However, Tblisi shows its scars from numerous invasions by different muslim factions, notably the Turks and the Persians, who left behind a mosque and bathing houses.

One thing that stood out more than the ridiculous amount of churches and iconography on display was the high number of young couples making the most of the romantic setting.  Down every side street, in every park and on every bridge a different young couple held each other close and ate each other's faces off.  The statue of the Mother of Georgia that oversaw the city seemed to have a playful smile on her lips that suggested she approved.  Even a priest didn't bat an eyelid when he stumbled upon one coupling heavily making out and groping at the feet of a giant icon depicting Jesus on the cross!

This is a city that seems very liberal in its practice of Christianity.  Indeed, on the marshrutka over from Armenia I got talking to an American guy who turned out to be a Mormon missionary.  My first question, obviously, was why two countries as historically Christian as Armenia and Georgia would need a missionary.  He answered that a lot of people there would say they were of the faith, but perhaps didn't really know what that meant.  I was a little perplexed as I had seem more churches that you could imagine and I had assumed that each church had a priest who told them exactly how they were supposed to behave.  Listening to his stories, though, it became clear that he was painting a picture not too disimilar from the one I had of Central Asia; people would call themselves muslim, but would drink, smoke, gamble, cheat and womanise like there was no tomorrow.

What really caught my attention was the story he told me about the Armenian and Georgia practices of 'bride kidnapping.'  A young man would spy a girl that took his fancy and he would arrange to have her bundled into the back of a van or car and driven away to his home, where she would be forced into marriage under the threat of rape.  He did stress that this was a tradition that was dying out and was confined largely to the more rural areas.  Usually, he continued, the guy would merely stalk her for up to a year and get to know her routine and habits before getting his family to make a less brutal approach.  I knew that this practice existed in Kyrgyzstan and a former student of mine excitedly confessed to a co-teacher that he had helped kidnap his brother's wife.  Not all of these marriages were actual kidnappings, however.  In a lot of cases a young couple couldn't afford the wedding 'fee' so would elope under the guise of a 'kidnapping.'

As I wandered the streets of this beautiful city and saw lovebirds happily exchanging saliva, I wondered how many of those young girls would still be so happy and in love in a couple of years time.