Cross

A cross on top of the bell tower of the Kari Church of St George in Kashveli Street.

Saint

A image of a saint set into a wall in Kashveli Street.

Bottles

Descent

The Passenger

Upper Betlemi Church

The top of the tower and decorative cross of the Upper Betlemi Church which stands beneath the Narikala Fortress.

Churches

Tbilisi is a city of churches, many of them tightly packed into the old town. In this view the church on the right is Sioni Cathedral, formerly the seat of the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The tower at the bottom of the picture belongs to the Jvarismama church. The large church to its left is the Norashen church. This was originally an Armenian church but is currently closed - and crumbling - because of a dispute between the Georgian church and the Armenian church over ownership. The city's only synagogue and only mosque are both located within a few hundred yards of this group of churches.

Mother Georgia

Kartlis Deda - Mother Georgia - stands on Sololaki hill overlooking Tbilisi. The 20 metre statue was erected in 1958. In her left hand is a bowl of wine and in her right, a sword.

Avlabari

A view of the Avlabari district of Old Tbilisi. This was the old Armenian part of the city but the area is now dominated by the recently completed Sameba Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church. There are around 85,000 Armenians in the city, though at one time it was home to many more. Some accounts suggest that Armenians made up 40% of the population in the nineteenth century.

Downtown

Narikala

A view of the Narikala fortress and St Nicholas Church. On the far left is the Soviet era statue of Mother Georgia.

Tree

Just a small tree I saw growing by this colourful wall on a small street downtown.

Metekhi

The Metekhi church originally dates from the thirteenth century, though it has been reconstructed many times since. It is one of the most prominent churches in the city standing on this cliff above the Mtkvari River. The smaller church by the river bank is dedicated to Saint Abo, patron saint of Tbilisi, who was martyred in the eighth century and his body thrown into the river at this spot. The equestrian statue is of Vakhtang Gorgasali, the fifth century king who tradition identifies as the founder of Tbilisi.

Coca Cola

I've no idea what the relief in the background is about - something to do with energy judging by the imagery - but I was struck by the contrast between its form and that of the Coca-Cola World Cup advertisement directly beneath it.

Camel

Coming from a Western country where smoking is increasingly a minority pursuit it's always an experience to live in a place where smoking is the norm - especially in restaurants and cafes - and where cigarettes are available to buy on every street corner.

Ariel for President

Advertising bills and graffiti on a side street off Rustaveli Avenue.

Tyres

Building sites in Tbilisi are normally surrounded by wooden fences painted white with red diagonal stripes. On this one someone had the bright idea of adding a pile of old car tyres and giving them the same treatment. It seems that someone else decided to rearrange them. Or perhaps a passing driver knocked them over and they were re-stacked randomly.

Marshrutka

The van on the right is a Marshrutka. These provide an extra means of getting around the city in addition to the regular buses. While they run fixed routes they pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along the route.

Dots

I'm not sure what the dots signify. Possibly this is a nursery or a day care centre. Or perhaps someone just wanted to brighten up the neighbourhood.

Heroin Kills

Some advice for the citizens of Didi Digomi from Georgia's most infamous son.