Peace Corps Volunteers in the East of the country all have Tbilisi as their "big city". However, us Western Volunteers are 5 + hours from Tbilisi....so we have Batumi! Batumi is a city in the southwest of Georgia along the Black Sea coast and close to the border with Turkey. It is about 2 hours by marshutka away from my site, and goes through some beautiful countryside on the way!
The first thing you notice about Batumi as you come in is that it is a port city. Here is the view of the port from the boulevard:
It also has some really unique architecture. It has an "old town", but since 2004 has also been built up with modern architecture in an attempt to modernize and attract tourism. The result is a intriguing mix of old and new:
The boulevard along the coast is where all the summer visitors flock. Along the beach, there are many rides and attractions, as well as some very cool new architecture. Our first stop was the ferris wheel, because of its great views of the city and harbor:
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| "Alphabet Tower", so named for the letters of the Georgian alphabet that decorate the building. |
Further along the boardwalk, we came upon some....interesting "rides" to say the least. This one was my particular favorite: trampolines hung up with twine. I named it the death trap.
Further down you come to the pier, which has some great views as well:
The day we were there it was EXTREMELY hot, humid, and sunny. We had been noticing people selling drinks by the cup out of barrels, and we were hot enough not to care what they were. However, as we drank them, we talked to the lady selling them. She told us that it was made from bread. The Russian name for it, as we found out, was Kvass, a beverage popular in Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, and Poland, as well as in Georgia, Armenia, and Kazakhstan! It is called burakhi (ბურახი) in Georgian. It is basically a fermented drink made from black or rye bread, and sometimes flavored with fruit. It is naturally carbonated and was very delicious! I didn't get a picture, but here is one I found online:
Batumi also has a cool art and sculpture scene. Here are some photos I took of the art we saw:
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| Mural that reads "I wouldn't be next to him if it wasn't for Batumi" |
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| Graffiti advertising being vegetarian, something virtually unheard of in Georgia |
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| Love Statue |
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| A painted piano on the boardwalk |
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| "Me, You, and Batumi" sculpture |
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| I had to... |
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| old books for sale...mostly in Russian |
The last amazing thing about Batumi is Batumi Pizza. The owners are a South Asian who lived in the US for many years, then moved to Batumi and opened an American pizza restaurant. It was really delicious, and even gives you ranch dressing and Tabasco sauce with your pizza! There were writings from past diners all over the walls, and I found one from a previous TLG volunteer from one of the Carolinas! I felt right at home!
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| "Carolina Approved Pizza!! TLG '14-'15" |
This is great--helps interpret some of your Instagram shots. Did you see anyone actually trying the death trap--i can't imagine how it would possibly work.
ReplyDeleteNo it was unmanned - at least when we walked by. We spent a good few minutes trying to work out how it worked and got no where. It remains a mystery.
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