Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Georgia


Labas Lietova, Siauliai. I am Manana Melkadze from Georgia a new EVS-volunteer at the Radijo Klubas.  I am a first year student at Tbilisi State University. Before, I studied Political Science at the same University. This year I've had to stop my studies for one year and I've decided to dedicate some time of my life  to volunteering. So here I am :)

Before I tell you about my first impressions of Lithuania and Siauliai I would like to write something about my country. 


As I've already written, I am from Georgia. This is a small country in the South Caucasus region with the population 4.2 million (UN, 2010).

Georgia is situated at the strategically important crossroads where Europe meets Asia. Georgia has a unique and ancient cultural heritage, and is famed for its traditions of hospitality and cuisineThe climate of Georgia is extremely diverse, considering the nation's small size. There are two main climatic zones, roughly separating Eastern and Western parts of the country. The climate as well as landscapes are quite opposite to Lithuanian ones. Well, in fact,  for these reasons I chose Lithuania for my EVS. I wanted to see something totally different from my country. :) 


Georgia's recorded history dates back more than 2500 years. Georgian, a South Caucasian language, unrelated to any outside the immediate region, is one of the oldest living languages in the world and has its own distinct alphabet. 




Over the centuries, Georgia was the object of rivalry between Persia, Turkey and Russia, before being eventually annexed by Russia in the 19th century.
Since emerging from the collapsing Soviet Union as an independent state in 1991 Georgia is a constitutional republic with a developing democracy and economy. The political situation in Georgia over the past 20 years has been very unstable. Unfortunately, we have had several civil and ethnic conflicts. Secessionists have  taken control of parts of Georgia's territories and they still retain control over them. But let us leave these sad things for politicians :) 

What I especially love in Georgia is its nature. Within 67 000 square kilometers t
he landscapes are extremely diverse and simply amazing from mountains to desert, from snow to palm trees. 
I guess it would be easier to show how wonderful the nature in Georgia is with photos :) At first I thought to find them on Google for this post, but then I decided to share something unique :) So to show mountains I'll use photos which are taken by my friend Levan Khutsishvili during our trip to mountains in Kazbegi. I think Levan takes really nice ones :)








Located in the Mtkvari River valley, Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is more than 1550 years old. In the early 4th century, Georgia became the second nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity. At this moment Tbilisi is a quite modern city with a lot of excitement and entertainment. 





The official language in Georgia is Georgian. Other local official language is Abkhazian. The majority of population consider themselves as Orthodox Christians. Muslims make up 9.9% of the population and are mainly found in the Adjara and Kvemo Kartli regions.
Well, here are the pics of Adjara. Adjara is the Autonomous Republic in Georgia. On the first photo you can see Batumi, largest city there. The second one is the photo of black sea (as you see it's not that black:)) in Kobuleti. 


Among the most popular sports in Georgia are football, rugby, wrestling and weightlifting. I'm not an expert in sports but in my opinion we are really good in rugby what I can't say about football :)) 






It's really hard to write in one post about everything, still I hope I could give you some interesting information about my country. If you are interested you can check these web-sites and find more information there :) 

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5253.htm#political 

http://georgia.travel/


http://www.aboutgeorgia.org/republic-of-georgia/

You can also find me on facebook or in Siauliai Didzdvaris Gymnasium at
 Radijo Klubas :) 

Manana Melkadze

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