It’s a cliché, but tourism campaigns and business boosters keep using it: their city is at “the crossroads of Europe and Asia.” Some of the claims are pretty iffy, resting on carefully selected historical data and ignoring anything that does not fit the narrative. The strongest “crossroads” contender is, of course, Istanbul, which straddles the Bosphorus Strait between European and Asiatic Turkey. However, Georgia’s capital is a worthy rival.
Tbilisi is situated in the narrow winding valley of the Mtkvari River, which rises in northeastern Turkey (where it is called the Kura) and flows east through Georgia, its tributaries carrying snowmelt from the southern Caucasus, and entering the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan. For centuries, Tbilisi was the head of navigation on the Mtkvari and an important river port. During the 20th century, extensive irrigation for agriculture and the building of reservoirs and hydro-electric plants substantially reduced water flow, halting commercial traffic. Today, the only boats on the Mtkvari in Tbilisi are those offering tourist excursions.
With the medieval fortress of Narikala on a hill overlooking the old town, and its narrow, twisting cobbled streets and stone churches, Tbilisi recalls Eastern European cities such as Prague or Budapest. Yet the Asian influence is evident in the architecture, with brightly-painted decorative wooden balconies on older houses, some of which were once caravanserais (inns).
Tbilisi was once a major trading center, where routes from Istanbul, Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and other cities converged. It was a place to rest and stock up on supplies before the hazardous journey through the passes of the Caucasus or across the Caspian Sea to the cities of Southern Russia, or to the Silk Road routes through Central Asia.
The city was founded, probably in the 4th century, on the site of hot sulfur springs. According to legend, a local king was out hunting when a pheasant fell into the spring and was conveniently cooked up for dinner. Tbilisi takes its name from the Georgian word tbili (warm). Over the centuries, the crossroads city has been conquered and liberated many times—by the Persians (three times), the Mongols, the Turks, and the Russians. In the last Persian invasion in 1795, thousands were killed and much of the city burned to the ground. The Russians rebuilt it in imperial style in the 19th century. In between invasions, the Georgians made it their capital.
Georgia has always been at the mercy of its larger and more powerful neighbors. The most recent conflict came in August 2008 when Russia invaded on the pretext of defending the rights of citizens in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Thousands of ethnic Georgians were forced to flee their homes, although many returned later. Russia promptly declared the two regions independent republics; Georgia and most of the international community consider them to be Russian-occupied. With Vladimir Putin continuing to flex his military muscle with the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, no one is placing bets on Georgia regaining its lost territory anytime soon.
“Tbilisi: Crossroads of Eurasia” is Chapter Sixteen of Postcards from the Borderlands, to be published by Open Books in November. You can pre-order here. Here’s what readers who had a sneak preview are saying about it:
“In Borderlands, Mould addresses questions we might never have thought to ask. When did mapping and delineation of borders begin? When, where and why were passports first used? How are borders felt and understood by the people who live near them? … As an experienced guide, he encourages us to shelve our worries, expand our mental borders and explore the unfamiliar. Ride in a rickshaw, try the frog porridge and get to know our fellow humans, wherever they live.” -Margaret Romoser, educator, community activist and avid traveler
Preview of “Tbilisi: Crossroads of Eurasia”
Of cities that claim to be the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, has a pretty good claim. For centuries it was on the trade routes from Europe, Turkey and Iran across the Caucasus Mountain to southern Russia and the Caspian Sea, and the Silk Road to the east. Nestled in a narrow river valley, with cobbled streets and ancient churches, Tbilisi’s architecture mixes European and Asian styles. For three quarters of a century, Georgia was a republic in the Soviet Union, ruled for 30 years by its now-not-so-favorite son, Joseph Stalin. Since independence, it has been in conflict with Russia which invaded in 2008, annexing two areas of the South Caucasus. In Tbilisi, I work with the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, meet its rector, a future president of the country, learn about its messy politics, and witness the impact of the Georgian Orthodox Church religion on the daily lives of its people.
