#traditional Georgian Culture

[weexploreanddiscover]

[folkfashion]

Georgian bride, Georgia, by caucas.us

[batri-jopa]

Georgian Warrior

My another fanart of the most beautiful movie: And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (2019) dir. Levan Akin

Help, I accidentally made a sociorealistic propaganda poster!😆 I really just wanted to make a picture to pair with Heracles but then things has gotten out of hand🤣

It felt a lot like drawing the same thing twice (a lot like drawing Merab The Rooster again). Also it always itches my ego to draw something that's already been captured in the movie... But there's actually not a single movie scene showing Merab's whole posture right after his final dance! This camera angle is just my own and nobody can take it away from me!🥰

Picture was inspired with the style of my favorite polish illustrator, Jan Marcin Szancer. Now every anatomical mistake you can blame on the stylization, lol, I'm brilliant💪

[dgiterart]

Persian Miku!?

In traditional Mazani clothing from persia!  

More info⬇️⬇️

Mazandaran province  is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari . Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range.Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish, and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture. Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.

Language: The population is overwhelmingly Mazandarani, with a minority of Gilaks, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Georgians, Armenians, Circassians, Turkmen  and others, Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni.

Culture( literature) : In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:

بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت

از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد

And when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran (known as Tabarestan), after his victory over Salm and Tur.

Arash the Archer  is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was traveling for days before finally landing on the other side of the Oxus on the bark of a walnut tree hundreds of miles away from the original launch site atop a mountain

Music and dance:

Music in this region relates to the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the melodies revolve around issues such as the forests, cultivation or farming activities and herding. The most famous dance of this area is the Shomali dance, not forgetting the stick dance that the men perform. Popular music in the province, known as the Taleb and Zohre, Amiri Khani and Katuli.

Cuisine :

The cuisine of the province is very rich in seafood due to its location by the Caspian Sea, and rice is present in virtually every meal. Mazandarani cuisine is diverse between regions; the cuisine of coastal regions is different from mountainous regions, as people in the Alborz usually use the indigenous herbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish and Caspian Mazandaran rice with vegetables.

[sunny-d-orange-beverage]

Hetalia headcanon!

———————

America and Georgia know one another exceptionally well. They aren’t as close friends as they once were, but they were close at a certain point in time.

During the Wild West era, Georgian horsemen (under the title of ‘Russian Cossacks’ - as Georgia was under the Russian Empire at this time), would participate in shows and circuses. They were also called Cossacks due to Cossacks having a colorful reputation.

These riders GREATLY influenced American Cowboy culture. To the point many events done in rodeo were introduced by them!

In particular with trick riding. Including the fact that the Georgian’s wore traditional costume while doing their stunts, colorful outfits and costumes became a staple of trick riding.

They were extremely popular and even Theodore Roosevelt loved them! To the point that the Georgians were probably the most popular part of the shows.

———————

They first joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in London, toured the rest of Europe with the group, and even participated in the Chicago World Fair!

After the First World War and the Russian Revolution, many stayed in areas like Chicago and had families of their own. Though sadly, many of that returned, were accused often of being American spies and were imprisoned or exiled.

As well as many of the gifts they’d been given and things they brought back being confiscated.

All with the majority of them having to destroy any evidence of their time abroad😕 - though sometimes they’d write odd titles on the backs of photographs to be able to keep them. One notable example being a photograph of a rider with a cowboy, that on the back states, “Proletarians of all the countries, unite!”

Another being of several riders in a car in New York stating, “Gurian riders united with local asylees”.

———————

Overall, with Hetalia, I picture America and Georgia having at least cordial relations on a personal level (removing politics). You don’t spend so much time around someone and not form at least basic bonds of comradery!

[mariacallous]

In April 2018, I was invited by the American ambassador to a meeting at the embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. The ambassador had assembled a group of nongovernmental organization (NGO) leaders in the field of disinformation to meet with a senior Trump administration official from the State Department. He asked us to describe the main narratives of Kremlin disinformation. As the director of a large international democracy organization, I highlighted Russia’s manipulation of gender and LGBTQ issues to sway Georgians away from the perceived “cultural decadence” of the European Union. The official’s frustration was palpable. His response, tinged with irritation, was telling: “Is that all you people can talk about? The gays?”

A year before, several international organizations partnered with Georgian parliamentarians on a gender equality assessment, supported by several government donors. This collaboration led to an internal conflict. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) wanted to scrub the original report, as it covered abortion, notably legal in Georgia, while the Swedish government and other stakeholders wanted the complete assessment. As a result, at the time of its release, two distinct reports had to be printed, one with references to abortion and one without.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump emerged victorious from last week’s New Hampshire primary and is likely to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. His closing statement in New Hampshire praised Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who embraces the oxymoronic term “illiberal democracy” while suppressing independent media, civil society, and courts. He has repeatedly emphasized the glory of strongmen like Orban. His foreign policy has been clear: stopping support for Ukraine, NATO, and our European allies.

But while there has been plenty of analysis of Trump’s America First impact on foreign policy and security, less covered is how it will also completely redefine foreign aid as well as the liberal democracy agenda. My experience with the first Trump administration as a senior leader in democracy organizations receiving funding from USAID provides some insight into the foreign-aid agenda of a second, but likely only scratches the surface of what is to come.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, established in 2022, offers a detailed roadmap for revamping USAID under Trump—one that will undermine, eliminate, and censor the critical work of thousands of people and organizations committed to building more just societies. The Heritage Foundation has been staffing and providing a pipeline of ideas to Republican administrations since President Ronald Reagan. Project 2025 is a plan to shape the next Republican administration, and its funders have close ties to Trump. The project’s objective is to replace “deep state” employees with conservative thought leaders to carry out an executive-driven agenda.

In the overview, the project articulates its goal to end what it calls USAID’s “divisive political and cultural agenda that promotes abortion, climate extremism, gender radicalism, and interventions against perceived systemic racism.” A key component of the illiberal playbook is to attack gender and marginalized communities, an early warning sign of democratic backsliding. Illiberal strongmen, such as Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, exploit traditional hierarchies to divide society and create pecking orders of power. Russia refused to sign, and Turkey withdrew from, the Istanbul Convention, a commitment to protect women from domestic violence. The Narendra Modi administration in India filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against criminalizing marital rape, arguing it would destabilize marriage. Hungary and Poland lobbied to ban the term “gender equality” in international agreements and implemented anti-LGBTQ policies, including local municipalities adopting “LGBT-free” zones as part of a government-supported “Family Charter” in Poland.

As a first step, Trump’s USAID will “dismantle” all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which Project 2025 calls “discriminatory.” This mandate includes firing the chief diversity officer and all advisors and committees. In 2016, the Obama administration issued a DEI presidential memorandum to ensure USAID, among other agencies, had a diverse and representative workforce. Trump scaled back these efforts. On Jan. 20, 2021, Biden’s first day in office, he signed an executive order that demanded that government agencies devise strategies to tackle DEI issues. Pursuant to this, USAID Administrator Samantha Power signed USAID’s DEI strategy on her first day in May 2021. Project 2025 would reverse this strategy, requiring USAID to “cease promotion of the DEI agenda, including the bullying LGBTQ+ agenda,” which entails support for organizations overseas that work on these issues.

According to Project 2025, Trump’s new USAID will also eliminate the word “gender” full stop, arguing that “Democrat Administrations have nearly erased what females are.” This is bizarre, as I have decades of experience receiving USAID funding for numerous programs to advance women in political life and support women’s organizations. Working for democracy organizations across Asia and the former Soviet Union, I saw USAID provide critical support to expand women’s wings of political parties; recruit women election officials, observers, and administrators; train women’s advocacy and rights organizations; and build women’s committees in parliaments.

The Heritage Foundation report also accuses USAID of “outright bias against men,” an equally strange claim; in fact, gender realignment was needed and implemented. A Trump USAID will fire more than 180 gender advisors and points of contact, who work alongside USAID colleagues “to integrate gender and advance gender equality objectives in USAID’s work worldwide,” and scrub the words “gender,” “gender equality,” and “gender equity” from all documents. This would require a massive purge of decades of USAID materials and websites.

USAID has spent years incorporating gender into all aspects of its programming to ensure the agency addresses the needs of women, including unique development obstacles they face. Removing a gender lens would take us back in time to programming that often harmed women, inadvertently, by failing to analyze the varying effects of programming based on gender and power dynamics in different environments. To erase all of USAID’s tools, learning, and research on how to ensure best practice would have dangerous consequences. For example, when I worked for USAID in Cambodia in the 1990s, the agency supported micro-lending for small community projects, in which most of the loans went to women. This resulted in increased domestic violence, as men were angry about the financial imbalance in the home. Today, USAID has gender analysis and research on risk factors to mitigate against such outcomes.

Relatedly, a Trump USAID will make anti-choice “core” to its mission, removing all “references to ‘abortion,’ ‘reproductive health,’ and ‘sexual and reproductive rights.’” Project 2025’s blueprint singles out specific organizations and U.N. agencies to target and defund. Further, the president himself would have the ability to oversee programming directly: “Current law in the Foreign Assistance Act gives the President broad authority to set ‘such terms and conditions as he may determine’ on foreign assistance, which legally empowers the next conservative President to expand this pro-life policy.” Previous administrations have restricted funding to organizations that provide abortions (the “Mexico City Policy”), which resulted in an increase in maternal and child mortality and unsafe abortions—exactly what the policy claimed to want to prevent. In sub-Saharan Africa, data shows the policy increased abortions by defunding clinics that provided family-planning services. The first Trump administration expanded restrictions further, impacting speech and service delivery around the world.

A Trump USAID would not only stop funding local partner organizations that support gender, LGBTQ, and rights agendas but redirect that money to religious organizations. In fact, it would mandate training and indoctrination for all USAID staff on the link between religion and development. USAID would also ensure conservative oversight of all grantmaking to ensure against “progressive policies” and a “radical agenda.” USAID already engages with faith-based partnerships, alongside secular NGOs, but Project 2025 would like to shift the balance, creating a “New Partnership Initiative” that would help prioritize religious groups.

A stated “key outcome of the transformation of USAID” under Trump will be a complete revamp of the Bureau for Democracy, Development, and Innovation, shifting its focus to trade, the private sector, and religious communities, and purging staff. Importantly, all directors of each center—not just the assistant administrator—will have political leadership, not career experts. In addition, Trump’s USAID will rewrite all policy “as soon as possible” to ensure a conservative agenda.

During the first Trump administration, I felt the impact in my work overseas. I worked closely with the LGBTQ community in Georgia, which faced horrific obstacles—ostracization, violence, homelessness—and which was targeted relentlessly by Kremlin information operations. USAID has long been a defender of human rights and funded projects on these issues. There was a shift under Trump, though I applaud individual USAID employees for creatively trying to find workarounds and continue support—like slight renaming of initiatives or cleverly filing them under more favorable, broader categories like “human rights.” They no doubt prevented damaging cuts to our important work.

I am far more worried about the impact of a second administration. Back then, there was no concrete, detailed roadmap like Project 2025 and no massive replacement of foreign aid professionals with conservative political operatives. Under a second administration, under Schedule F, Trump has planned a sweeping political takeover of our civil service, stripping civil servants of protection, forcing them to implement his political policy agenda, and giving the president unilateral power to fire employees at will.

The organization I now work for, the German Marshall Fund, supports hundreds of civil society organizations across the Balkans, Black Sea region, Ukraine, and Central Europe—thanks to more than a decade of USAID support. USAID has encouraged our goals of promoting democracy; bolstering the rights of women, LGBTQ, and other marginalized communities; and deterring illiberalism through independent media, watchdog organizations, and information integrity efforts. We do this through grantmaking, capacity-building and technical assistance, leadership programs, and policy dialogues.

With democracy in global decline and illiberal strongmen on the rise, we need these efforts more than ever. Backsliding elsewhere affects democracy everywhere. America benefits from strong, free, liberal societies—it is in our national interest and key to our global security and order. While few voters go to the polls with foreign aid on their minds, the consequences for millions of people worldwide are on the ballot this November.

[meirimerens]

*runs up to you* thoughts on burakhovsky marriage? 🎤🎤🎤

Honey if you knew!!!! I'll try to make it quick because I'm making sims so typing over my laptop put on front of my keyboard (complicated). Actually let me do Wedding. Marriage is them exactly the same but post-that. And sleeping in the same bed under boddhos hospices but hopefully not her watchful eye.

Tldr yes. dankovsky has been 🙄🙄 about marriage his whole life out of the feeling of religious alienation for being gay + generally a contrarian + able to recognize the misogyny inherent to marriage as a religious institution which made him go [before he knew he was gay] well if I met a woman I wouldn't want to marry her that's cruel [literally doesn't matter he's gay]  + generally a liker of freedom inclined to dislike institutions. But also he never had an actual relationship before so his ass didn't care before. And also by virtue of being a marriage between two men, the religious (and tbf secular societal) misogyny of the woman being "passed down" from the father's to the husband's "property" to go from domestic labor in her parents house to domestic sexual and reproductive labor in her husbands Literally doesn't apply to them because gay wedding.

I think his mom is overjoyed at marrige she always wanted him to have a nice wedding so she's very happy. she's a bit nervous because he's marrying in a culture she doesn't know much about (and vice-versa for burakh tbf) and she's ankchus at how ceremony will go.

Dankovskys side of fhe family brings to the ceremony Armenian [mothers side] & Georgian [dads] traditions [not listing bc making it short so I can.go back to my sims] also dankovsky in chokha please. ooooh please. for his weddig day.

they need A Bunch of meetings with wardens and the brides (all that participate in the ceremony) to adjust the usual wedding traditions to like. two guys. esp. for the Kin traditions as motherhood - birth - rebirth are very important within that culture and like Not Happening Here Sorry. so a bunch of bits and pieces are rearranged, I'd imagine like blessings for the bride for beautiful children and safe childbirth are scraped and everyone is scratching their heads at what to replace them with [they end up finding its fine]. while it's not the first time the Kin has an out gay couple among them [duh] it's the first time its a Warden son of Menkhu and they have to make a big deal out of it. Methinks ceremony includes painting sigils on each others wrists and the herb brides bricker with Oyun like "oh my god you can keep that one it doubles as a potency charm" and burakh and dankovsky sitting there are just boiling inside [I drew an image of it once I did I did]

also dankovskys mom insists burakh and those who can stand in as family come drink the tea with them and share his intention to ask for her sons hand in marriage [even after having asked dankovsky + neither of them care about parents permission, it's exclusively to please dankovskys family esp his mam who's taking that from lhosk-arnel tradition]

Ceremony also includes stepping out to the steppe for private vows while the assembly turns around and coming back. then usually groom carries brides on a beautiful bull he'd have tame to the bridal house (typically honeymoon destination). dankovsky has to explain to his father who already struggled with him being gay earlier on in his life that "I'm not sitting on the bull because I'm the woman of the relationship, I'm sitting on the bull because I'm scared of it and it could crush my foot under its hoof" and his dad kind of looks at him a little fearful.

mom brings honeycakes. rubin burakhs best man/whatever they're called, peter is dankovsky, and he keeps making big wet eyes at rubin the whole ceremony (watch out)

[kckramer]

Writeblr Introduction

Hello! It's time to properly introduce myself to the writeblr community. You can call me KC if you want. I am a full time specialist as my local library system and I have a Master of Letters in Fantasy Literature from the University of Glasgow. For now, this is my writing website, until an agent/editor tells me to build a WordPress or something. (I honestly hate traditional blogs. Weird quirk, don't know why. Also, links are underlined). If I get tagged in things, I will do my best to respond to them and share it forward.

Published Works- This includes my self-published 5e adventure and the two anthologies that include my stories. It will be updated and kept current as this develops.

Works in Progress- The main projects that I've been bouncing back and forth between. Most are world-oriented, meaning they have numerous interconnected stories within a single world.

Where to Find Me: Some of my other internet homes, including World Anvil, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.

More Details Below...

Here are some more details on the different things I linked above:

Published Works

"Sofia Serrento's Flying Circus and the Sky Pirates of Shanghai" is published in the anthology Hell Hath No Fury: New Pulp Heroines. It's a New Pulp story set in 1930s Shanghai, featuring Sofia Serrento and her all-women aero-circus/spy ring.

"The God-Kings' Tomb" is published in the anthology Futures That Never Were, an anthology of original sword & planet short stories. This one is in the same universe as Sofia Serrento, so the two stories are... technically connected. This one involves an SOE advisor specializing in the occult and arcane who finds herself transported to a different planet in the solar system.

Siege at Oasis Butte is a standalone 5e adventure published through the DM's Guild featuring a desert town under siege by mercenaries with mysterious motivations.

Works In Progress

Iron Horizons/The Pilgrim's War: This was a NaNoWriMo novel from a few years ago that has since... grown. I've been calling it a Dieselpunk space opera, but alternate history/retrofuturism is also apt. Basically, humanity rapidly developed space flight in the 1920s based on some MacGuffin physics nonsense leading to the second world war happening on a solar system level using extensions of 30s aesthetics. Pilgrim's War is set roughly 400 years after that war ended, with the extensive resources from space maintaining the colonialist expansion into the stars and focuses primarily on a sort of... War of 1812 situation between a well-established independent government and their recently independent colonies.

The Centurion Club: My published short stories are set in this universe. Ironically, this is also an alternate history. It's the primary setting for my "New Pulp" fiction. It's mostly short fiction, with some longer projects in the brainstorming phase, and it focuses on the fictionalized city of Weymouth in New England and the members of the illustrious Centurion Club, a scientific society for explorers, scientists, freedom fighters, reformers, and others who push the boundaries of human society. Beyond that, a sword and sorcery setting in Mesolithic Doggerland, some privateers/mercenaries in the 17th/18th centuries, and a contemporary CGIS special agent in a Clive Cussler vein, plus a great many vigilantes and adventurers in the 1930s.

Sigil of the Sea King: A heroic fantasy which, also a NaNoWriMo project, is self-indulgence, where I throw together everything I've really enjoyed but could never fit in elsewhere. So there's an island kingdom ruled by merchant sea princes, flying air whales, nomads whose wagons are pulled by sails, cozy Forest Folk, a lone surviving heir to a crumbled kingdom, and lots of influence from Georgian/Armenian/Caucasian culture, mythology, and history.

Flintlock Fantasy: This is just the earliest stages of development, mostly just simmering, but somewhat Napoleonic secondary fantasy world. The main character is an elf named Lark, and I think she's sort of a janissary-type sent to work covertly in a border region between two empires. Random, Personal Information

You may have once known me as NovelistSpaceRanger, but that was like 8 years ago.

I'm a certified open-water diver and I'm working on my advanced open-water diver later this summer.

Also a whitewater rafter, backpacker, mediocre yogi, and rock climber.

I've been to 14 countries and spent a year and a half living in Europe.

[paramedicabroad]

Gelati Monastery

Perched on a picturesque hill near Kutaisi in Georgia, the Gelati Monastery stands as a beacon of medieval architecture, spiritual devotion, and scholarly excellence. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this magnificent complex is a testament to the golden age of Georgia’s history, where faith, art, and learning converged in a harmonious blend. Let's delve into the story of this enchanting monastery that continues to captivate visitors from around the world.

Founded in 1106 by King David IV, also known as David the Builder, Gelati Monastery was intended to serve as a spiritual, educational, and cultural center. Its establishment marked the height of Georgia’s political power and cultural development during the medieval period.

The monastery is renowned for its stunning architecture that combines traditional Georgian styles with Byzantine influences. The main church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, features intricate stone carvings, harmonious proportions, and a majestic dome that dominates the skyline.

One of Gelati's most striking features is its interior decoration. The church is adorned with beautiful mosaics and frescoes, some dating back to the 12th century. The mosaics, particularly the depiction of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, are masterpieces of medieval art that showcase exceptional craftsmanship and vivid coloration.

Gelati Monastery was more than just a religious center; it was a hub of learning and scholarship. The Gelati Academy, often referred to as the “Second Jerusalem,” attracted scholars, theologians, and philosophers from across the region. It played a crucial role in preserving and advancing knowledge during the Middle Ages.

The monastery is the final resting place of its founder, King David IV, one of Georgia’s most revered rulers. His grave, marked by a simple stone slab, lies near the entrance of the main church, symbolizing his enduring connection to this sacred site.

Gelati Monastery’s contribution to Georgian culture is immense. It became a center for the creation and preservation of manuscripts, many of which are illuminated with exquisite miniatures. These manuscripts provide invaluable insights into the religious and cultural life of medieval Georgia.

In 1994, Gelati Monastery was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, recognized for its outstanding universal value. The designation helps ensure the protection and preservation of this historical and architectural gem for future generations to appreciate and admire.

Today, Gelati Monastery continues to function as a place of worship and pilgrimage. Its serene environment and breathtaking views make it a perfect destination for those seeking spiritual solace and a deep connection with Georgia’s rich heritage.

Walking through Gelati Monastery is like stepping back in time. Every stone and fresco whispers stories of a bygone era where faith, knowledge, and art flourished together. This sacred site invites visitors to reflect, explore, and be inspired by the enduring legacy of Georgia’s medieval golden age.🏕️🇬🇪

[sixteenseveredhands]

Gold Lion Figurine from Georgia (South Caucasus), c. 2300-2000 BCE: Georgia contains one of the oldest prehistoric gold mines in the world, dating back to about 3400 BCE; researchers also believe that the Greek legend of the "Golden Fleece" was inspired by the goldsmithing traditions found in Georgia

The peoples of Georgia (the country, not the state) have been extracting and processing gold for many thousands of years. Georgia is even home to the oldest known gold mine in the world -- a site known as Sakdrisi, where there is evidence of gold mining operations dating back to about 3400 BCE (roughly 5400 years ago).

Sadly, the prehistoric gold mine at Sakdrisi was damaged (and largely destroyed) in 2014, after a Russian mining company (RMG Gold) was given permission to resume its own mining venture on the site. The full extent of that damage has yet to be determined.

The Tsnori Lion: this figurine dates back to the Bronze Age in Eastern Georgia; it is one of the many artifacts that have come to represent the history of goldsmithing in this part of the Caucasus

The goldsmithing traditions of Georgia also continued to flourish during antiquity, and the ancient Kingdom of Colchis (in what is now Western Georgia) was renowned for both its wealth of gold and its skilled goldsmiths. To the Greeks, Colchis was also known as the homeland of the fabled Golden Fleece -- the treasure sought by Jason and the Argonauts during their mythical voyage into the Caucasus, as described in the Greek Argonautica.

It's believed that the legend of the Golden Fleece may have had at least some basis in reality. Ethnological and historical accounts indicate that the peoples of Colchis/Georgia traditionally used sheepskins to sift for gold in the rivers of the Caucasus; during that process, the fleece would slowly become encrusted with tiny particles of "gold sand," until it eventually took on the appearance of a "golden fleece." Additional research has confirmed that the rich alluvial deposits found within the region certainly would have been sufficient to have produced this "golden fleece" effect.

Researchers believe that those customs may have given rise to the Greek legends about the Colchians and their Golden Fleece -- legends that ultimately evolved into the story of the Argonautica.

The unique goldsmithing traditions of Georgia played an important role in the cultural/political development of the South Caucasus, and those traditions are reflected in the wealth of golden artifacts that have been found throughout Georgia (and elsewhere).

The Location of Modern-Day Georgia: as this map illustrates, Georgia is nestled right at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, with the Black Sea located on one side and the Caspian not far from the other; it is bordered by Russia to the North and Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to the South

Sources & More Info:

Quaternary International: A modern field investigation of the mythical “gold sands” of the ancient Colchis Kingdom and “Golden Fleece” phenomena

Archaeo Sciences: Bronze Age Gold in Southern Georgia

Britannica: Archaeologists uncover traces of Bronze Age gold workshops in a cemetery near Tbilisi, Georgia

BBC: Artefacts from the world's oldest gold mine

UW Jackson School of International Studies: Georgian environment, heritage at risk as RMG Gold exploits Sakdrisi

UTA Department of Slavic & Eurasian Studies: Ancient Georgia - crossroads of Europe and Asia

Atinati: The Golden Kingdom of Colchis

The Past: Georgia's Treasures: from the Land of the Golden Fleece

National Geographic (Georgian): Golden Lion from Kakheti

Smithsonian: Why this Ancient Civilization Fell Out of Love with Gold for 700 Years

National Geographic's "Out of Eden Walk:" Treasures of the Caucasus

Democracy & Freedom Watch: What was lost when a mining company destroyed the ancient Sakdrisi site?

[folkfashion]

Georgian woman, Georgia, by Georgian Cultural Center

[batri-jopa]

If get up off your knees you better do it in style

And Then We Danced / და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (2019) dir. Levan Akin

(making the movie poster obviously)

[bobemajses]

hello, i was wondering if you knew anything (or if you could provide any sources) about georgian jews (gurjim)? if they assimilated in the georgian culture or converted to other religions?

The Georgian Jews’ diaspora is very ancient. The first Jews arrived in Georgia in the 5th century, when it was ruled by the Byzantine and Persian Empire, speaking a dialect known as Judeo-Georgian. From the Middle Ages through the first half of the nineteenth century a feudal system existed in Georgia. The Jews of Georgia belonged to the kamani, or serf class, under the Georgian elite, and were not forced to convert to Christianity. Moreover, Georgian kings used Jews in diplomatic service and often sent them to negotiations. For example in the 12th century Jewish head trader Zanjan Zorababeli brought a husband for Georgia’s first female king Tamar. The tradition of the relationship between Jews and other Georgians before the 19th century had no signs of anti-Semitism and Jews were an integral part of Georgian rural culture.

Over the centuries, the traditions and customs of this community also adopted many Georgian habits, most obviously those of the Georgian feasts and church holidays. The impact of Georgian culture is clearly seen in many areas, although equally evident is the similarity of the customs of the Georgian Jewish communities to those of the Jewish communities in Kurdistan, Persia and Turkey, which shows that, despite Georgia’s geopolitical isolation, the Jews always had close ties to their fellow believers living nearby.

Until the Modern period, most Georgian Jews lived in villages and engaged in agriculture, especially vitaculture. After the abolition of serfdom by the Russian authorities (1864–1871), the Jews moved to towns, settling around the synagogues they founded there, thus initiating a process of establishing communities.

The Red Army invaded Georgia in February 1921, prompting a mass exodus from the region. Approximately 1,500–2,000 Jews left Georgia for Istanbul and Palestine. The Bolshevik government discriminated against the Jewish community, arresting and murdering most of its leaders, scattering Jews forcibly among farms and factories and inciting blood libels up to the 1960s. The only surviving Jewish institution was the History and Ethnography Museum, but it was soon closed down and its director arrested in the early 1950s, thus signifying the annihilation of Jewish culture in Georgia, which the Soviets had built up during the prewar years. But despite their attempts, most Georgian Jews managed to observe their traditions and preserve their identity.

The situation of the Jewish community of Georgia improved dramatically after the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1994, President Shevardnadze issued a decree to protect Jewish religious, cultural and historic monuments. The Georgian Orthodox Church and the Jewish community of Georgia signed a cooperation agreement of mutual respect and support.

Many Georgian Jews now live in Israel. In the United States, the principal Georgian Jewish synagogue is the Congregation of Georgian Jews in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York City. Georgian Jews are also member of the Antwerp, Moscow, Berlin and Istanbul Jewish communities. Of the 250,000 Georgian Jews today, only around 3,000 live in Georgia proper.

[nomadomar]

Nomadic Travel Series

Spot two, Tbilisi, Georgia

Fiction

Tbilisi. You step into this city, where East meets West, where the streets speak both Georgian and Persian. The energy is different here, raw and unfiltered, yet pulsating with life. You walk the cobblestone streets, feeling the weight of ancient empires that once fought for this land, each one leaving its mark. But you are not here just to see. You are here to transform. To leave your own imprint on this place, just as it will leave its imprint on you.

Tbilisi is a city of contrasts—modern skyscrapers pushing against the sky, while just a few streets away, old wooden balconies cling precariously to ancient houses. You move through these layers of history like a specter, ready to absorb what this city has to offer and give back in return. But this time, not just Georgian. No, you are here to Arabize, to blend the cultures into something new, something powerful. Next, the urban centers of Russian power—Moscow and St. Petersburg—await you. But for now, it's Tbilisi’s turn.

In the shadow of Narikala Fortress, you meet him. He stands alone, yet his presence fills the space. A Georgian man, Arabized. The traditional Chokha he wears tells of his roots, but the embroidery along its edges whispers of something more—something foreign, something Arab. His chin is raised, his posture confident, bordering on arrogance. You see in him what you strive to embody—a man of two worlds, blending Georgian pride with Arab elegance. His beard is meticulously groomed, his eyes sharp, as if he knows the power he holds, both culturally and personally.

He doesn’t say much. He doesn’t need to. His attire speaks for him, his presence commands attention. You nod in respect, acknowledging the transformation in front of you. You see yourself in him—a mirror of what you are becoming. You both are more than men of a single culture. You are bridges, spanning centuries and continents.

The conversation drifts into history, as it always does. You can’t help but think about the Arab-Muslim conquest of the Caucasus. The Abbasids, the Umayyads—they have all touched this land in one way or another. And yet, Tbilisi has remained fiercely Georgian. You respect that, but you also see the threads of Arab influence woven into the fabric of this city. The Arab emirate that once controlled Tbilisi left its mark—architecture, language, and culture.

But Tbilisi is not a city that bows easily. It absorbed what it wanted from the Arab world and kept the rest at arm’s length. In that way, it’s like you. You take what’s useful, what’s beautiful, and discard the rest.

As you walk through the old quarters of Tbilisi, the city’s architecture reveals itself to you. The Khrushchyovka apartment buildings stand tall, relics of Soviet rule, their concrete exteriors cold and unyielding. And yet, there’s a beauty in their simplicity, in their functionality. You can see why they were built this way—pragmatism over aesthetics. But you know there’s more to be done here.

You begin to imagine it—the transformation. What if these concrete blocks were softened with Arab arches? What if the windows were framed with mashrabiya screens, allowing light and air to flow through while maintaining privacy? You see geometric patterns etched into the balconies, subtle but unmistakably Arab. The functionality remains, but now it’s beautiful, a perfect fusion of Soviet pragmatism and Arab elegance.

In the wealthier parts of Tbilisi, you find the luxury residences, sleek and modern, with glass facades and clean lines. But they feel empty, soulless. You imagine them transformed. The glass remains, but you add ornate Arab arches to frame the windows, filigree patterns woven into the design. The entrance? Grand Arab-style wooden doors, carved with both Georgian and Arab motifs, a perfect representation of two worlds colliding and merging into something greater.

The men of Tbilisi are well-dressed. You see them in jeans, jackets, practical, modern. But there’s something missing, something that ties them to their history. You wonder what they would look like if they embraced both their Georgian roots and the Arab influence.

You imagine them wearing jeans and jackets, but with subtle Arabic embroidery along the cuffs and collars. Perhaps a light scarf, draped elegantly, adding a touch of Arab flair to the practicality of Georgian attire. The result? A casual yet sophisticated look, one that speaks of both East and West, of history and modernity.

Tbilisi has taught you much. It’s a city of contrasts, of layers. The people here are fiercely independent, and yet their culture is a mosaic of influences—Persian, Ottoman, Russian, and yes, Arab. The local customs reflect this. The hospitality, the way they greet you with food and drink, is something that echoes across cultures, including the Arab world. You learn that Georgian Orthodoxy runs deep, but there’s room for other faiths, other beliefs. This city, like you, doesn’t reject what’s foreign—it absorbs it, transforms it, makes it its own.

You reflect on the mythology of the region, the stories of ancient kings and warriors, of gods and demons. These are tales that shaped the Georgian identity, and yet you see echoes of Arab stories here too. You learn that identity is never static. It’s fluid, always changing, always evolving.

Sitting on the balcony of your small, modest residence, you look out over Tbilisi, the city stretching out before you. The streets, the buildings, the people—they are all part of something greater, something that transcends borders and cultures. You think of the Arabized man you met, of the lessons you’ve learned here. You are not just a visitor. You are part of this transformation, this blending of worlds.

But there’s more to be done. Moscow and St. Petersburg await, cities of power and influence. You will take what you’ve learned here and apply it there. The journey continues.

Night falls, and you retreat to your small, crude house. The stone walls are cool to the touch, the wooden door creaks as you close it behind you. It’s not much, but it’s enough. The salah corner is there, simple yet spiritual, a small rug facing a mihrab-like niche in the wall. You light a lantern, the soft glow filling the room with warmth. You sit for a moment, reflecting, meditating. This house, this city—it’s a part of you now.

Tbilisi has given you much. It’s a city that knows how to balance its past with its future, how to absorb what’s foreign and make it its own. You take this wisdom with you as you prepare to leave for Moscow and St. Petersburg. These cities will be different, harder, more resistant to change. But you know that transformation isn’t about forcing change—it’s about allowing it to happen naturally, blending cultures, histories, and identities into something new.

And so, you move forward, a nomad with a purpose, with a vision. The journey is far from over.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Saint Buddha: How the Awakened One became a Christian saint

By Tracy Cochran July 31, 2024

For about a thousand years, the Buddha was revered as a Christian saint. From the eighth century onward, the legend of St. Josaphat, as the Buddha was known, was told and retold throughout the Christian East, Africa, Europe, and Britain. The story of the Buddha was greatly beloved by all kinds of Christians, from peasants to popes. Feast days dedicated to St. Josaphat, along with his spiritual teacher, who was called St. Barlaam, were included in the calendars of the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches. He and his teacher were celebrated with loving devotion and joy.

How could this be? And what meaning can it have for us? This ancient Saint Josaphat (another was named in the seventeenth century) seems to have been the end result of a long, fascinating game of telephone. In the telephone game, which most of us have played as children, a word or phrase–the more unusual or complicated the better–is whispered by one person to another until it emerges at the end of a chain of whispers altered in an unexpected and funny way. Laughter usually ensues, and a lesson follows: what we hear isn’t necessarily what was originally said. At some point, an adult will feel the need to spoil the fun by soberly reminding the tickled kids that this is how misunderstanding and gossip spreads.

The kids usually aren’t reminded that the transformation that comes with transmission can work a kind of magic. Everything we experience is filtered through the netting of our culture and conditioning. Transmitting religious ideas from country to country works a kind of alchemy, creating new alloys, adding layers of meaning. As the way of the Buddha and his enlightenment spread, it was expressed in new languages and forms. The vast cosmology and intricate philosophy of Sanskrit and Tibetan Buddhism became the poetic simplicity of Chan in China, Zen in Japan. Buddhism was–and is–adept at assimilating, incorporating the indigenous traditions of the cultures where it took root. In our own culture, the insights of the Buddha and especially the practice of mindfulness are often melded with the language and concepts of Western psychology and neuroscience.

But the shape-shifting of Buddha into Saint Josaphat was something else. The story of the Buddha seemed to vanish and reappear in Christian form. Scholars believe that a Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist manuscript from the second to fourth century made its way east to China, and then west along that ancient trade route of goods and ideas known as the Silk Road. The story of the bodhisattva, the man who left a palace to gain enlightenment, struck a chord with the Manichees in Persia, and their Manichean version of the text was translated into an Arabic text. By 800 or 900 A.D. a Christianized version appeared in Georgian.

That version was translated into Greek and Latin, and from there, it caught fire. Versions of the tale appeared in French, Spanish, Armenian, Hebrew, Dutch, Icelandic, German, on and on. In the academic online journal The Conversation, Philip C. Almond, emeritus professor in the history of religious thought at the University of Queensland, writes that from the eleventh century onwards, the story of St. Josephat and his teacher St. Barlaam was more popular than any other legend. It was available in over sixty versions in the main languages of Europe, the Christian East, and Africa. Included among these texts was William Caxton’s 1483 English version of The Golden Legend, a popular collection of lives of the saints. There were several English versions of Saint Josaphat’s story, and one is the source of an anecdote that made its way into Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice—suitor asked to choose between three caskets chooses the lead of true commitment to love over the vain and greedy values of gold and silver.

What are we to make of this? Professor Almond rightfully sees this beloved story as proof of the influence Buddhism has had on the West. A thousand years before “mindfulness” became part of our vocabulary and daily lives, Western Christian culture cherished a man who gave up gold and silver to choose an ascetic path. His life was even used to defend Catholic monasticism during the Protestant Reformation.

But there is more to be seen. This story was welcomed as if it was already familiar. Long ago in India, a son was born to a king. This king was overjoyed at the birth of an heir but all too soon his happiness was shadowed by a troubling prophecy. An astrologer predicted that this child might choose a spiritual path, forsaking the pleasure and power that ruled his father’s world. The story drew people into a new understanding, but it was as if the melody was known deep in the bones.

To prevent his son from leaving, the king made his palace stronghold a luxurious prison, designed to shield the boy from the harsh truths of life, sickness, old age, and death. He surrounded his son with beautiful distractions that were updated as the boy grew older. But the young man found ways to escape the palace, and outside he glimpsed a blind man, a sick man, the reality of death and loss in its many guises. The shock he experienced rocked his world. He was in turmoil, burning to find a way to be in a world that was characterized by perpetual loss and change.

Those of us who know the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the Indian prince who became the Buddha, think we know what comes next. But here come strange differences. In this telling the ancient king is named Abenner, not Suddhodana. He is a proud man, devoted to pleasure, but he is portrayed as a pagan who persecuted the members of a Christian Church in his realm that was founded by the Apostle Thomas. (The Buddha, who was born in what is now Nepal, lived roughly five-hundred years before Jesus of Nazareth.)

In the midst of his spiritual crisis, Josephat meets Barlaam, a spiritual teacher from Sri Lanka. Some scholars believe that both names derive from the Sanskrit word bodhisattva, a being on the path to awakening. It was as if the Buddha was meeting himself in a more mature, more awakened state. In this version, however, Barlaam teaches Josephat about Christ, encouraging him to convert and live an ascetic Christian life.

Like Siddhartha’s father before him, Josephat’s father tries to sway his son from his quest and his destiny with beautiful maidens, offering every temptation. But Josephat, like Siddhartha, cannot be tempted. Here versions vary. According to Professor Almond, Josephat goes in search of Barlaam in Sri Lanka, after his father’s death. He joins him in the mountains. In other accounts, Abenner himself is converted to Christianity. He abdicates his kingdom to his son and lives out his days as a hermit monk in the desert. Saint Josephat in turn gives up this worldly kingdom for a life of holy simplicity with his beloved teacher.

Despite the big changes in the story of Siddhartha, and despite the differences between various Christianized versions, a universal truth shines out. Life hurts. No matter how rich we are–no matter how zealously we pursue pleasure and avoid pain–suffering will find us. We will encounter change and loss in many forms, and ultimately death. For some of us, the impermanent nature of life is so haunting it impels us to seek answers beyond our own defenses. Both Siddhartha and his Christian double Josephat ventured beyond the palace walls. Out in the world, they both encountered sickness, aging, mortality. In his article in The Conversation, “How the Buddha Became a Christian Saint,” Professor Almond quotes Josephat telling us there was no going back: “No longer is there any sweetness in this transitory life now that I have seen these things…Gradual and sudden death are in league together.”

Both the Buddha and the saint discovered that real happiness is possible in this changing world. Peace and freedom wait for us outside the isolated little kingdoms of our anxious and defended lives. Both the Buddha and Saint Josaphat found a new life, a holy life, that was simple and direct. They surrendered their supposed riches, their status, and their stories to live in the light of a greater truth.

What is extraordinary is how ordinary this story is. What captivated Christians about the Buddha for a thousand years were not the many tales of magic and supernatural powers but a story about being willing to live in humble simplicity, open to reality. From his birth, the life of Siddhartha Gautama was full of evidence of special psychic powers and miraculous events. He always emphasized the magic of the Path, proclaiming that compared to it special states and miracles were mere magic tricks. Based on his story, Sain Josaphat agreed.

But miraculous events did abound in Siddhartha’s life. It is said that the moment he was born he rose and took seven steps and spoke, proclaiming that this would be his last birth. Wherever he stepped a lotus bloomed. As a boy, he was taken by the king to a nearby village to watch a plowing festival. Left alone under a tree when his nannies thought he was sleeping, the little prince sat up and took in his first impressions of the co-existence of joy and suffering–the joy of a beautiful day and peaceful, mindful solitude, the suffering of the laboring men and oxen, of the plowed-up worms and insects carried away and eaten by birds.

All day long as the boy sat and observed (in some accounts he slept), a shadow cast by the tree sheltered him. Miraculously, even as the sun moved, the shadow never moved. When Siddhartha left home to seek enlightenment, he took off his princely robes and ornaments. He also cut his long hair, tossing his hair knot into the air, asking the universe to not let it fall if he was indeed to become a Buddha. It never fell. After he abandoned ascetic practice to meditate and seek insight on his own, he accepted a meal of rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata. When he finished eating, he hurled the bowl into the river, asking that it flow upstream if he was to attain enlightenment. It flowed upstream.

After the Buddha attained enlightenment, these auspicious miraculous events were accompanied by tales of his extraordinary psychic powers, cultivated during meditation. While it was (and is) considered unskillful and unseemly to flaunt such capacities, stories of the Buddha’s telepathy and ability to levitate and teleport and more are cherished in the literature. From the moment he returned to Kapilivastu, his home kingdom, after his enlightenment, people witnessed the Buddha levitating and making it rain or, in the case of a famous teaching in Savatti, making jeweled walkways in the air and cosmic light shows that included duplicates of himself in different poses. He subdued great serpents and drunken elephants, and outran a monstrous killer, Anguilmala, while walking slowly and calmly (in some versions of that story the Buddha is stretching the earth to maintain distance).

The list of marvels attributed to the Buddha is long and vivid. Yet none of that makes its way into the story of Saint Josephat. One explanation is that the manuscript that made its way along the Silk into receptive hands simply didn’t include such things. Another possibility is that what proved indelible was what was most relatable. The real magic in the story of Siddhartha and Josaphat consisted in their breaking free and finding a way to live with that peace and freedom in a real world.

It is a wondrous feat that the bodhisattva was worshiped as a Christian saint for so long, but there was a kind of curious time lag at play. Until the nineteenth century, Buddhism wasn’t known as a distinct religion in the West. There were just glimpses of an extraordinary being. One of the manuscripts of the man we know as Marco Polo includes a description of “Sakyamuni Burkham” (his rendering of Shakyamuni Buddha), a saintly being who lived a good and pure life. Indeed Marco and at least one other translator of his manuscripts wrote of the remarkable similarity between this man and Saint Josephat.

Even as Buddhist teachings were translated and became known they were often misunderstood–even by brilliant thinkers, and even by Pope John Paul II, who is now a canonized saint himself. The Buddha’s enlightenment struck the late pontiff and many Christians as morbid, based on a realization that the world was evil and a source of suffering. Yet in his collection of essays, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Pope John Paul describes the Buddha as negative, characterized by “indifference with regard to the world.” The detachment from worldly identification and the humble way of living that inspired the legend of Saint Josaphat described apparently seemed to him and other Christian interpreters to be a deadening separation from life. The Buddha and his teaching seemed to lack all appreciation of the goodness of God and creation, and his great insight into non-separation seemed the very opposite of the generosity of Jesus Christ, who offers himself without beginning or end.

There were always exceptions. Meister Eckhart, Hildegard of Bingen, and other great mystics share insights that resonate deeply with the great insights of the Buddha. Many contemporary Christian thinkers, including the Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton, the Jesuit priest and Zen Roshi Robert Kennedy, and others have written with profundity and appreciation about the kinship between Buddhism and Christianity. Pope Francis has compared the work of Buddha and Jesus, both of them seeking to cultivate goodness by helping people escape from the cruel, separating little prisons of our egoism.

To be sure, there have always been plenty of Buddhists who see Christianity through a similarly biased lens–the current 14th Dalai Lama has ventured that Jesus Christ probably evolved over many lifetimes. As the saying goes, we don’t see people and things not as they are but as we are. But still, there are stories that slip through the net of our conditioning. At least, in the depths of the so-called “Dark Ages,” in the story of Saint Josephat, something very enlightened was understood.

To find the self, forget yourself, taught the great medieval Zen sage Dogen. Forget all your limiting stories and beliefs about who you are. Leave the little fortress of your defenses. Let go of riches and titles and come out into the open. Remember that you are part of life, not separate. Look, listen, sense, experience how it feels to be alive and part of great creation in this very moment, right here, right now. There is no greater magic than this.

We are heavily defended creatures. We can’t help this. We are wired this way. Healthy cells defend themselves against invaders. The ego defends us against psychic pain, and this too is natural. And yet we also long to connect with others and with life, to know and be known, to love and be loved. And we have learned by now that our defenses tend to be a little overactive. Once upon a time, we remember, we were open and loving and downright playful. We were radiant little babies. But thanks to myriad encounters during our time on earth, most of us have acquired a kind of psychic autoimmune disease. We get so triggered and so often consumed with our various defenses that we find ourselves mired in painful isolation that feels so much worse than the vulnerability we fear. What can help?

Attention. Hold everything that arises, including your trickiest defenses, in the light of a gentle, curious attention. Insight and freedom will come. It can feel like digging your way out of prison with a teaspoon, but just keep digging. Freedom will come. ◆

This piece is excerpted from the Fall 2024 issue of Parabola, THE WAY OF MAGIC.

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