Unless unrest in the north of the country escalates, football fans will be heading for Tbilisi next month for Ireland's World Cup qualifier. It's a great destination, writes
DANIEL MCLAUGHLIN
AFTER TOUCHING down in Tbilisi in the early hours, as most visitors from western Europe do, a nocturnal ride into the city plunges the new arrival into the contrasting currents that pulse through Georgia.
As the driver weaves through the dark, the bewildered traveller's eye roams from oncoming headlights to an ancient church standing silently on a rocky ridge, from impotent stop signs to an old ruined fortress high above the Mtkvari River, and from the mysterious murk of unlit sidestreets to the technicolor television tower fizzing like a firework over the city.
Finally, before the taxi swoops on to a bridge over the Mtkvari and into the exotic tangle of Old Tbilisi, he may catch a glimpse of a 20m silver woman gazing down at him. She is Mother Georgia, and she holds a cup of wine and a sword in either hand. Welcome, she seems to say, to a place where the hospitality is so fierce that visitors sometimes fear they may not survive it.
Of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union, Georgia always had the finest food and best wine, soaring Caucasian peaks and Black Sea beaches, and a reputation for wrapping guests in a welcoming embrace that was nigh on crushing.
The Kremlin's empire has long since crumbled, and Moscow is angry with its little neighbour for wanting to join the European Union and Nato, but only the most one-eyed Russian nationalist would claim that independence has stripped Georgia of any of its charms.
Now two plush Marriott hotels and the rising skeletons of rivals from Kempinski, Radisson and Hyatt evince the amount of investment and visitors now flowing into Tbilisi, while the sleek cafe bars and galleries running close to the river speak of this ancient Silk Road city's potential to become a vibrant modern link between Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
Georgians hope a tough post-Soviet period, marked by poverty, corruption and the erosion of much basic infrastructure, is behind them. For travellers that means it is now easier to move around the country and find good accommodation while still feeling you're somewhere well off the beaten track.
Good timing, then, for a rare influx of Irish visitors.
Ireland's football team will play Georgia in a World Cup qualifying match on September 6th, and fans can be assured of a warm welcome by their hosts, who still talk with slightly baffled fondness of the visit of Scotland's kilt-clad Tartan Army last autumn.
Many young Georgians speak at least a little of the English that has ousted Russian as the most common second language in Georgia, and, moving from bar to bar through the serpentine streets of Old Tbilisi, beneath bright wooden balconies that look poised to tumble into flower-strewn yards below, they look like thirtysomething urbanites anywhere in Europe.
But with the arrival of dinner comes a transformation. Gone are the refreshing local lagers, Kazbegi and Natakhtari, and the grappa-like firewater, chacha, in favour of the wines of which Georgians are hugely proud. Sceptical foreign residents of Tbilisi say Georgians claim to have invented almost everything, and the country is now marketing itself as the "cradle of wine", citing archaeological evidence that its people were quaffing the stuff centuries before anyone else.
Some of the best Georgian wine comes from the Kakheti and Aleksandreuli wine cellars. It blends superbly with Georgian food, such as the hot, cheese-filled bread called khachapuri. With it should come dishes such as satsivi, chicken in a creamy walnut sauce; ajapsandali, a kind of Caucasian ratatouille; aubergines with a garlic and walnut paste, called badrijani; superb grilled meats called shashlik; and khinkali, meat and onion dumplings that are the closest football fans will get to their precious half-time pies.
The delights of Georgian hospitality, and perhaps a soothing soak in the magnificent blue-tiled Orbeliani baths, can even (dare one say it?) take the edge off a poor result - as the Scots found following a dismal 2-0 defeat in Tbilisi last October.
Perhaps a few of them found solace in a leisurely stroll along graceful Rustaveli Avenue, which runs away from Freedom Square and past the parliament building - focal points for the 2003 Rose Revolution, which toppled Georgia's former communist old guard, towards the landmark Academy of Sciences, where hawkers now sell everything from carpets to fridge magnets beneath a spire still topped by the Soviet red star.
On their way, mingling with promenading Georgians, they may have sought to put a little perspective on their defeat by slipping into the Museum of Georgia, to learn the fate of other foreigners who came here seeking glory. Among them, legend tells us, were Jason and his Argonauts, whose hunt for the Golden Fleece brought them to Colchis, the easternmost edge of the ancient Greek empire, on the Black Sea coast of modern-day Georgia.
Visitors to Georgia follow in a long and illustrious line. Jason went home with the Golden Fleece and Medea, the beautiful (but temperamental) daughter of a local king. After September 6th, many football fans may be happy to leave with three points and a hangover. But whatever brings you here, be prepared for the kind of welcome that makes you doubt you'll ever escape - and then leaves you wondering how soon you can return.
Travel advice
The FAI says fans should check its website (www. fai.ie) for travel updates about the unrest in Georgia.
Georgian forces yesterday surrounded Tskhinvali, the capital of breakaway South Ossetia, and at least 15 civilians were reported killed as the city came under heavy shelling.
The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is monitoring the situation.
See WeekendSport, the main paper and irishtimes.com for further information.
Where to stay
Hotel British House. 32 Belinskis Street, 00-995-32- 988783, www.british-house.ge. A fine little hotel with good rates, fast internet and air-conditioned rooms. The manager, Shota, and his staff are very helpful and can organise excursions.
Hotel Ambasadori. 13 Shavtelis Street, 00-995-32-920403, www.ambasadori.ge. This is an elegant and well-run place with a great location, in the old town next to the river, and with a rooftop pool that is the envy of Tbilisi on hot summer days.
Betsy's Hotel. 32-34 Makashvili Street, 00-995-32- 931404, www.betsyshotel.com. Betsy's has comfortable rooms with air conditioning and high-speed internet. A popular cocktail bar and a small pool also await guests.
Where to eat
The Hangar Bar. 20 Shavtelis Street, 00-995- 32-931080. Irish-American Rebecca Bryan is offering a first local beer free on September 5th and promising the "best shepherd's pie in the Caucasus". This place,
Tbilisi's expat institution, may have a few tickets for sale before the game. It may also offer a place to crash out upstairs for those who don't have - or can't find their way back to - a hotel.
Shemoikheide Genatsvale. 25 Leselidze Street, 00-995- 32-439646. A great place to try traditional Georgian food. Its name means "Pop in, dear", and it is popular with locals and foreigners, and has a menu in English. The Georgian alphabet is fiendishly hard to decipher, so look for the building with reflective bluish glass and the green neon sign.
Hotel Kopala restaurant. 8-10 Chekhov Street, 00-995- 32-775520, www.kopala.ge. This rooftop restaurant across the river from the old town has good food and superb views across the city. A good place to cool off on a hot night.
Where to go
Josef Stalin Museum. 32 Stalin Street, Gori, 00-995-27- 075215, www.stalinmuseum.ge. About 70km northwest of Tbilisi is the town where Stalin was born. The museum houses an extraordinary range of artefacts, from Uncle Joe's old cigar butts to a recreation of his Kremlin office.
Mtskheta. About 20km from Tbilisi, this ancient Georgian capital is still the nation's spiritual heart. The main sights are the hilltop Jvari church, where St Nino is believed to have erected a holy cross when in the process of converting Georgia to Christianity. In the river valley below, Christ's robe is said to be buried beneath Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
Kazbegi. A long day trip or easy two-day trip to Kazbegi takes you up into the magnificent Caucasus Mountains. The route from Tbilisi along the Georgian Military Highway is spectacular enough, even before you see the Tsminda Sameba church silhouetted at 2,200m against the peak of Mount Kazbek, a 5,000m dormant volcano.
For organised excusions, try Caucasus Travel, 44/11 Leselidzi Street, 00-995-32- 987400, www.caucasustravel. com; AKA Group Travel, 38 Orbeliani Street, 00-995-32- 770994, www.akagrouptravel. ge; and Concord Travel, 82 Barnov Street, 00-995 32-220960, www.concord travel.ge.
Ireland play away qualifiers against Georgia (September 6th, Tbilisi), Montenegro (September 10th, Podgorica), Italy (April 1st, 2009, venue to be confirmed), Bulgaria (June 6th, 2009, venue to be confirmed) and Cyprus (September 5th, 2009, venue to be confirmed).
Only 1,000 of the FAI's 5,000 tickets for the Georgia qualifier have been sold, so there's still lots of availability.
Apply for away-qualifier tickets through the FAI (01-8999500) match by match. Register your interest by sending an e-mail for each game you want to travel to, with your name, address and contact number, to ticket.office@fai.ie.
Ray Treacy Travel (01-8787744) is offering a combined package for the Georgia and Montenegro games, on September 6th and 10th. Its flight, which will also transport the team and journalists, leaves on September 4th for Tbilisi and returns on September
11th. The trip costs about €2,500, including flights, transfers, a four- or five-star hotel room and match
tickets.
Sportsbreaks.ie (061- 204444, www.sportsbreaks.ie) has a deal for the Georgia game for €1,068pps, including return flights from Dublin via Prague, three nights' accommodation in a four-star hotel, transfers and tickets.
Tickets for the second leg, in Montenegro on September 10th, will be hard to come by as the stadium is small.
Concorde Travel (01-7759300, www.concorde travel.ie) has a seven-night deal for the match, leaving for Dubrovnik from Dublin, Cork and Belfast on September 6th. The package includes transfers and match tickets. Three- to five-star accommodation is available in Dubrovnik or Podgorica. Packages €865 to €1,189 per person plus taxes.
Gohop.ie (01-2412389, www.gohop.ie) also has a seven-night trip departing Dublin on September 6th,
with return flights to Dubrovnik, apartment accommodation, transfers and a match ticket. Prices, based on four, five or six people sharing, start at €865 per person plus taxes.
Irish citizens do not require visas for Georgia or Montenegro, but the Department of Foreign Affairs advises that you carry a photocopy of your passport.
Ray Treacy Travel will have deals for next year's qualifiers.
Concorde Travel and Gohop.ie will have packages for the Bulgaria game.
Sunway (01-2886828, www.sunway.ie) will have trips to Bulgaria and Cyprus.
Abbey Travel (01-8047102, www.abbeytravel.ie) and 747 Travel (01-4780099, www.747 travel.ie) will offer packages to all three 2009 qualifiers.
Mark Rodden