Georgian alphabet of Wojciech Wrobel
Georgia - what is worth and should know - the Georgian alphabet of Wojciech Wróbel
Georgia has to be felt, tried and experienced. If we do this, I guarantee that you will fall in love for life. To bring this country closer, here is my Georgian alphabet.
A – like the alphabet, i.e. ქართული ანბანი, because the Georgian alphabet is unique.It’s the reason for Georgians to be proud of. Its history dates back to the 3rd century BC. It is on the UNESCO list and is one of the 14 alphabets in the world. It has 33 letters, but no capital letters or punctuation marks. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it has always been and still is is used only by Georgians.
B – like Batumi. The hottest Black Sea resort. One of the oldest cities in Georgia and the capital of the autonomous republic of Adjara, called the Caucasian Dubai. The city and its "tea fields and cicadas ringing dawn" are known to Poles from the song of the Philippines from the 1960s. On July 17, 2019, in the Alphabetic Tower in Batumi, the mayor of Wrocław Jacek Sutryk and the president of Batumi Lasha Komakhidze signed an agreement on partnership cooperation between the two cities.
Ch – like christianity. Georgians emphasize that they are the second Christian country in the world, after Armenia. They like to tell tourists that they were Christians right after Christ. When someone asks, "But wait a minute, what about the Armenians?", They reply, "Armenians were Christians before Christ." For Georgians, Christianity is culture, tradition and folklore. On the other hand, Poles most often associate the famous ballet and traditional choirs with Georgian culture.
D – like pride. It is a very proud nation. They are proud of what they have: the alphabet, wine, dishes. They are proud of the history that they have gone through so much, and they still speak and write using Georgian rather than Cyrillic. Their Church is called Ecclesia, not the Church. They are proud when they say Saqartvelo, not Georgia, because the origin of word "Georgia" comes from Russia for them.
E – like elarji.A delicious Megrelian dish, it is made of melted sulguni cheese, which is a bit like Italian mozzarella. It is eaten warm, you can eat it with corn grits.
F – like ... this letter is not in the Georgian alphabet, but it is worth remembering Tytus Filipowicz in the context of Polish-Georgian relations. It was the first Polish diplomat sent to Georgia when it regained independence at the beginning of the 20th century. For me, it is important because of the chapter of the Tytus Filipowicz, to which I belong. It was established in 2018, on the 100th anniversary of Poland and Georgia regaining independence. This award is aimed at honoring the merits of the citizens of Caucasian countries in the development of science, culture and public life, in shaping and developing civil society in the Caucasus and building democracy.
G – like Gaumarjos. This is the most common word in Georgia. Every tourist must know it. It is said with every toast. Gaumarjos Saqartvelo - "Long live Georgia". And a toast is a sacred thing for them. It is a tradition of meetings and feasts, during which we have the second key word for the Georgians - Tamada. This is the person who hosts the meeting at the table. It is she who leads the feast. The first toast is always for God, then for the family, host, children, friends, the reason for the meeting, in total there can be a lot of such toasts.
H – like hinkali, sometimes spelled khinkali. These are the famous Georgian dumplings-pouches. The classic ones are with meat. The portions are always huge. They are second only to khachapuri, or the famous Georgian bread, or, as some prefer - pancakes.
H – like history.No matter where you begin to dig, you will most likely find archaeological traces dating back centuries. Most of the remarkable monuments are on the UNESCO list.
Gonio Fortress - Roman fortification. The oldest records relating to this place are in Pliny Secundus (first century AD). In the 2nd century it was a well-fortified Roman city of the then Colchis colony. Grakliani Gora - Archaeological site on a hill near Kaspi, where numerous artifacts from the Stone Age to Antiquity have been discovered. Gremi - founded by King Levan, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was the capital of the kingdom of Kakheti. The ruins of the city cover about 50 ha. On the hill there is an Orthodox church of the Holy Archangels, a castle tower, a bell tower and a wine cellar. In Kutaisi there is Bagrata Cathedral - from the 11th century. It was built in the "golden age" of Georgian culture and statehood. She was a symbol of the country's political power and national unity. Uplisciche - ancient rock town, about 10 km east of Gori town. This is one of the oldest settlements, and its origins date back to the 5th century BC. Vardzia - an amazing rock city-monastery on the slope of Mount Eruszeli. Its construction began during the reign of George III in 1185, and was completed - under the rule of his daughter, King Tamara. Vardzia served as a shelter during the Mongol invasions; it could accommodate up to 60 thousand. people. There was a monastery, a throne room, and over 3,000 chambers on 13 floors. A complicated irrigation system for nearby farmlands has been installed in the city
I – like Ijaw na-na. This is a very famous Georgian lullaby. Every mom sings it to her baby. Or I - like Ilya Chavchavadze, a Georgian writer and social activist. He died as a result of an attack. He is widely regarded as a national hero and father of modern Georgia.
J – it is not in the Georgian alphabet, but it can be - Prometheus cave, considered one of the most beautiful in the world. The total length of the cave is approx. 11 km, 1060 m of which are open to tourists. It was discovered in the 1980s, but it became an attraction thanks to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who in 2010 proposed its name in honor of the mythical Prometheus who was chained to a rock in this area. It is also worth remembering from mythology that, according to ancient Greek legend, the Argonauts under the command of Jason went to the Kingdom of Colchis (now Western Georgia) to get the golden fleece belonging to the locals, and gold can still be found in Georgia today.
K – like Kartveli, because that's how Georgians are called, because the language does not have any pronouns and it does not distinguish between kinds. In general, Georgia is not Georgia for the Georgians themselves, because they call their country Saqartvelo, which means the country of the Kartli. Young people would probably say K for Katie Melua, she is also very well-known in Poland, born in Kutaisi, Georgian-British singer. The list of famous Georgians also includes Kacha Kaladze, a respected AC Milan player and currently the mayor of Tbilisi. But the most famous is still Stalin, or rather Joseph Dzugashvili. Many would prefer to forget about him, but he also has his supporters. And in his hometown of Gori, he has a museum. The second famous Georgian from the time of the USSR is Lavrenty Beria, the head of the NKVD.
L – like lari, or Georgian currency, divided into 100 tetri. In Old Georgian, the word "lari" means "treasure". Interestingly, the lari banknotes are produced by the Polish Security Printing Works. 1 lari (GEL) is 1.30 Polish zloty (PLN).
Ł – it is not in the Georgian alphabet, but for me it is a bathhouse, or rather a bath. It's a Turkish bath that the Persians built here centuries ago. Today baths are everywhere, and Georgians especially love the sulfur ones. It is said that the bathhouse is the best bath ever.
M –like mamuli, or homeland. It could be m - like mom, but with them mom is deda, but dad is mom. For Georgians, three things are most important in the world: sarcmunoeba (Christian faith), mamuli (motherland) and ena (Georgian language). M can also be like mandarin, because some believe that this is where the best mandarins in the world mature. The film "Mandarins" by Zaza Urushadze is also famous.
N – like Natakhtari. This is a village close to Tbilisi famous for its water. So there is Natachtari lemonade, beer and a brewery.
O – like Omalo, the highest situated village in Europe. To get to it, you have to overcome one of the most dangerous roads in the world, winding among the mountains and full of precipices. It is also the highest road in the Caucasus, and the Abano Pass (2,850 m above sea level) is its highest point. Those who rode it say that the landscape around it looks as if you were flying by plane.
P – like a friend and Poland. For them, we are a country in Europe with which they feel very closely connected. Poland was the first country to recognize Georgia's independence in 1919. In the Second Polish Republic, a group of Georgian officers was admitted to serve in the Polish army. In turn, the Georgian Polonia is one of the oldest in the region - its representatives settled from the end of the 18th century, after the Kościuszko Uprising. After the 19th-century uprisings, some Polish exiles managed to avoid deportation to Kazakhstan or Siberia and end up in Georgia. It is estimated that in the second half of the nineteenth century, about 10 percent. of Tbilisi residents are our fellow countrymen. They are remembered to this day, they were educated people and influenced the city's development. They say that a Pole and a Georgian share similar characteristics: we are hospitable, we have a common history and a common enemy. They remind that from 1801 Russia ruled their country with a hard hand for almost 200 years. In addition, there was also the war that Russia waged against Georgia in the summer of 2008. They emphasize that Poland currently supports them politically. They remember about Lech Kaczyński. They say we are their ambassador on the way to the European Union and NATO.
Q – like qvevri. It is a traditional vessel in which wine is stored and buried in the ground. To this day, ancient qvevri with the remains of wine are excavated in Georgia.
R – like Rustaveli Shot, he is a 12th century Georgian poet. It means to them as much as Adam Mickiewicz to us. Rustaveli is the author of the epic poem "Knight in tiger skin", the Georgian national epic. To this day, it remains an undisputed masterpiece and is the only literary work written in Georgian that is known all over the world.
S – like Saqartvelo, or Georgia. They really want to call their country that. In 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia made efforts to ensure that countries with which Georgians have friendly relations use the new name of this country - Saqartvelo. Lithuania was one of the first countries to say it would do so. The word "Kartweli" comes from the mythical Kartlos - the progenitor of the Georgian nation. The origin of the term Georgia probably comes from the Proto-Indo-European word for mountains or the Persian word gorg - "wolf", but there is also Turkish "gurza", Arabic "gourd" or Persian "gordji" which translates as "fighting force against Islam." On the other hand, in the languages of Western Europe, names for which the Greek georgian "agriculture" was the prototype are popular; and St. Jerzy - the patron of the country whose name refers to the Greek Geôrgios, Georgian - Giorgi, Russian - Georgy. One thing is certain, in the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, 2 states were established in Georgia: Kolchida and Iberia. On the other hand, the sources of the Georgian nation and state go deep into antiquity and Georgia is considered to be a contemporary of ancient Greece and Rome.
T – like Tamara, a comprehensively educated and beautiful king who brought Georgia the "golden age". She ruled a united Georgia from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea and it was during her reign in the 12th century when Georgia was the strongest country in the whole Caucasus. She was considered a saint by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. Her countrymen surround her with such great respect that a toast to a woman who has a lot of wisdom and love in her begins with King Tamara.
U – like vacation and holidays. When I went to Georgia for the first time, the country charmed me. This is an amazing corner of the world. The incredible diversity of the landscape, interesting monuments, ancient culture and original folklore make you want to go back there. Tourists can count on extraordinary hospitality, because Georgians believe that every guest is sent by God, and therefore they welcome all visitors in accordance with the principle "bread and cheese, heart and soul", they will gladly let you stay overnight, show the way or invite you to a traditional feast - supra. It is worth going there in winter for skiing, in summer to the Black Sea Riviera. We have an air connection from Wrocław to Kutaisi, where the flight time is less than 3.5 hours. There are also flights from Katowice, Kraków, Gdańsk and Warsaw. Georgia and the Caucasus can be an alternative to the Alps, especially as they have five-thousanders. It is definitely cheaper, even five times compared to the offer in Europe. The standards are good: I drove there, checked and left satisfied.Batumi needs no introduction on the Georgian Riviera. Annually, 9 million tourists visit this country with a population of 4 million. Poles are the most numerous group from the European Union. For Poles, Georgia is attractive because of its prices. Holidays are cheaper there than at the Polish seaside in the season, by 15-20%, including flight.
V – like victoria,which means victory. Poles and Georgians are nations of the same values, we are united by the love of freedom and patriotism. Both of our countries had to fight for a long time for the right to self-determination and for our own statehood - and we succeeded.
W – like wine, and Georgians have mastered it for ... 8,000 years. They have five main wine regions, headed by Kakheti - this is Georgian Tuscany, where 70% of the wine grows. all grapes of Georgia. There are over 500 grape varieties there. The strains of these grapes are endemic, so they do not occur anywhere in the world outside Georgia. The two most important ones are Rkatsiteli (white) and Saperavi (red). Georgians love wine - even the tombstones feature grapevine motifs and apparently the letters of the alphabet also refer to the shape of the grapevine.
X i Y – is not in the Georgian alphabet
Z – like Gamsakhurdia’s Scout, a somewhat forgotten dissident and politician. When Mikhail Gorbachev initiated his policy of glasnost, Gamsakhurdia and Merab Kostava were leaders of the Georgian anti-Soviet opposition. In 1991, Scout Gamsakhurdia became the first president of the free Georgia. He aimed at the complete independence of his country from Russia.
Thank you for your help in drawing up the alphabet Ekaterinie Mantidze