Tbilisi Dog Shelter Near Lisi Lake
The other day, while cycling near Lisi Lake in Tbilisi, we discovered a few interesting places. I have already written a blog post about Tbilisi Hippodrome, which we stumbled upon by accident.By accident, we also discovered a Tbilisi dog shelter. While cycling from Tbilisi Hippodrome back to Lisi Lake, my eyes caught an interesting scene—in the middle of nowhere, people were doing some exercises. So we decided to approach, and the closer we got, the louder a dog started barking. And there it was—A Tbilisi Dog Shelter.I first heard about this organization at the last Christmas Charity Fair held at Sheraton Hotel. I even subscribed to a volunteer list by providing my email, but I never…
Tbilisi Hippodrome Near Lisi Lake (Jockey Club)
After a longer break of my cycling advetures, on a lovely Saturday morning we took our bikes and headed to Lisi Lake.
Turned out that just a few hundred meters away from Lisi Lake there is located a place called 'Tbilisi Hippodrom LTD' - At start I was kinda suspicious, because only one for me known Hippodrome in Tbilisi (now we should call it a former hippodrome) is located along the Vake-Saburtalo road.
I'm not an expert in this field - if owner of this place wanted to call it a hippodrome - fine with me.
I managed to take 18 pictures of this place:
Construction works at Tbilisi Hippodrome
Horse stables at Tbilisi hippodrome
Girl with a horse at Tbilisi hippodrome
Tbilisi…
Lagidze Water near Sameba
Welcome to another post in Tbilisi restaurant series. Today I will speak about cafe Lagidze Water located at Sameba Cathedral complex. I had heard previously about Lagidze Water, but I didn't know much about it, just something that it was pretty popular drink during Soviet times (and probably Tsarist Russia times as well)My knowledge was short like it's some syrup mix with water - well I'm not found of syrup waters but seems that in Georgia it's pretty much popular drink. According to WikipediaLagidze water is a popular Georgian soft drink based on soda and a variety of natural syrups. It has been traditionally mixed in a glass from a soda fountain, but it is…
Sameba - Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi
Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, commonly known as Sameba (Trinity in Georgian) probably is among the most known Tbilisi tourist attraction sites and of course it's the main cathedral of Georgian Orthodox Church.For me it's always been interesting to look at Sameba from two points of view - it's third highest Orthodox cathedral in the world and it symbolizes Georgian national and spiritual revival.Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi (Sameba)Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world and one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. Sameba is a synthesis of…
Building A Travel Map - Drupal Way (Gmap + Views + Selective Filters)
In this article, I'll show how I built a travel map using Drupal and a few extra modules.
For a starter, you can see a live preview by visiting my Travel Map.
In this map, I have listed all places I have visited since October 2013 (When I started my blog). I have used a few filters to allow limiting results on the map, for example, users can filter by Country, Region, and Theme (Category).
To make it work better and more intuitive I have used a small but neat Drupal module - Views Selective Filters.
Drupal travel map
Location and Gmap module
First things first, you will need to download and enable the Location and Gmap modules. With help of these modules, we…
'Maspindzelo' Tbilisi Restaurant Review
Welcome to another series of Tbilisi restaurants, in this post I will speak about a restaurant 'Maspindzelo' located close to Tbilisi Sulphur baths. I first visited this restaurant just back in last summer, my visit here this time here was just a second time. Actually we were heading to another restaurant - a newly opened Accent restaurant, but we had a wrong coordinates of it's address an as it turned out we were staying next to 'Maspindelo' - Since I was a pretty hungry - I insisted - let's have a meal here, and lets find that other restaurant some other day.Entrance doors at Maspindzelo RestaurantNadugiI first pre ordered a typical Georgian food - Nadugi - it's a cottage cheese…
Beit Rachel Synagogue In Tbilisi
Beit Rachel synagogue is located in Tbilisi Old Town on Leselidze street 28. I first discovered it a few years ago, when accidentally visited an alternative restaurant located just opposite to it.
Beit Rachel synagogue is actually located just a few blocks away from Tbilisi Main Synagogue.
Though this synagogue is located in the heart of Tbilisi Old Town, it's pretty well hidden from public, to find it you must enter a yard.
Sign before entering a yard
Inside a yard
Beit Rachel synagogue wall
Entrance gates at Beit Rachel synagogue
Unfortunately gates were closed and I hadn't chance to enter inside Beit Rachel synagogue to make some more photos.
Info table about Tbilisi…
11 Katkha Tbilisi Restaurant Review (Near Dinamo Stadium) (2015)
Welcome to another great Tbilisi Restaurant review - today I will speak about 11 KatkhaUpdate 2023: This place has been closed for a while already. There are at least two other 11 Katkha restaurants in Tbilisi, one is in Saburtalo, second is on Baratishvili street (close to Freedom square), read my latest review here: 11 Katkha Tbilisi Restaurant on Nikoloz Baratashvili street11 Katkha is a restaurant located in Tbilisi, Georgia, serving traditional Georgian cuisine. I believe there are two locations of this restaurant in Tbilisi. Today I will speak about the one located near Dinamo Stadium (Arena).This place is lovely in the summertime when you can order and enjoy your meal in the…
My February Savings Report - GEL Loses Another 16.5% Against USD; -17% Against EUR
Welcome to my third savings report, today I will look at historical exchange rates of GEL/USD and EUR and compare those with at the end of January (2015) with February 24.
I started to save some chunk of money back in September 2014, since my "investments" was too small to buy some bonds, stocks or mutual funds, I decided to open a Savings account here in Georgia (I'm currently living here) in local commercial banks.
I started low - by depositing some 300 GEL (what back then equaled to to $169.68 or EUR 131.81). I did deposit some 300 GEL for the next 4 months, then I noticed - GEL/USD exchange rates have gone mad (GEL was loosing it's value against USD). I had a feeling…
How Amazon Associates Receives Their Checks in Republic of Georgia - Part 4 - Bank Commission Fees
Welcome to fourth and final part of my blog series on how Amazon Associates receives and redeems their checks in Republic of Georgia (South Caucasus).
How participants of Amazon Associates program are getting paid in the Republic of Georgia by a bank check is a blog series I originally made at the end of 2014 / start of 2015 while struggling to redeem my first bank check issued by Amazon,
Although it's still technically possible to withdraw bank checks in Georgia, at the end of 2016, I flew to the US and opened a bank account there, see: How To Open A Bank Account in the U.S., As A Non-resident Non - citizen, Wells Fargo Bank
For complete series of my adventures while living in…
How Amazon Associates Receives Their Checks in Republic of Georgia - Part 3 - Waiting 40 Working Days
Welcome to the already third part of my blog series on how Amazon Associates receives checks and get them redeemed in Republic of Georgia.
How participants of Amazon Associates program are getting paid in the Republic of Georgia by a bank check is a blog series I originally made at the end of 2014 / start of 2015 while struggling to redeem my first bank check issued by Amazon,
Although it's still technically possible to withdraw bank checks in Georgia, at the end of 2016, I flew to the US and opened a bank account there, see: How To Open A Bank Account in the U.S., As A Non-resident Non - citizen, Wells Fargo Bank
For complete series of my adventures while living in Georgia…
Building A Simple Drupal Booking Engine From Scratch
Originally this post was planned to be a part of building a Drupal website from scratch series post, I did in late 2013. For some reason this post was left unpublished, so today I decided to review it one more time and make it public.
In this article, I'll show how to create simple, but powerful booking engine for fictional tourism company's webpage using Drupal.
Part 1 - Modules
Download References module
Node Reference URL Widget
Extract modules to sites/all/modules
Enable modules
Part 2 - Content type
I'll use a custom content type - to serve bookings.Go to admin/structure/types/add and create a new content type: Bookings
Next let's add some fields to our…
Ananuri Castle Complex On The Aragvi River, Georgia
Ananuri is a castle complex on the Aragvi River in Georgia, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from Tbilisi. Located on the Georgian military road heading to Gudauri and Kazbegi and later to Russia via Upper Lars. Due to its close proximity to the nation's capital, Ananuri is a popular tourist spot. Ananuri castle complex in GeorgiaAnanuri was a castle and seat of the eristavis (Dukes) of Aragvi, a feudal dynasty which ruled the area from the 13th century. The castle was the scene of numerous battles. In 1739, Ananuri was attacked by forces from a rival duchy, commanded by Shanshe of Ksani …
Gudauri - Cost Free And Fun Outdoor Activities
Gudauri is well known as Georgian winter capital thanks to it's skiing infrastructure. But that doesn't mean Gudauri is expensive and those with limited budget can't have fun at Gudauri as well.
Turns out - there are a dozen of option to enjoy winter activities absolutly for free. Honeslty speaking I was sursprised and that's the reason me making this blog post.
OK, who I'm trying to trick - actually if you are heading to Gudauri for mountain skiing, there are two options: You are coming here with your skiing equipment or you will rent skiing equipment on site.
If you are already equipped - the the only costs you will spend here - probably will be just ski-lift pass (it's…
Hotel Shamo Gudauri Review
Hotel Shamo in Gudauri actually is a very cosy guest house located close to Gudauri (in Kumlistsikhe village) not far from ski-lifts.I first stayed at this hotel back in April, 2011, then again at the end of 2011, and finally we stayed here during our recent visit to Gudauri.The default price per person at Hotel Shamo are about $50 per night. 2 meals (breakfast and supper) are included in price. Also a free transfer to and from ski-lifts as well.Guests staying at Hotel Shamo can receive pretty good discounts at Gudauri ski rental points (ask for more details on site)During your supper you will enjoy a great Kakhetian red wine (for free).I believe the magic of this place comes from it's…
Gudauri - Georgian Winter Capital for skiing, snowboarding, paragliding and heli-skiing
Gudauri is a popular winter resort located in the Republic of Georgia, Caucasus some 120 km from Tbilisi. I first visited Gudauri back in the Spring of 2011, and since then I have come here at least once a season.
The resort offers high quality skiing opportunities. The slopes of Gudauri are completely above the tree line and are best for free-riders and are generally considered to be avalanche-safe. The ski season lasts from December to April. Heliskiing is also available throughout the season.
In the last years, seems the global melting has been hitting Georgia by a storm, as the snow is actually decreasing every year.
Browse till the end of the article and you will learn about skiing…
Neighborhoods of Tbilisi - Abanotubani
Abanotubani is one of the most attractive neighborhoods in Tbilisi. It's famous of its public sulfur baths, and very spectacular views.
I believe Tbilisi Sulphur bath district is one of the most iconic Tbilisi sights. Personally I doubt there are many tourists who have not seen Abanotubani (Tbilisi bath district) while visiting Georgian capital. Though - I believe fewer ones have actually visited them. If you are among the lucky one, please leave a comment!
Tbilisi sulfur bath district
Narikala fortress on top of the hill? Colorful carved wooden balconies? You name it - Just a few of the reasons to fell in love with this beautiful city.…
My Savings Report January 2015 - GEL Loses It's Value Against USD For 14% Since September
A time ago, in September 2014, I started to save some money, I was so eager to save money, that I even started a new category on my blog - 'Savings Reports'.
4 months from my first, and yet latest, Savings report have passed, back then in September I deposited a small amount of sum of 300 GEL, which back then equaled to $169.68 or EUR 131.81.
By today's exchange rates 300 GEL would equal to $145.27 or EUR 128.75, which basically means following, since the end of September Georgian national currency Lari (GEL) has lost it's value to USD for -14.38%, and - 2.32% to Euro.
Investors don't like to lose money, right?
I didn't paid much attention to Lari fluctuations until now…