Though Bassa Street, where I live, is the most famous street in Tbilisi, Rustaveli Avenue is a close second. Rustaveli Avenue is a tree lined avenue in central Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli.
The Parliament of Georgia, the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre and the Rustaveli Museum among others, are all located on Rustaveli Avenue.
At one end of the avenue artists and souvenir sellers line the sidewalk with their pictures and ‘must have’ souvenirs of Georgia.
I have seen some foreigners there, trying to negotiate a bargain but Georgians appear to be the main customers.
The tall person says that some of the paintings of Old Tbilisi and those of Georgian women in traditional costume are quite nice.
I saw a painting of a woman with no clothes on. The tall person said it was okay because it was art.
Hmm, you have been admiring that piece of art for too long tall person – move along now.
The hats you can see in the pictures are from Svaneti, which is a mountainous region in northern Georgia. I sometimes see Svanetian men wearing them in Tbilisi.
You will see from the picture that the hats come in all sizes – there was even a boxful of hats for people with very tiny heads!
You can also buy traditional Georgian drinking horns here. They are called kantsi and are typically made from ram or goat horns, and sometimes from bull horns.
Toasts are an important part of Georgian life and are made with either wine or brandy.
Some of the horns can take 2-3 litres of wine and it is traditional to drink the horn dry in one go!
P.S. There isn’t really a street called Bassa Street, I just call my street that but I am hopeful it will be re-named one day.
bassasblog 