CHAPTER 43: GEORGIA REPUBLIC

 17.1
kms, Aug 29, 2012

Crossing
the border, you immediately feel the difference about this country.
In Azerbaijan, the Traveler—even after obtaining an expensive
visa—was interrogated like he was a criminal suspect. In Armenia,
he had to wait outside a makeshift immigration stall while they
attached a full page visa to his passport.

But
in Georgia, you enter a very modern steel and glass structure, are
greeted by immigration officials that seem to have the same uniform
as American immigration... who quickly scan through you passport,
stamp it, and hand it back to you with a smile.

“Welcome
to Georgia”

Once
inside, the Traveler finds a van waiting for passengers to take them
to Tbilisi, the capital. But the Traveler, of course, is not even
going to consider it. There's an immense feeling of satisfaction
having finished a 52 day, 1,400 kilometer hike through Armenia, he is
eager to explore another country.... completely on foot.

There
is no immediate distinction between Georgian landscape and Armenian.
Here, houses are simple but sturdy structures, walled in with space
for a garden in front. Life looks pretty basic here in small town
Georgia as well.

But
one building does really catch his attention: A brand new police
station with a big glass window in front. Later he learns that this
is not merely aesthetic, it symbolizes the transformation Georgia is
undergoing. A few years the government decided to get serious about
fighting corruption... fired its police officers. Then it hired new
police officers, and has been building big window stations so people
outside can see clearly what's going on inside.

Quite
a bold and risky move... you wonder what all those old police
officers are up to these days. According to some newspaper articles,
Georgia was then seen as a model country in its attempt to do away
with the old and transform itself into a corruption free, progressive
country, modeled after The West.

The
smooth immigration process and the new police stations are all part
of that.

It's
not long before he reaches his first town. He finds a scruffy fenced
in park in this town of Sadakhlo and pulls out his guitar.
He's soon joined by a couple of equally scruffy older fellows who try
to insist that the Traveler should buy them a round of drinks. As
the Traveler soon learns, the culture here is much different than
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenians, and moreso Azeris are very image
conscious and really try to look and act classy. Georgians are much
more relaxed. It's not uncommon to see a fellow walking down the
street in shorts and open shirt, sporting a large beer belly. Riding
on the crowded bus you might find a fellow holding plastic cup of
beer, swaying with the movements of the bus...

Georgians
are also the only ones who seem to live up to the name of their
region “Caucasians”--at least what has become the more common use
of the word. They are typicallly fair skinned and blond haired,
whereas Armenians and Azeris have more of a Persian/Middle Eastern
look.

And—unlike
his first audience here in Sadakhlo, most folks are quite hospitable
and welcoming to the Traveler. In fact, some of his most memorable
parkbench concerts will be in this cheerful country.

Little
Azerbaijan in Georgia

Walking
through the commercial street of Sadakhlo, the Traveler starts to a
weird feeling that he didn't cross into the country he thought he
did. He sees signs in Russian Cyrilic script. In Arabic. In the
Latin script—except with a some strange anomalies—like lots of
upside down e—typical of Azeri...and a few signs in the swirly
graceful alphabet of Georgia, the country he supposed has just
entered.

What
is this place, the Traveler wonders? He sees the people have the more
Iranian-South Caucasus look than Georgian.

It
doesn't take long to find out. A couple of men greet the Traveler
greet the Traveler and ask him where he's from. “American tourist”
still seems to work.

“Armenia?”
an older fellow gestures if that's where he's coming from. The
Traveler nods.

The
man points to himself “Azerbaijan!” he says proudly. The he
makes a crude gesture “Armenia!”

The
Traveler has a mix of emotions. It's fascinating to realize that he
was able to walk from a place where most everybody is Armenian and
despises Azeris to a place where most everyone is Azeri and despise
Armenians...

...
And yet... he doesn't feel that worry he might say the wrong thing
and incur the wrath of these people. This is Georgia, a neutral
country.

The
Traveler gives them a big smile and a double thumbs up “Armenia!
Azerbaijan!” he gives a thumbs up for both. The others join in
this bizarre gesture argument—but there's no anger—just humor.
Azeris here might share the “tribal identity” of their brothers
in Azerbaijan, but that conflict doesn't affect them personally.

The
Traveler does figure he'll humor them a bit and gestures that he
found Baku very beautiful—but then repeats that he likes Armenia
too—and thinks that the conflict is bad. Then he asks, Georgia?
They give him a thumbs up, and explain that yes, they are “Georgian
Azeris”.

They
all shake hands and the Traveler continues on his way.

The
Traveler is fascinated as it starts to sink in the uniqueness of this
place. Here, he is in Georgia, surrounded by ethnic Azeris, with
Azerbaijan proper not too far away... And next to a highway full of
Armenians passing through, buying goods and fuel from these Azeris.

...And...
everyone is getting along! Nobody is killing or threatening anyone!
How is this possible?

Suddenly
it sinks in, that his 52 day hike through Armenia drove into him this
idea that, a multi-cultured country isn't possible. The world is
chopped up into lots of ethno-states like Armenia. People of rival
cultures just can't live together in the same country.

But
here, suddenly the Traveler is reminded that Armenia is the
exception, not the norm. In most countries of the world, different
ethnic groups, religions and cultures live together. Yes, there is a
majority culture—but it doesn't mean that the minority cultures
don't belong. There is nothing contraditory about being an “ethnic
Azeri, Georgian citizen”. And there's nothing abnormal about an
ethnic Azeri providing service for an Armenian customer—even deep
down he despises that culture.

Suddenly
it feels like a weight is lifted off his shoulders. Armenia was a
beautiful experience, but heavy. This burden of feeling that
conflict is inevitable and old enemies just can't get along... they
have to fight each other endlessly until a foreign power steps in...
or one of them wipes the other out.

But
no... that's not how things have to be....

The
Traveler continues one. Soon he is greeted by another group of young
men. Also proud to talk about their Azeri identity. One of them
eyes the guitar and says that he's a local wedding singer. The
Traveler is really enjoying the connection that he is feeling with
this culture. He hopes to experience this subculture a bit more in
the days ahead.

The
Traveler continues on up the road. Here, the Pambak Valley widens to
an open, fertile plain, where Georgia are able to use the water more
than Armenians could. Still not a feeling to prosperity to the
villages—but not really poor either. He reaches the village of
Damia, and passes a group of men sitting in the shade of a
tree. Once again, the Traveler is invited over. This time Turkish
tea, sweets and watermelon are included in the invitation.

There
is again, a cheery joking feel. Again, there's the same
Armenia-bashing which the Traveler politely responds by trying to
explain that he liked Armenia and its people. Then he decides to
venture a little further. Again, no one seems to be bothered by the
Traveler's refusal to pick a side. Again, he asks what they think of
Georgia, and they all seem to express that they like their country of
citizenship.

“Aliyev?”
he asks, refering to Azerbaijan's ruler.

Here
he gets a bit more varied response. One fellow says he likes Aliyev.
Another gestures that Aliyev is “sleeping”. Still another
gestures that Aliyev only cares about money.

Once
again the Traveler appreciates the fact that, here in Georgia, people
can openly express differing opinions on politics, conflicts and
ethnic groups without worrying about inciting people's rage—or
getting arrested.

What
is Georgia doing different? The Traveler wonders. He's looking
forward to finding out more.

He
wanders around Damia and notices a few differences between this area
and Armenia. For one thing, houses are large, but don't have a lot
of windows. And houses have metal roofs, some of them with
decorative eaves, and even fancy gutters. He's not sure if this is
something distinct of this region, or just a Georgian thing...

He
continues on up the road. One downside is that, it seems he's left
the lush, cooler rainy area of northeast Armenia, and back to a dry
and hot open plains. But the encounters along the way are more than
making up for that.

He
reaches a spread out community of identical looking houses, clearly a
mass construction project. But these aren't Soviet apartment blocks.
They're country houses surrounded by big yards. The Traveler
wonders what the story behind this is.
What this village seems
to lack is people. The Traveler walks through, and only see a couple
of houses that are still use. He wonders what the story behind this
is. It seems like a relocation project gone wrong. People just
didn't want to move here.

Finally,
past a cemetery, he reaches another sprawling village Kveda
Mesamula that does have people. Here, a car speeds past him and
them comes to an abrupt stop. Once again, young driver wants to know
who the Traveler is. And then he wants invite the Traveler in for
coffee. Again, the Traveler decides to accept.

They
enter a yard, which is a large garden and orchard. They enter the
house, which is quite basic with two bedrooms and a kitchen-dining
area. This fellow does speak a bit of English, so they're able to
have a proper conversation. And his perspective is quite different.

He
shows the Traveler his identity card. He is Azeri from Azerbaijan,
who has married a Georgian Azeri and immigrated here. And he loves
this country. He also repeatedly says that he likes Armenians... he
likes Georgians... he likes Russians... he believes that these
divisions are just artificial manipulations and all people really
should be able to get along.

“Mohamed...
Christ... the same!”

It
is an eye opening moment to realize that this man... an Azeri Muslim,
is actually much happier living as a minority in a country that
defines itself as ethnic Georgian and Christian... than to live in
Azerbaijan which is the country of “his people”. In fact, he has
little good to say about the government of the country he came from.

He
presents his two young children, who will be raised as Muslims in a
predominantly Christian nation... and he's is perfectly fine with
that. In fact, he prefers it.

The
Traveler continues on his way, still mulling over this. Later he will
hear from others as well that there is not tension between ethnic
Azeris and Georgians—although Azeris mostly “stick to
themselves”.

It
is inspiring to see, and again remember that being a minority culture
doesn't have to by synonymous with being oppressed and chomping at
the bit wanting “independence”. The Traveler has not sensed any
of this.

But
he also reminds himself that, many “independence movements” are
not necessarily born from the local people, but rather outside
agitators. All it takes is for a small minority to start muddying up
the waters, and a new cycle of resentments and hostilities can begin.

It
would come as no surprise if Azerbaijan's president has eyed this
region and thought “hmm... there's an Azeri majority there... maybe
I could stir things up and get those folks to want to secede and
become part of Azerbaijan”

That
would be disasterous for Georgia, which has already lost two big
chunks of territory in recent years thanks in part to Russian
meddling. Losing this area of fertile farmland would be terrible.
For now, it seems, Aliyev is aware that he has more to lose than gain
in a conflict like this. Georgia, after all is the link between
Azerbaijan and The West.

The
Traveler continues on... following a dirt road along the train
tracks... then cutting across the now dry fields to the main road
again. In the next town, Imiri, he sees his first religious
building in Georgia: a mosque. Not a really old mosque, a fairly new
one, with a yurt shaped greet dome and a single, rather stout
minaret.

It
strikes the Traveler as more of a Iranian-Shia style mosque than the
Turkish-Sunni mosque with their tall, pencil thin minarets. Like in
Azerbaijan, it seems Azeris here are Shia.

This
brings up a whole different question that the Traveler hadn't really
thought of before: in other parts of the Middle East, Sunni and Shia
Muslims are sworn enemies. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been using
this 1300 year old religious rift to leverage people against each
other and fuel multiple conflicts.

...So
how is it that Azeris, who are Shia, consider Sunni Turks to be their
closest brothers and allies?

Hopefully
he'll learn more about that later.

For
now, he's about ready to call it a day, as he reaches the town of
Orjonikidze, an area with middle or upper class houses as he
gets the feeling he's getting closer to a city. Sure enough,
Marneuli, with a population of 20,000 has a bit of a city
feel—and is still predominantly Azeri. In the next to the main
circle is a beautiful “tea house” covered in ornate
tiles—clearing Azeri inspired.

It's
been a fun day exploring “Azeri Georgia”. Now the Traveler is
ready to experience “Georgian Georgia”.

That
will be tomorrow.