SAMEBA and Easter rituals

Sameba, the religious heart of Tbilisi and Georgia

Built in the last few years with money partly given by the new Prime Minister, soon to be president(2013), Bidzina Ivanishvili, this beautiful set of buildings, as well as the main church, is really a wonderful place to visit!

You get to Sameba by going up a very very steep hill, so it is a good idea to first stop at the little shops down below in the Avlabari neighborhood and load up on khatchapuri..You will need the calories! They make a fantastic  lobiani, the bread stuffed with beans. Only buy it if it is hot. Otherwise, it is dry and not so great.

Sameba is surrounded by lesser churches within the site. They are also worth seeing.

You enter through a massive door and on both sides, you have possibilities to buys "santelis", or little candles, to put in front of the icons. Ladies are ok to come in head uncovered, but it is better to have a scarf handy, or you will feel out of place.

I entered Sameba for the first time with my sister-in-law Nana, at the height of a service. It is strange, for a person who is non-orthodox, to see that while the office is going, and the priest is reciting its litanies, the people are in constant movement around the interior of the cathedral, saluting and praying in front of the icons. Those icons are magnificent, and that is not enough of a word, really. They area larger than life-size...

Judge for yourself!

 This one, of the Archangel Michael is literally THICK with gold!

Saint Georges, of course!
He always has a red cape.
That is how you will recognize him..

 When services are ongoing, you can not see, or approach this! It is full of people moving, making the stops, lighting candles and moving to the next icon. All the while, the priest reads, prays and swings incense. An interesting experience, when you compare it to the Catholics in France, where a sermon is nothing than you being told what to do, while you freeze your b... on a bench..  :)

It is an interesting experience, to be welcomed in a church which is not of "your religion". I am not a practicing Catholic, let's make that clear, but well, the mysticism associated with religion is certainly source for questions. Did you know that the Orthodox is the one religion (except for budhism, but that is not considered a true religion, rather a way of life) that didn't kill or start wars because or for its religious beliefs? 

Interesting, eh?

ARDGOMA means Easter in Georgian

So, in this time of Easter (celebrated on May 5th this year in Georgia), things are heavy in the life of a practicing Orthodox. Meat is not eaten, fat is not permitted either, so no animal products, cheese or cheese products either. There is even a period when ladies are not allowed to garden, or to touch the earth. So, people replace meat with soko (mushrooms) and make wonderful dishes with those.

This is Easter Bread, or "paska".
A sweet buttery bread..

Easter is however a time for rejoice, one of the great days in the Georgian calendar. People go to the sasaplao (cemetery) and clean up the tombs, take out the weeds and plant lovely flowers. They also make it a family gathering around the tombs and bring a feast to be shared with the departed.

We were very lucky to see Sameba tonight while the church's rugs were being washed outside. What a pleasure of colors charmed our eyes!

The rugs are drying
after a deep cleaning
with soap and a high pressure hose!

The sheer array of patterns was incredible!
Keep in mind those are very, very old rugs.
To say nothing of the price they must have cost..

These are what we describe as "Persian rugs"
in the Western society. They are amazing up close.

I counted over 20 of those rugs,
and I just assume not all of them were out at once..

I love this pic! If I had been able to stay longer, I would have nailed the shot a little better, but the person washing the rug was just above with a firehose!! And water was coming out of it, of course...

 St Georges and his red cape again..

 What a beautiful view in the evening sun!

If you are visiting Sameba someday, don't miss going to the little restaurant at the bottom of the staircase that sells lemonades. There, try the one with "tarhuna". Let me know what you think!

__________

Cemeteries are an odd thing in Georgia, but they have a certain peaceful feeling.
Here is what happens at Easter time.
No one would think of NOT doing this..

Irises are all cleaned up in the tombs of Tamazi's parents. Every tomb has a table next to it, so that the family can come and have a meal with the departed. Wine will also be shared with them, poured over the graves and a great toast pronounced.

It is ok to walk over the graves and to talk to the departed. Frankly, I see that as a healthy way to treat death. It keeps the ties with the family members that are gone. You share a glass of wine with them, you talk to them. It makes people feel good. It doesn't mean that tears do not fall on the earth..
This lady was buried in Koda, a small village on the plateau that overlooks Tbilisi. It was over a hundred years ago..or so. She is as beautiful in death as she was in life.

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People of Georgia

So glad you came to visit. Please feel free to leave a comment.

The people of Georgia

Seems they come from a different time, a time of fear and darkness. They remember it, and base, of course, their lives of today on the fears of the possible return of the dark times.
In their lives, they have lived and seen abundance, hunger, fear, happiness, war. They still remember when everyone had a job, everyone was trained for a job, everyone had a right to go to school for free. Then, at the same time, those same people remember the lock on their frontiers, the forbidden products, like records back then, and anything seen as subversive, anything coming from the Western world. They remember sharing jeans, because they were so expensive. Now, hardly anyone has a job, people struggle each day to earn a very meager living. What system, they ask themselves, is the better one? Interesting dilemna! Would you want a sure job, and no possible way to leave your country, where you are in very restricted freedom? Or would you like a society where business is now possible, but you don't have any security at all?

 This man sells hats on the Black Sea. He is blind. All day, he sits in his trailer and sells hats. What he did in his "former" life, I cannot tell you. He takes your money and trusts you on the amount you give him. His family makes the hats to survive.






This lady sells fish on the side of the road. The fish hang on strings at the edge of her stall. Passer or driver-bys stop and pick out the fish. She guts out your fish, wraps it, and you are set!







Here is an interesting little story:
What do you suppose this lady is doing?
 She is washing wool! In each of the netted bags, she has about 3 sheep shavings. The content of all 3 came out of 8 sheep. Brown or white sheep, it does not matter in this job...
So, here it is. When she is done hosing and stumping on the wool, trying to remove all the dirt and such out of it, she will hang the bag from her balcony.

 In the morning, when the wool has dripped and dried, she will take a willow stick and beat it...That will fluff up the bag...Getting an idea of what she is making yet?

 Well, here is the answer:

She is going to fill her mattress with the new wool. Here in Georgia, the mattresses are made of wool around Tbilisi, while on the Black Sea coast, they use cotton, because the weather is more clement on the coast...
Cool, no?
Another detail of importance: The beds have 2 mattresses, one for each person. The wool will end up making an "envelope", more than a mattress as we see it. It will be about 10 to 15cm high. Here you see the blue mattresses for single beds. It is not particularly fluffy, as you might have thought, but it is very comfortable. The idea that each person has his/her own mattress brings on some interesting discussions, but I have yet to think that it is a bad thing. The beds are usually quite large, about a king-size or a little less. Plenty of room to stretch out!

Wow, Giga! You used to be soooo young!!

Georgian people tend to be somewhat gloom about the situation in the country, but they are very rich emotionally. It comes from having lived at a period of turning points in their lifetime, having seen and first-hand experienced 2 completely different social and governmental systems, having had abundance, and lack of everything. They are amazing people, very resilient.

 ..and the new generation is coming right up. Same beliefs as the grandparents and the parents, but with a love for CocaCola and Wifi...Watch out world!

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