We had a full day in Tbilisi today, the weather was good and we got going with a guided tour around town.

We made the first bit by bus and were driven to the Metekhi St. Virgin Church (მეტეხის ღვთისმშობლის შობის ტაძარი), from where we enjoyed the views of town, before visiting the church itself.

The Tbilisi cable car then got us to the other side of the river and up to the Narikala Fortress – with more good views of town. We spent some time in the area and eventually made it to the Sulphur Baths.

After hard negotiation and a coffee break, we did proceed via the Great Synagogue and a local bakery (where we could see Georgian puri – პური bread being made, to then taste the fresh bread right out of the tandoor) to the Tbilisi History Museum and the Sioni Cathedral (initially built in the sixth and seventh century, with the current church dating back to the 13th century).

In Anchiskhati Basilica (ანჩისხატის ტაძარი) we had a true step back into the sixth century; there was a baptism in progress, when we visited, hence no photos here.

We had a further – but somewhat different – step back in history during our visit of the Treasury of Georgian National Museum, where we got to see various examples of work by early Georgian goldsmiths – – and also got some insight into the story around the Golden Fleece.

After a Ukrainian lunch the metro brought us back into present, as we were now heading out for some discovery in the Dinamo Market (დინამოს ბაზრობა), a typical food market. Some of us made the way back by foot (and marshrutka) along Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue. After a coffee (or beer) stop we found a few friends – some stray dogs were following us and – as it seemed – had the feeling, that we needed protection. Anyone (or anything) getting to close to us, got barkingly told off. We (thank god) lost the dogs, when we made it across the Peace Bridge and back into the old town area, where drinks and dinner were waiting for us.