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Derek Butler's record of the visit to Kutaisi: May 2007 At Tbilisi Airport, in the early hours of the morning, we were met by an enthusiastic group of friends consisting of Madona Tktekelashvili, Marika Megrelishvili, Madonna Megreshvili’s niece, David Mindiashvili and his wife Eka, and Nick Okreshidze and his mother – all KNIA members. Following the welcome, we were treated to a celebration meal. It was a wonderfully cheerful occasion and went on until around 3.00am! The next day we were joined by Nick and Koba, two more KNIA members and both members of the staff of the English Studies Department of Kutaisi University. We visited an icon shop with Madona Tktekelashvili and put in our icon order as requested by the Dean of Monmouth also we were taken to see the massive new cathedral recently built in the centre of the city. Then to Mtskheta Cathedral, the magical and ancient church just outside the city, one of Georgia’s three World Heritage Sites, the others being Gelati/Bagrati Cathedrals near Kutaisi and a complex of villages in Svaneti. Later we arrived in Kutaisi and were taken to our guesthouse meeting the owner, Manana who was very friendly and spoke reasonable English. We were greeted by Madonna Megreshvili and members of the KNIA including Tsitisno Todua, Head of the Music Academy, Maia Alavadze, Mzia Giorgadze and Mari Chikovani, lecturers in the University’s English Studies Department. The following morning we attended an official reception at the City Hall. It’s worth noting how central this twinning is to Kutaisi’s civic life. The Governor of Imereti, the Mayor of Kutaisi and Kutaisi’s MP in the Tbilisi Parliament were all there to greet us, together with Madonna M. who has remained one of the most influential and esteemed citizens of Kutaisi for over twenty years. Following the civic reception we had an audience with the local bishop, Father Kalistrate at the Theological Academy. On the way I met Java Cheishvili, one of the artists who came to Newport around 15 years ago. The KNIA Dinner Over 100 people attended this dinner, including the Governor, the Mayor, the MP, Father Kalistrate and the British Ambassador who came to Kutaisi especially for the occasion. During the evening, Colin presented Madonna with the certificate granting her Honorary Membership of the NKA and there’s no doubt that she was delighted with the award. Finally, the event developed into a cheerful, informal party and dance. Saturday, Liz, Sylvia and Colin left for home. I was to stay an extra week. At the University I helped chair a well attended conference consisting of contributions by students from both the University’s English Department and the English Language Centre. There were 12 presentations, each individual or group gave an illustrated talk on a subject of their own choice. That evening I dined with Gavrilo and Madlen Megrelishvili, David’s parents. It was an extremely pleasant day and I realised then that the rest of the week would be equally enjoyable. On Sunday I first met with Dr. Mamuka Melkadze, who came to Newport with several others and who spent time studying and practising at the Royal Gwent Hospital. We toured his gynaecological hospital with his wife Dr. Eka Melkadze. Then set off for Batumi on the Black Sea coast, immediately adjacent to the Turkish border. Smart hotels, excellent restaurants and clean, beautiful beaches backed by forests with a backdrop of the permanently snow covered Caucasus Mountains! It has recently acquired an international airport and the Georgians are hoping to attract many tourists from abroad. It was around 35 degrees on that day! On our return we had a meal with Mamuka’s friend, Avtandil, owner of the White Bridge Restaurant which is dramatically situated next to the foaming River Rhioni. Monday lecturing at the University in the morning and talking with the students at the English Language Centre in the afternoon Dined with Madlen, Lala and her husband Edward. Both Madlen and Lala teach at the University and have visited Newport. Tuesday was spent with two more University staff, Lali and Eka, visiting the shops and Kutaisi’s marvellous market. They were keen to show me how well stocked the shops are and there was no comparison with our early visits to Kutaisi when the shops were almost empty. Lunched with Megie Mandaria, University lecturer and KNIA member and her husband Ilia and that evening I was driven to the monastery of Motsameta and then to a restaurant deep in the Imeretian countryside by Professor Georgi Oniani, the Rector of the University, together with his wife , lecturer in the English Studies Department. Eka Topuria, Head of the Department and David Gegetchkori Head of the University’s External Affairs Office. Wednesday to Vardzia in South Georgia My guide for the next two days was Tamuna Melkadze, the sister of Maka Melkadze. Maka gained an M.A in IT & Media at University of Wales, Newport in 2005. The countryside along the Turkish/Armenian border is breathtaking. For much of the way the road passes through a National Park. It’s largely uninhabited, mountainous and dotted with ruined castles. We drove along a ledge of a road half way up a mountain with a drop of many hundreds of feet just a short space away. After stopping at Akhaltsikhe we travelled on next day to Vardzia It consists of hundreds of dwellings completely deserted now, each with windows, cooking areas, beds and shelves with interlocking steps and corridors and even a large church, cut into the rock interior of a mountain. The entire complex was built in the 11th or 12th century as a hiding place during raids from nearby Turkey. It was so well hidden that it was forgotten for centuries and only discovered when the side of the mountain fell away during an earthquake in comparatively recent times. It’s perhaps surprising that visitors can scramble deep into the complex as much of it is steep and crumbly and must be traversed with extreme caution. On Thursday evening I returned to Tbilisi to stay with Dr. Tamaz Gvenetadze, his wife Nana and daughter Tako. Friday was my last full day in Georgia. It was also the day preceding Georgia’s National Day. Nana, Tamaz, Tako and I strolled down Rustaveli Avenue surrounded by Georgian military men and women practising for the following day’s big parade, with planes and helicopters flying low overhead. Everyone was in holiday mood. We went to the Georgian State Museum to see the amazing Treasury collection. Afternoon spent with Maka and her friends who assumed guide duties and we visited the fortress above Tbilisi where we sat and talked. We then returned to old Tbilisi and toured an attractive complex of narrow pedestrianised streets which have been converted into Tbilisi’s café area. There we met Madona Tktekelashvili who that morning had collected the Dean of Monmouth’s icon. Later David Mindishvili arrived to join us. The result was a small group of Tbilisi based people, all of whom I had met individually previously but never expected to see together. Later David and I drove to his parents’ house to find a cheerful party in full swing, with around twelve guests enjoying a magnificent ‘supra’. His mother, father and sisters, together with their friends and relations, couldn’t have made me more welcome. This was a traditional Georgian evening with the women sitting chatting at one end of the table and the men (including me) standing, drinking and offering toasts at the other end. We toasted everything and everybody At the airport, Nana, Tamaz and Tako, David, Eka and Madona Tktekelashvili, all waved me goodbye. It was a great send-off! I had wonderful time and returned even more committed to the twinning. I certainly hope to return to Kutaisi within a few years. Derek Butler – an extract from a fuller report presented to NKA