Recap of May 17, 2014 in Tbilisi

May 19, 2014 by Meghan Johnson

Short story: May 17 is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia This day last year in Tbilisi, demonstrations turned into a mob rampage, when over 20,000 men (some estimates were as high as 40,000) attacked a small group of LGBT supporters This year, the Georgian Orthodox Church declared May 17 to be the Day of Family Strength, celebrating traditional values.  They marched through the city and demonstrated against a recently passed anti-discrimination bill. LGBT groups could not rally or demonstrate, due […]

Categories: Conflict, Gender, Georgia, LGBT, Tbilisi • Tags: Discrimination, Eurasia, Georgia, Homophobia, Human Rights, IDAHO, IDAHOT, Invisibility, LGBT, May 17, May17, Orthodox Church, Tbilisi, Violence

Harvest in Satemo

December 2, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

All photos taken by Lasha Merabishvili. In late September, I joined a friend and his family for a weekend in their village outside of Gori.  We took a marshrutka (a small bus or large van, usually bright yellow, which is the most common form of public transportation in Georgia) from Tbilisi to Gori, and then something that looked like a Soviet-era school bus from Gori to Satemo.  I’d estimate the top speed of this second bus to have been about […]

Categories: Eurasia, Georgia, History, The Great Outdoors, Travel • Tags: Eurasia, Georgia, Photography, Travel, Wine, winemaking

Autumn in a Flash

November 4, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

These days, it takes being stuck in bed with a fever to get me to sit still and write something that isn’t for work.  The positive side of getting sick in different countries is that it reveals local beliefs about remedies and convalescence (usually some combination of tea, lemon, and honey), and some castigation for whatever I did to cause the illness in the first place (in Russia, it was running outdoors).  Here in Georgia, the advice has been to […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Friendship, Georgia, Tbilisi • Tags: autumn, Eurasia, fall, Friendship, Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, Tbilisi

Carpet shopping

August 20, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

Some things I saw on a casual Saturday in Tbilisi, accompanying two Swedish visitors as they shopped for Georgian carpets in the Old City.

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, Friendship, Georgia, Graffiti, Tbilisi, Travel • Tags: Eurasia, Georgia, Photography, Tbilisi, Travel

Vardzia Cave Monasteries

March 22, 2013 by Meghan Johnson

After the opening of a new branch office in Akhalkalaki (and a few glasses of celebratory wine), my coworkers and I paid a visit to the Vardzia cave monasteries. I’d never heard of the caves before that day.  Nor had I received the memo that we’d be hiking up the side of a mountain on a work day.  Hence, I did not select my shoes accordingly.  See photo below of aching-but-smiley woman in four-inch Ann Taylor pumps. The scale of […]

Categories: 2013, Eurasia, Europe, FINCA, Georgia, History, Playtime, Travel • Tags: Byzantine, Eurasia, Georgia, History, Monastery, Photography, Puppies, Travel, Vardzia, Vardzia Cave Monasteries