Preparing for Tbilisi

The pictures show the Djvari Monastery outside Tbilisi, overlooking the ancient capital of Mtskheta and yours truly admiring the magnificent view from a restaurant terrace at Sighnaghi.

How do you prepare somebody for a trip to Tbilisi? I'm taking a group of theatre directors and producers for a long weekend to sample Georgian theatre at the showcase in the Tbilisi International from 9 - 12 October and I'd like them to begin to get a flavour of the place before they arrive.

There are guide books of course but they don't really capture the spirit. Roger Rosen's Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus is good although now quite old for such a rapidly changing country; the Bradt Travel Guide is more up to date but factual rather than spiritual; the Lonely Planet covers Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in one book so is a bit thin. Peter Naysmith's excellent books Georgia: In The Mountains of Poetry and Walking in the Caucasus certainly capture the spirit of the mountains and Bread and Ashes by by Tony Anderson is another good read for the walkers.

For me there are two books to recommend.

Stories I Stole by Wendell Steavenson is a personal recollection of time spent in a chaotic country where nothing works but warmth and hospitality make up for any shortcomings. Her final story of an act of love based on the Georgian painter Pirosmani brought tears to my eyes. Her visit was some time ago now and things have certainly changed but she really captures the spirit of the place.

My second choice would be a novel set at the beginning of the twentieth century that moves around the whole region so cannot be said to be strictly Georgian (its author lived in Azerbaijan) but it certainly gives a flavour of what makes the Caucasus such a magical place. Ali and Nino by Kurban Said (incidentally mentioned by Steavenson as her favourite book at the time) is a love story between a Georgian girl, Nino, and and Azeri boy, Ali. This one doesn't bring tears to my eyes; they run down my cheeks at the end.

I got quite into Kurban Said. A mystery man, now believed to be Lev Nussimbaum, a wealthy Jew from Baku who fled the Bolsheviks to Persia and then Berlin. There's an excellent biography of him by Tome Reiss, The Orientalist. Another book under the authorship of Kurban Said is The Girl From The Golden Horn whcih tells a different story of culture clash between Muslim and Christian. Set in Berlin after the First World War it tells of an emigre princess who flees Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and fall sin love with an Austrian doctor. If you enjoyed Brick Lane you'll certainly enjoy this.

So, apart from reading, what can I advise my party? Certainly they should train their livers for the undoubted supras that will come their way and they should be prepared for wonderfully lyrical toasts throughout the evening. But I guess the main thing is to relax. Time takes on a different meaning and 'Georgian time' is not an excuse, it's a way of life.