Growing Old Gracefully

(A companion piece to Building with Botox)

I have literally fallen head over heels in love with Tbilisi; the capital of Georgia. We are staying in the old part of the town which nestles under a 4th century fort perched high on the hillside.

Where Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva have been renovated to within an inch of their lives, parts of Tbilisi sit preciously on the edge of destruction. It’s like walking around a city that has just been discovered, decaying under a mesh of grape vines that criss cross from one side to the other creating a canopy of forbidden fruits. The eclectic mixture of architecture: from Middle Eastern, Moorish, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Soviet and Modernism only add to its utter charm.

Many of the old buildings are quite literally falling down; others are being held up with huge steel girders; while some have been extensively renovated. However, the huge majority, especially in the old town, sit somewhere in between these three extremes. They stand majestically – looming over the narrow cobbled streets that weave in between. Ornate iron and wooden balconies adorn many of the facades – framing the large windows like eyelashes.

The delicate earthy warm colours of the crumbling bricks; the intricately carved wooden doors and the flaking layers of paint combine to create a picture of faded grandeur. Many of the buildings are so twisted; with huge fissures, like bolts of fork lightning, arching out across the walls. Whole buildings, indeed streets, seem to have toppled sideways for many have not a straight line or angle in them. Some are so precarious they look like you could push them over with a gentle nudge.

Footnote

Indeed this city is growing old gracefully and I love it for that. Though, rather ironically, I hope it’s not too long before the most fragile buildings are rescued and renovated for I fear many could be permanently lost if something isn’t done soon – just remember to go easy on the Botox 🙂