At a time when much of Europe was still fighting dragons, Tbilisi was already a well-established cosmopolitan Silk Road melting pot of Kurds, Persians, Tatars, Jews, Armenians, Georgians and everybody else.
Over the centuries a succession of conquerors would come to vanquish the people and raze the city on the hill but Tbilisi would rise, brush the ashes off itself and set the table. Today, the country is recovering from 80 years of Soviet domination and 25 years of a tumultuous independence that has included civil war, two separatist conflicts, economic collapse and a Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, local officials would help kidnap businessmen and street cops earned their salaries by shaking down citizens. It was inconceivable to think that in a dozen years this impetuous little city of crime and graft would be one of the safest cities to walk at night in Europe and have a Dunkin Donuts on Freedom Square.
A little over one million people live here, none of whom are fond of starting the day early. Tbilisi is not a morning city. It comes in all shapes and sizes, and may not even have any cheese at all, as there are also bean, meat, potato, egg, and mixed pies.
The one for today is a boat-shaped dough filled with cheese and finished off with a lightly baked egg yolk and a glorious wad of butter slowly melting away. Just hold up five fingers, and smile. His work, dominated by scenes of feasting and portraits of ordinary folk documents his times, is also full of gutsy sincerity and naive tenderness that says a lot about the national character. It is a raw, chaotic warren of unprocessed victuals that few tourists see.
