BY CATHERINE YESAYAN
Tiflis is the former name of the capital of Georgia. In 1936, it was changed to Tbilisi.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Tiflis experienced the effects of industrialization and urbanization, quickly becoming a tourist destination. Around that time, there was a large presence of Armenians there. In my family, on both my father and mother’s sides, there were grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, and aunts who were sent to Tiflis to study or learn a trade.
Georgia was founded in the 5th century and, since then, Armenians have been trailblazers in the country. During 12th and 13th centuries, a large wave of Armenians settled in the capital city of Tiflis. Then, starting in the 15th century and on, Armenians made an impact on the city’s art, music, and literature. History tells us that basic elements of urban development were laid down by Armenians.
Some Armenian historians, including Movses Khorenatsi, Ghazar Parpetzi, Pavost Buzand and others, have chronicled the presence of Armenians in Georgia that date back to antiquity.
Since I was a child, I had heard stories from my grandparents about how European “Tiflis” was.
Another source to learn more about the life of Armenians in Tiflis was through the very sad story of Gikor, by our beloved Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan.
In the story, Tumanyan offers us details about the well-to-do lifestyle of Armenians in Georgia. Other Armenian writers, such as Sundukyan, Nar Dos, and Shirvanzade, have also given us a taste of what Armenian life in Tiflis was like through their own stories.
With all these facts in mind, I had preconceived notions about what Tbilisi would look like. However, my first impression of the city was beyond my imagination.
On June 28, I joined a tour bus traveling from Yerevan to Tbilisi. As our bus entered the city’s border, from my window on the right side of the bus, I saw the Kura River and its towering bank.
As the bus moved along, we crossed a bridge. At that point, the river was to my left and its bank had become elevated, turning into a rocky ridge with a captivating scenery. Suddenly, I noticed the stunning view of an old fortress on the left ridge.
Along the way, our tour guide pointed to an exquisite, contemporary bridge, made of glass and steel, to our left. It was called the “Peace Bridge.” Further down, I spotted an unusual building, which looked as though it was covered by overgrown mushrooms. That was another wow factor.
Let me put it this way: the meandering of the Kura River, the pristine views of its banks, and the juxtaposition of the new and the old was just mesmerizing. I had a hard time containing my enthusiasm while being there. Since I was unable to properly process it all, I started snapping pictures.
On the way to our hotel, we crossed streets that looked similar to the narrow residential streets of Vienna, with similar architecture.
We arrived at our hotel, which was an old building that was very tastefully renovated with exposed bricks. It had a backyard with many shrubs and trees.
After getting situated in our rooms and resting a bit, we hopped back onto our tour bus at around 4:30 p.m. to go sightseeing. We started at Rustaveli Avenue, where there are several architectural buildings.
Rustaveli, which is the most prestigious street in Tbilisi, reminded me of boulevards in Paris. Our tour guide, Manush, took us for a 1-mile walk—the whole length of the street, until we reached the Freedom Square.
During our walk, we learned a lot about the history of Tbilisi and marveled at the elegant governmental buildings and historical landmarks on that street.
Our guide provided information about the influence of European architecture. She said that, in good old days, wealthy people invited famous European architects to build their homes in Tiflis.
On Rustaveli Avenue, there are several buildings with cultural significance, among them the Tbilisi Opera House, the Rustaveli Theatre, and Georgia’s Parliament building. The street is named after the medieval Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli.
We also learned about the life of two wealthy Armenians—Mikael Aramyants and Alexander Mantashev. Both were businessmen who became extremely wealthy by creating petroleum pipelines through Azerbaijan.
First, I will tell you about Mikael Aramyants, who we learned about while crossing Rustaveli Avenue. Our tour guide explained that the exquisite Marriott hotel we came across was built in 1915 by Aramyants, who was a year younger than Mantashev.
Aramyants made his first million when he was only 27 years old. He was born in 1943, in Karabagh (Artsakh). He moved to Tbilisi and contributed to the development of different sectors, such as health, education and culture. Aramyants was the permanent sponsor of the Armenian Nersisian School in Tiflis.
Aramyants was a successful sugar and cotton businessman and landlord, owning several houses, estates, cottages, and resorts. He built a health resort in the city of Akhtala in Armenia. In Tbilisi, he founded the Aramyants Hospital. Today, the hospital still stands, but is now known as the “First Clinical Hospital of Tbilisi” or “Number One, Clinical Hospital.”
The medical facility now has 1,650 hospital beds, employs 600 doctors and 800 nurses, and is considered to be the best in the country. Many ordinary Georgians do not know the origins of these buildings, let alone who Aramyants was.
Aramyants’ life was full of victories and failures. He first came to Tiflis from one of the villages of Karabakh, in pursuit of his dreams. Alongside Mantashev, he became an oil magnate in Baku. However, as the Bolsheviks pushed into Georgia, they seized all his properties. Aramyants died in poverty in 1922 in the basement of one of his own buildings. Our guide noted that he died from starvation.
Mantashev was born in Tiflis in 1842. He spent most of his childhood in Tabriz, where his father was involved in the cotton and textile trade.
As the only son of the family, Mantashev was involved in his father’s business affairs early on. In 1869, at the age of 27, he was sent to Manchester in England. At the time, the city was a major center of the cotton textile industry. From there, he shipped goods to his father in Tabriz.
When Mantashev returned to Tiflis from England, he and his father became fully engaged in wholesale textile trade.
After his father’s death in 1887, Mantashev purchased most of the shares of the Tiflis Central Commercial Bank—becoming its principal shareholder. He was later named as the Chairman of the Board of the Bank and was involved in almost every aspect of trade in the Caucasus.
During this time, Mantashev decided to venture into the petroleum business, quickly becoming an extremely wealthy oil tycoon. He died in 1911 in St. Petersburg, and his body was brought to Tiflis for burial.
A few years later, during the Russian Revolution, the Mantashev family business and fortune was confiscated. As a result, his family fled abroad.
Today, Mantashev is remembered as a generous philanthropist and one of the most influential Armenians in the diaspora.
Now back to our walk. Rustaveli street ends at Freedom Square, where there’s a towering white column in the middle with a golden statue on top displaying the Georgian legend of St. George slaying a dragon.
From there, we headed towards the Old Town, where we visited interwoven, charming, and whimsical narrow streets paved with cobble-stones, full of souvenir shops, trendy cafés and landmarks.
Our guide finally led us to the banks of Kura River, from where we took a private, half-hour boat ride on the river. That was the highlight, and most fun part, of our guided tour. We each paid five Georgian Lari, which is almost two American dollars. The small fee also included one soft drink, a glass of wine, or coffee. There was also a Dj on board who played Armenian music for us to dance to.
The boat crossed some of the most popular touristic attractions, including the Old Town, the old Metekhi Cathedral, little quaint houses on top the ridge, the Peace Bridge, and many other spectacular views along the Kura River. It’s an attraction not to be missed.
After the wonderful cruise, we headed to Europe’s Square, which was a stone’s throw away. From there, we took cable cars to the top of the ridge where we saw the statue of Queen Tamar, who reigned from 1184 to 1213 during the Golden Age of Georgian history. Known as the “female king,” she extended the country’s borders from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.
Queen Tamar’s statue holds a cup of wine in one hand and a sword in the other. The wine symbolically speaks to her hospitable nature, and the sword shows her strength.
Afterwards, we strolled over to the magnificent Peace Bridge, which is another, relatively new, architecturally designed structure over the Kura River. Then, we headed back to the hotel.
The following day, my friend and I separated from the tour group, because I had made arrangements with another tour guide to take us to the Armenian Quarter and tell us about its history.
After breakfast, our new guide, Manana Karapetyan, who has been a public school teacher for 30 years, met us at the hotel. It was a rainy morning. The hotel provided us with umbrellas, and Manana suggested that we take the metro.
As you may know, in post-Soviet states, the metro system is typically cheap, very clean, and an efficient way to get around. It is one of the useful vestiges of the Soviet Union that has remained.
We got off the metro at the Armenian Quarter, called “Havlabar,” which has long been known as the center of Armenian life in Tbilisi. We were about to learn about the glorious saga of Armenian life in Georgia.
Until recently, the neighborhood of Havlabar and the area across the Kura River were heavily populated by Armenians. However, during the last two or three decades, the number of Armenians has drastically diminished.
In the past, many of the mayors and businessmen were Armenian, and much of the old city was built by Armenians. At one point, the number Armenians reached 150,000.
The Havlabar neighborhood was where the Mantashev and Aramyants families started their respective journeys to finding fame and fortune. Several, iconic buildings, still standing today, were constructed by these two tycoons.
Our first stop in the neighborhood was the 166-year-old Armenian playhouse. Originally named after an outstanding Armenian actor and poet, Petros Adamian, the theatre was established in 1858 by the Armenian theatre figure George Chmshkian.
In 1936 a new building replaced the old one. The new theatre was named the Stepan Shahumian-Armenian Theatre. The structure, alongside other buildings, is a witness to what Tiflis once was—the most prominent center of Armenian business and culture.
On the day of our visit, the playhouse was under major construction, so we were only able to take photos from outside. The architectural style and the placement of the columns were astounding.
Georgia’s richest man and former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, had undertaken the restoration of the theatre. Armenia’s Ministry of Culture is also providing some funding for the renovation project, which will resume in the fall of this year.
After the short visit to the theatre, we walked next door to see a group statues of the most popular Armenian, Russian, and Georgian comedy film, called “Mimino.”
Next, we walked to the ruins of the Red Apostolic Armenian church, which was built in 1735. In 1989, the church sustained major damage during an earthquake.
From there, we walked a short distance to the Echmiadzin church, which was built in 1806. According to Manana, in the 18th century, Armenians owned around 30 churches in Tbilisi. However, today, only two Armenian churches remain—the Echmiadzin church and the St. Gregory the Illuminator church.
In the side yard of the Echmiadzin church, we saw the tomb of Mantashev, with his bust over a column.
After a short visit to the Echmiadzin church, we walked next door to a center called “Home for Armenian Arts,” which was basically a combination of a kindergarten, Sunday school, and a hall—used for different occasions including concerts and art exhibitions.
There, we met Yevguenia Markosyan, the director of the center, who briefly offered us some information about the center, which opened in October 2011.
Manana noted that one of the important purposes of the Sunday school is to teach the local youth the Armenian language, while discussing how most of the new generation doesn’t speak Armenian. Today, there’s only one Armenian school in Tbilisi, with students from first to 12th grades enrolled.
The center also has a choir, a dance group, and music classes where they teach students how to play different Armenian musical instruments. I’d like to add that, today there’s only one Armenian newspaper in Tbilisi, called “Vrastan,” meaning Georgia. Published by Van Baybourtian, the newspaper has been running since 1920.
From there, Manana called a taxi and we headed to the Armenian Pantheon Cemetery, where renowned Armenian writers and musicians are buried. The cemetery is situated in the north part of Havlabar.
It was interesting to visit the Pantheon and to pay respect to the burial sites of our musicians and writers. The most outstanding tomb was of our writer, Raffi. It was a white column, erected right in the middle.
Our next stop was to the home of our most popular and beloved writer, Tumanyan, which was in Sololaki— another neighborhood populated with Armenians and one of the oldest and most prestigious districts of Tbilisi, situated on a mountain slope.
Manana called a taxi and we arrived at 18 Amaghleba Street. This was the last home that Tumanyan had resided in with his family.
Tumanyan’s home was preserved after Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union. The preservation work was a collaborative effort between the Union of Writers of Armenia, several other contributors, and various foundations, including the Armenian Diocese of Georgia. The house museum was inaugurated on August 5, 2017.
Tumanyan’s apartment was on the third floor. After climbing the stairs, the docent opened the door and ushered us into the apartment, which was spacious with four rooms. There was a grand piano, period furniture and a porcelain heater connected to the wall. It also had a wrap-around balcony.
The docent explained in detail about the renovation process, how long it took, and how meticulously the furnishings were chosen.
I tell you, hearing all the information about the home put me in a nostalgic mood, mostly because I knew that Tumanyan’s home was the gathering spot for many literary, social and political figures of the time, where they made many critical decisions.
After spending about an hour there, we left. This time, we walked down the steep streets of Sololaki, which was lined with rows of buildings similar to European architecture.
As we strolled down, we admired the stunning facades of the buildings, adorned with intricate carvings, delicate wrought ironwork, and ornate balconies, but all in dilapidated conditions.
A few times, we snukk into homes that had where the huge and ornate entry doors were open. Inside, we could see the crumbling conditions of those mansions, where the paint was peeling off the walls and the winding grand rod-iron staircases were broken.
Most of the buildings that we crossed were in a sorrowful state. Some had a plaque next to their entryway, which displayed the owner’s name. We were able to find a few plaques with Armenian names.
Manana, who was born and raised around the Sololaki neighborhood, took us to her childhood home. First, she showed us the ruins of her kindergarten, which was next door to their apartment building.
“I remember when I walked to the kindergarten by myself, because it was next door,” said Manana while reminiscing about her childhood.
Manana no longer lives in that building, although it was tastefully remodeled recently. It was a rare sight to see—a remodeled building in Sololaki. However, I did notice that a few buildings here and there had begun renovation processes.
The main door of the apartment building was open, so Manana ushered us inside. She mentioned that her cousin still lives in the building, but she was not home.
I was able to snap some pictures from the entrance and the small hallway. The building had a mahogany wooden door, and was newly built in art-nouveau style. Inside, the side walls of the entry hall and the ceiling had a layer of fresh paint over a classical scene, which was there prior to the renovation.
At the entrance, the stone of the threshold had “Welcome” engraved in Armenian. We learned from Manana that the carving had been there for years.
We thoroughly enjoyed touring the newly renovated building, especially knowing that it was home to someone we knew.
Afterward, we decided to go to a restaurant and have khinkali, a traditional Georgian dumpling. Then we headed to St. Gregory the Illuminator church, which was a short distance away. This is the second Armenian church in Tbilisi.
Before I proceed, I’d like to tell you about our beloved Sayat Nova, who was a bard, having composed numerous songs and poems in Armenian, Farsi, Georgian and Azeri.
Sayat Nova was born in Tiflis, in 1712, to Armenian parents. He was skilled in playing the kamancheh, chonguri and tambour, and was the official bard at the court of the sitting king in Georgia. However, he lost his position at the royal court when he fell in love with the king’s sister.
As we reached the St. Gregory church, Manana pointed to the tomb of Sayat Nova, which was right next to the church. Down the steps, there was a memorial for the renowned poet.
According to Manana, Sayat Nova is very popular in Georgia. Every year, since 1914, on the last Sunday of May, a festival is held in his honor. They close off the square, called “Armiantzki Bazaar,” which is situated right next to the St. Gregory church, and have live performances of his songs. A huge crowd attends the event each year.
This concludes my report of Tbilisi.
Catherine Yesayan is a regular contributor to Asbarez, with her columns appearing under the “Community Links” heading. She can be reached at cyesayan@gmail.com.
