“International space” on the ground

Author: Ulviyya Shahin Karimova

As soon as I heard the confirmation that I had received a scholarship and was going to study in Tbilisi (Georgia), the first thing that came to my mind was that it would not be difficult for me to live there with my daughter ?! I was hesitant to submit such documents to the American embassy. Because it meant that my daughter and I had to start living together again from the beginning. I thought it would be difficult for my daughter to be far from homeland.

One of my recommendation letters was written and signed by Elchin Shikhli, my valuable teacher, and founder and editor-in-chief of "Ayna" ("Zerkalo"). At that time, I also told Elchin Shikhli that I had doubts while submitting my documents. At that moment, his answer to me was, "God will take care of everything." And everything happened as he said.

But as soon as I arrived in Tbilisi , I had opposite feelings.. My daughter and I loved Tbilisi. My daughter's name is Zara. As soon as she started school, she made many friends and fell in love with Tbilisi as much as with Baku.

On the first day when we came to Tbilisi, we lived in the Mtatsminda district. Then we had to change the house we rented, because the area where we lived was far from Zara's school. We had to choose our next place in Marjanishvili district. When I moved here, I discovered a completely different environment. To me this district had more international character than the one I lived in before. Here you could see people from all nations. Marjanishvili is a very large area, but my photo-story only covers part of it. I'm sure you will love Marjanishvili as I do!

As a location for my first picture, I chose the street where the Marjanishvili metro station is located. This is one of the busiest streets in the area. People are doing small business in front of the metro. Marjanishvili is a station on the Akhmeteli–Varketili Line of the Tbilisi Metro. It opened on 11 January 1966. The station is named after Kote Marjanishvili, a Georgian theater director.

Close to Marjanishvili metro there is a Russian Orthodox Church which is located on Ivane Javakhishvili street. Russian people come there every day to pray. They pray even when they passing by the church. On the day I went there for my photo-shooting, I saw people coming there with their children to pray.

Originally built in 1864 by the donations of the faithful, the Holy Synod has allocated 5000 rubles. There are several shrines in the church: the relics of Mary Magdalene, St. Nina, St. Nicholas, St. Shio Mgvime and others.

On Sunday, at 13:00 PM, the Russians came to pray in the church

Tbilisi, Georgia. Marjanishvili. Russian Orthodox Church.

Giorgi Gogoladze, 45, bakes about 80 loaves of bread every day for Marjanishvili’s population. Gogoladze has been baking bread in this area for more than three years. He works here alone. He both bakes and sells bread.

If you walk in Marjanishvili district, you will come across many fruit and vegetable shops along the streets. Most of the sellers there are Azerbaijanis.

Lala Rasulova, 51, is one of them. . She works in this shop with her daughter and son. Rasulova lives in Saburtalo. Her children were born in Georgia and grew there. She says that people of different nationalities come to the store every day.

The Ankara market is run by Arabs. The sellers in the market wear hijabs. They did not allow me to shoot the market from inside. I was not allowed to shoot sellers either. However, I saw that the Arabs were more conservative.

Marjanishvili is a home for many Turkish restaurants. One of them is Ankara restaurant, the owner and employees are Turks. Ahmed Aydemir is the chef of the restaurant and loves to cook Turkish food.

Both Russians and Georgians work at the Khingal House. Every day they prepare plemeni (Russian cuisine) and Georgian khinkali here.

Every morning, afternoon and evening, garbage trucks clean the streets of Marja- nishvili. The staff includes Georgians, Russians and Armenians.

One of the interesting points is that in Marjanishvili, on one side of the same street, the Russian Church and on the other side, the Armenian Church are waiting for people with religious beliefs to worship.

Just off Tbilisi’s Marjanishvili Street lies the beautiful Saint Peter & Paul church. This Catholic house of worship, built in the Baroque style as part of a Zubalashvili Brothers initiative, was completed in 1877. The parish has served as a focal point for the city’s Catholic community ever since—bringing together ethnic Armenians, Georgians, Russians, and Western expats around a common faith.

School No. 37 is the only school in Marjanishvili where children of all nationalities study. There are Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Armenian, Russian and Chinese, Georgians among the students.

Zara and Vartanyan sometimes use the Marjanishvili metro when they go from the school to the for a walk.

The famous FABRİKA is also located in Marjanishvili. Urban Hotspot. Multifunctional Cultural Center.

One of Marjanishvili's most famous buildings is this crowned building.

Every street in Marjanishvili is different. Some streets are full of historic buildings, and some are surrounded by modern buildings.

Finally, think of a space that will unite all nations in the South Caucasus. It is a place where people of different nationalities, different cultures and finally different languages can easily understand each other.

If you are looking for tolerance in the South Caucasus, it must be Georgia. In my opinion, the leading part of tolerance in Georgia is Marjanishvili. I wish peace and love to the whole world, as well as to Georgia!