A small nation residing between Europe and Asia that has a storehouse of things to offer. The place is the 8th most populous and 24th most extensive among the 50 states of the US. Being a combination of lush nature, ancient cities, Unesco world heritage sites, and snow-capped mountains makes it a must-visit for all travel lovers.
30 Facts about Georgia
1. Unexplored Heli skiing destination
To have the best heliskiing experience one needs a spectacular view and a wide open slope both of which are available at Gudauri, Georgia. It’s a place with a pack of all benefits yet not very crowded. Even if it’s your first time at heliskiing, no worries they have the slopes for intermediate and beginners too.
2. Capital city Tbilisi means ‘warm’
Tbilisi being the capital of Georgia gets its name from the Georgian word warm. The mythology behind this being that when king Vakhtang I of Iberia’s falcon fell into a natural hot spring during a hunt, he was so captivated that he made Tbilisi city in the exact same spot.
3.Popular Polyphonic music
Polyphonic music was marked as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity list in 2008.There are a total of 3 different types of Polyphony namely – Complex Polyphony, Polyphonic dialogue, contracted Polyphony.
4. Consists of two ancient European cities
The former capitals of Georgia namely Mtskheta and Kutaisi are among the oldest European cities. Kutaisi is the capital of the UK of Georgia and the imeretian kingdom. The kingdom of Iberia had Mtskheta as its capital in the early Georgian Kingdom.
5. Chakrulo- Georgian traditional song in space
The voyager spacecraft had the recording of the festive song of Georgia – Chakrulo. The golden record consisted of 115 images encoded in analogue form, traditional music from various countries, different natural sounds and also spoken greetings in 59 languages.
6. Has a number of UNESCO world heritage sites
It’s a proud thing for the city to have 3 cultural sites listed on UNESCO’s world heritage list. They are the ancient city and formo capital Mtskheta, Gelato Monastery and the mountaineers region of upper svaneti. Not just this there are 15 other sites which are on the tentative list and could potentially be considered for a world heritage site nomination in the future.
7. Most Ecologically diverse in the world
This country has about 49 different types of soil. There are a variety of climatic conditions observed such as subtropical and alpine to semi desert. These aspects make George in the biosphere one of the most ecologically divorced in the entire world. The forest area covers 43% of the land with a variety of animals such as lynxes, bears and a small number of leopards.
8 Also known as Sakartvelo
The people of Georgia also called the country Sakartvelo. This name consists of two parts – Kartvel that means the inhabitants of Kartli and the suffix sa- o stands for land where the Kartveli live.
9. The wine-making country
For 8000 years Georgia has been making wine and is also known as the birthplace of while making. The invention of wine was certainly accidental. Georgians found out that if the grape juice was poured in a large earth and where a vessel which was called qvevri and buried underground overwindow juice we turn into wine. The traditional Georgian wine making method using a qvevri listed in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity list.
10. Love to host a guest
The traditional belief for guests is that it is a gift from God. During the festival of Supra the guests are welcomed with an open arm and the toastmaker will make sure you are quite entertained and have a stomach full of food with some delicious wine.
11. World’s deepest cave – Veryovkina cave
If you love visiting kids this is the place for you. The Veryovkina cave is hidden amidst the Gagra Mountain range of the western Caucasus region. The cave reaches a depth of 2,212 meters and is the world’s deepest cave.
12. Joseph Stalin was born in Georgia
He was born in the city back in 1878 which during that time was a part of the Russian Empire. In his honour there is a museum dedicated to him in Gori which glorifies his life.
13. The safest country to visit
According to the data collected in the year 2017 Georgia is rated as the 7th safest country in the world. During your visit you just have to make sure to stay away from the certain areas along the Russian border.
14. Agrarian Economy
70 billion dollars of the entire annual income comes through agriculture. It has more than 10 million acres of farmland, with 40,000+ farms that cultivate vegetables, apples and pumpkins. The climatic conditions are suitable for wineries in North Georgia.
15. National fruit, crop, and vegetable
Production of high quality peach fruits has made it the official state fruit since 1995. Visalia onion which is the world’s sweetest onion is officially its state vegetable and peanuts are selected as the state crop.
16. Staple food – Grits
In the southern part grits are cooked almost once or twice each day. They include bits of ground corn or hominy that was invented centuries ago by the native Americans. This dish became so famous that in 2002 grits were the official prepared food of Georgia.
17. The tree that owns itself
A white oak tree in Athens GA that according to legend, has complete legal ownership to itself along with 8 feet of land on its base. The tree standing today is “son of the tree that owns itself” as the original one fell in a storm in 1942, so the locals planted a seed from the original tree at the same spot.
18. Fancy Christmas
The festival is celebrated with great joy all across Georgia. It is shocking to know that there are several Christmas towns in Georgia where every inch of the streets are decorated. Also, there are fun Christmas events scheduled all throughout the month of December.
19. Official bird, fish, tree, and motto
Brown thrasher is the official bird, state fish is the largemouth bass, southern live oak is the state tree and Georgia’s state motto is “wisdom, justice, moderation” 20.Largest dive- in restaurantThe varsity located in downtown Atlanta is the world’s largest dive – in restaurant. The place covers two city blocks having a space of 800 diners in it and 600 cats in the parking lot. The restaurant serves 15,000 people a day.
21. World’s Largest Aquarium
The Georgian aquarium in downtown Atlanta holds this position. It has 10 million US gallons of marine and salt water, which has about more than hundred thousand animals. Some rare species like whale shark, beluga whale, California sea lions and African penguins are found here.
22. Home of famous rappers
Childish Gambino, Ludacris, outkast, waka flocka, killed mike were all born in Atlanta. Some pop and rock music singers from the place are Shawn Mullins, indigo girls, eighties woman, Maserati and pupil dilate.
23. Capital Atlanta
It’s not just the capital but has the highest population of about 500,000 people. We can now see the state in some movie scenes too, thanks in part to generous tax incentives and dependable year round weather. Movies like Marvel studio flicks like black Panther and Avengers : Infinity War have the state as its setting
24. Named after King Groge ll
It was King George who granted the chart that allowed Georgia to be colonized in the name of Britain. As a tribute to the king for his trust, the state was named after him.
25. Popularly known as Peach State
The county is known as the peach state as it’s the largest producer of this fruit in the county. Not only that but the taste and texture of the fruit grown here is much better than anywhere else in the whole of the US.
26. Cherokee – State flower
It’s a white and yellow plant which is their state flower. In 1961 it was named as a symbol for georgia. This was to signify the beginning of 1838 the “trail of tears” when many Native Americans left their homeland after signing a treaty with the United States.
27. Cordele the watermelon capital
It is a small town with only 12000 people but it has made a huge name. As it is the watermelon capital of the world. It grows about 125 millions of watermelons every year. It also produces seedless watermelons and other kinds too.Â
28. Artificial lakes
There are many natural lakes and water bodies but still the state keeps on adding some artificial ones too. The northern part has many artificial lakes and most large lakes in the state are artificial as well.
29. “Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite” came from Georgia
The popular phrase comes from this land. The bed frames were tied up using ropes and the not so ideal condition of the mattress caused bed bugs. That’s when in the 1800’s this phrase started.
30. Founded by James Oglethorpe
It was colonized on behalf of the British Royal crown. But no one from the royal family was aboard when the territory was founded. So the honor of being its founder goes to James Oglethorpe.Â
Conclusion
The world is full of possibilities and there is alot for us to explore. We hope these facts are interesting enough to grab your attention and make Georgia on the top of your travel list.