Sunday’s Mass at the Oldest Standing Church in Tbilisi

I took this photo the first time I visited Anchiskhati Basilica one weekday morning and was so intrigued with the interior light that I vowed to return for a 9 a.m. mass to catch that gorgeous ray of sunlight again.

I may be a heathen but I love the traditional ceremonies, rituals, art and especially the music of historic churches.

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Another Wonderful Gift of Music, This Time in Tbilisi!

tbilisi symphony orcehstra
Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra conductor David Mukeria takes the stage for Friday’s performance.

“Without music, life would be a mistake,” said German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

I surely agree. A life-long love of music has played an important part in my post-retirement travel life, providing many new, wonderful opportunities to hear and see live musical performances throughout the world that I would never have had without it.

Many of my most memorable travel experiences have involved music.

From the mad rock sounds of the French band The Inspector Cluzo in Peru; Gregorian chant in an 11th century cathedral in Berlin; impromptu jams by indigenous musicians in Iquitos on the Amazon River; the Amazon Symphony Orchestra itself playing Hayden and Strauss in Manaus, Brazil; to most recently discovering the incredible polyphonic voices at Tbilisi, Georgia’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, and many more, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a grand variety of world music along my journey.

This week I was looking online for more live music in Tbilisi and discovered to my delight that the internationally renowned Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra was performing this week at the Kakhidze theater, just a six-minute walk from where I live!

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