10 things you might not know about, uh, Sakartvelo (BBC)

For much of the last two decades since independence the former Soviet republic of Georgia has often hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. War, instability, corruption and Stalin. But, as Damien McGuinness reports, there is more to Georgia than that.

Here are 10 other memorable things about the country.

1. Tongue twister
Spoken Georgian is like no other language you are likely to hear. It belongs to its own ancient linguistic group unlike any other language spoken outside the region. It includes rare sounds that many visitors may never have heard before. Some consonants, for example, are pronounced from the back of the throat with a sudden guttural puff of air. Georgian has its own 33-letter alphabet thought to be based on the sort of Aramaic spoken in the time of Jesus. To the untutored eye, the letters look very much alike. A squiggle too far and your "k" can easily turn into a "v" or a "p". But even without understanding it, Georgian writing is beautiful, a myriad of theatrical swirls and flourishes. Very fitting to a country of dramatic personalities.

2. Georgia isn't called Georgia
At least, not by Georgians. They call their country Sakartvelo. The origins of the country's name in English are obscure. One theory points to the Middle Ages when Christian crusaders swept through the region on their way to the Holy Land. At that time, it was part of the Persian Empire and the people here were known as "Gurj". They were also devotees of St George. Theory has it that the crusaders made the connection and named the country Georgia. These days, there's no mistaking the link to St George. A golden statue of the saint slaying a dragon dominates Tbilisi's central square. He is also Georgia's patron saint and the national flag featuring his red cross on a white background is everywhere.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23072361




Since the BBC posted this under "travel", I was tempted to post this in the lounge ... but it's just too darned educational !

For more on the Georgian language, see http://www.omniglot.com/writing/georgian.htm or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_alphabet (including Unicode)