Wander-Lush - Cultural Travel Blog

Wander-Lush - Cultural Travel Blog A culture-focused travel blog with a special love for the Caucasus, the Balkans & Southeast Asia. Newsletter sign-up: https://wander-lush.org/newsletter/

I create city guides, itineraries & in-depth features to help you fill your travels with colour, culture and creativity.

Kutaisi πŸ’›
19/08/2026

Kutaisi πŸ’›

A few more photos from inside the former Georgian Parliament – now the Kutaisi Technology Hub.The futuristic architectur...
18/08/2026

A few more photos from inside the former Georgian Parliament – now the Kutaisi Technology Hub.

The futuristic architecture has some echoes of Brutalism – the lines and arrangement of modular office blocks around a fissure-like void reminds me so much of the 'Founders of the Bulgarian State Monument', which we saw last year in Shumen.

Designed by Spanish firm CMD Ingenieros, the building was constructed in 2011-12 to house the Parliament of Georgia, which sat here from October 2012 until the end of 2018.

Previously this was the site of Merab Berdzenishvili's 1981 'Memorial of Glory', which was demolished in 2009.

After lying empty for so many years, it's so nice to see the former Kutaisi Parliament building full of life!The new Kut...
17/08/2026

After lying empty for so many years, it's so nice to see the former Kutaisi Parliament building full of life!

The new Kutaisi Technology Hub opened at the end of July, and I finally got a chance to visit last week.

The main floor is an interactive science and technology museum, which reminded me so much of the science museum we had in Brisbane when I was a kid – lots of hands-on experiments and things to play with. Entrance is currently free, and it was packed with families on a Friday afternoon.

There's still a lot of vacant space and work to do, but more is coming. Georgia's first TUMO Center for Creative Technologies is based here too, with free technology and design programs for teenagers starting this September, alongside labs, startup and work spaces.

I'm really glad this building was repurposed instead of being torn down. Whatever you think of its history, it's a remarkable piece of architecture, and seeing it alive again feels like a very good outcome for Kutaisi.

More info: https://techhub.gita.gov.ge/

I've been to Samtredia so many times, but I never knew this mosaic existed until Ross spotted it from the window of the ...
16/08/2026

I've been to Samtredia so many times, but I never knew this mosaic existed until Ross spotted it from the window of the train a few months ago.

The side of the building it's on is part of a fenced-off basketball court – we had to walk through the middle of a kids' football match to get inside. The complex backs onto the railway tracks, and as soon as I took my camera out, a friendly guy dressed in overalls came over to the fence to say hello 😊

The sun was in exactly the wrong spot so my photos didn't come quite right – I'll go back some time.

Bus stop in Senaki.Soviet Bus Stops +
16/08/2026

Bus stop in Senaki.

Soviet Bus Stops +

This building is located just off the road between Chkhorotsku and Senaki, close to the Tsivi River.Does anyone know wha...
15/08/2026

This building is located just off the road between Chkhorotsku and Senaki, close to the Tsivi River.

Does anyone know what it was? I know there are hot springs nearby – maybe a sanatorium?

Despite part of the collection being packed away while renovations go on, we were lucky to get a very detailed tour of t...
14/08/2026

Despite part of the collection being packed away while renovations go on, we were lucky to get a very detailed tour of the local museum in Chkhorotsku.

One section of the museum is dedicated to Besarion Keburia – born in Lower Chkhorotsku in 1870, he studied at Louis BlΓ©riot's flying school in Paris and is remembered as Georgia's first aviator. The Hungarian poster advertising a Georgian dance troupe (I think?) is also pretty cool.

Staff are friendly and funny – I highly recommend dropping in if you're passing through town.

This impressive monument – 'ბოროგბა αƒ‘αƒ«αƒšαƒ˜αƒ αƒ™αƒ”αƒ—αƒ˜αƒšαƒ›αƒαƒœ' (Good overcomes/triumphs over evil) by Demur Eloshvili, Roin Mchedli...
13/08/2026

This impressive monument – 'ბოროგბა αƒ‘αƒ«αƒšαƒ˜αƒ αƒ™αƒ”αƒ—αƒ˜αƒšαƒ›αƒαƒœ' (Good overcomes/triumphs over evil) by Demur Eloshvili, Roin Mchedlishvili and Kote Zhvania – stands in the centre of Chkhorotsku.

Its title comes from a famous line in S***a Rustaveli's epic poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin. The monument depicts St George defeating the dragon, but when it was erected during the Soviet period, the religious symbolism was apparently veiled by the allegorical theme. The gold cross appears to have been added later.

One last Chkhorotskhu mosaic... This one is located outside the local police station.I particularly like the scene of th...
12/08/2026

One last Chkhorotskhu mosaic... This one is located outside the local police station.

I particularly like the scene of the swimmer reclining beneath a waterfall – I think this would make a great tattoo! The Tree of Life images with skeletons entwined in the tree roots are quite unusual.

This is one of the strangest mosaics I've seen in Georgia – I would love to know more about it if anyone has any leads.A...
12/08/2026

This is one of the strangest mosaics I've seen in Georgia – I would love to know more about it if anyone has any leads.

A Dali-esque fever dream of rockets, clocks, a submarine, mathematical equations and fragments of Georgian culture... What a piece!

It too is located in Chkhorotskhu on a building that is now used by Megrelian broadcaster AKA TV.

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