Georgia trivia: 46 questions and answers

Black Sea. The Black Sea washes Georgia's western coast, where Batumi and Poti stand. The Caspian Sea lies further east, beyond Azerbaijan.

False. False. Georgia's only coast is on the Black Sea. The Mtkvari (Kura) River flows from Georgia through Azerbaijan to the Caspian Sea.

Armenia. Armenia lies to the south of Georgia. Georgia's four neighbours are Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

Lari. Georgia uses the lari, divided into 100 tetri, introduced in 1995. The dram is Armenia's currency and the manat is Azerbaijan's.

Mtkvari (Kura). The Mtkvari (Kura) flows through Tbilisi on its way from Turkey to the Caspian Sea. The Rioni flows west through Kutaisi to the Black Sea.

Shkhara. Shkhara, about 5,200 m, on the border with Russia above Svaneti, is Georgia's highest mountain. Kazbek is lower, Elbrus is in Russia and Ararat is in Turkey.

Tamar. Tamar ruled from 1184 to 1213, Georgia's golden age. Her daughter Rusudan ruled after her, Nino was a missionary saint, and Medea is a figure of Greek myth.

David IV. David IV, known as David the Builder, founded Gelati in 1106 and defeated the Seljuks at Didgori in 1121.

Saint Nino. Saint Nino, a woman from Cappadocia, preached in Iberia, and King Mirian III made Christianity the state religion in the 4th century.

False. False. Although the Treaty of Georgievsk of 1783 promised Russian protection, Russia did not help when a Persian army sacked Tbilisi in 1795.

A cheese-filled bread. Khachapuri is a cheese-filled bread and Georgia's national dish. The round Imeretian kind is the most common.

Leave it on the plate. Leave it on the plate: the knot, called the kudi or 'tail', is used as a handle and not eaten, so everyone can count how many they have eaten.

True. True. You stir the yolk and butter into the hot cheese and dip pieces of the crust into it.

Sour cherry plums. Tkemali is made from sour cherry plums with garlic and herbs. It is used much as ketchup is used elsewhere.

Thickened grape juice. Churchkhela is made from nuts dipped in thickened grape juice and hung up to dry. Gozinaki is the sweet made with walnuts and honey.

False. False. Satsivi means 'cold dish': boiled chicken or turkey is served cold in a walnut sauce, above all at New Year.

Tamada. The tamada leads the toasts at a supra, the Georgian feast. A qvevri is a clay wine jar and the kudi is the knot on a khinkali.

Kutaisi. Kutaisi was the capital until David IV took Tbilisi back in 1122 and moved his court there. Telavi was later the capital of the separate Kingdom of Kakheti.

Warm. Tbilisi comes from tbili, 'warm', because of the hot sulphur springs on which the city was built.

False. False. Gori is an inland town where the Mtkvari and Liakhvi rivers meet, about 85 km west of Tbilisi by road. It is Stalin's birthplace, but it is far from the sea.

Mtskheta. Svetitskhoveli stands in Mtskheta, the old capital of Iberia, on the site of Georgia's first church.

False. False. As of 2026, Georgia's World Heritage Sites are the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, Gelati Monastery, Upper Svaneti and the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands.

A cave monastery carved into a cliff. Vardzia is a cave monastery carved into a cliff in southern Georgia in the late 12th century, in the time of Queen Tamar.

Svaneti. Ushguli is in Upper Svaneti, high in the Caucasus, and is part of the Upper Svaneti World Heritage Site.

True. True. David IV founded Gelati near Kutaisi in 1106 as a centre of learning, and he is buried there.

The Roman Empire. Gonio, known in ancient times as Apsaros, was a well-defended town of the Roman Empire by the 2nd century AD. The Ottomans held it much later, from 1547 to 1878.

Winemaking. Winemaking: jars with traces of grape wine from about 6000 BC have been found in Georgia.

Father. Mama means father in Georgian. Mother is deda.

True. True. Ormotsi (40) means 'two twenties' and samotsi (60) means 'three twenties'.

Chakrulo. Chakrulo, a three-part polyphonic song from Kakheti, is on the Golden Records carried by Voyager 1 and Voyager 2.

33. The modern Mkhedruli alphabet has 33 letters. It once had 38, but five are no longer used.

False. False. They are about 1.8 million years old, the earliest well-dated remains of early humans found in Europe and Asia.

Sakartvelo. Sakartvelo means 'the land of the Kartvelians'. Colchis was the ancient name of western Georgia, and Tiflis the old name of Tbilisi.

Gamarjoba. Gamarjoba means hello. Nakhvamdis is goodbye, madloba is thanks and bodishi is sorry.

Mother. Deda means mother. Father is mama, and friend is megobari.

Fortress. Tsikhe means fortress, so Akhaltsikhe means 'new fortress'. Church is eklesia.

False. False. Mta means mountain. The word for sea is zghva.

Gaumarjos!. Gaumarjos! means cheers, literally 'victory to...'. Nakhvamdis is goodbye, bodishi is sorry and arapris is 'you're welcome'.

Gagimarjos. Gagimarjos is the traditional answer to gamarjoba. Nakhvamdis is goodbye, ver gavige is 'I don't understand' and ukatsravad is 'excuse me'.

True. True. Tu sheidzleba means 'if possible' and is the usual polite way to say please.

Nakhvamdis. Nakhvamdis means goodbye. Gamarjoba is hello, dila mshvidobisa is good morning and gaumarjos is cheers.

112. 112 is Georgia's single emergency number for police, ambulance and fire.

True. True. As of September 2026, all visitors need health and accident insurance covering at least 30,000 lari for the whole stay.

Georgian lari. You must pay in Georgian lari, even when a price is quoted in another currency.

Cover their heads. Women are expected to cover their heads and wear a skirt, and men should not wear shorts.

True. True. As of September 2026 it advises against any travel to these two regions and against non-essential travel next to their boundary lines. Always check your own government's official warnings.