GEORGIA’S EUROPEAN WAYS

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SEA Juggling terms mostly used in maritime affairs (navigation, compass, powder keg, and island), I naturally reached the sea - the Black Sea that washes Georgia’s western coast. In the adventure stories I mentioned earlier, it often happens that a sailor sitting on a mast shouts “Land-ho!” with admiration and delight. It is the reaction of a person who is sick and tired of seeing the ocean day and night for weeks on end and is longing for fresh water, food and women. And I shout “Sea!” with no less admiration, for it gives us hope, connects us to Europe, and paves our way to the Atlantic. It is from this sea that warm and humid air reaches Georgia, neutralizing the cold coming from the north and ensuring abundance. The small town of Gagra, the most beautiful town I have ever seen in my life is also on the shore of this sea. Our ports that Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asian countries use to establish ties with Europe are also on this sea, but the truth is that as soon as they enter Georgia, they are already in Europe, because it starts where Georgia starts. Incidentally, reading A History of Europe by Norman Davies, I again became convinced that it is sometimes useful to change the angle of vision. On the map in his book, Davies turned Europe 90 degrees in a clockwise direction. As a result, the map present the west (Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Britain) “above”, the north (Scandinavia) “to the right”, and the south (Italy and Greece)”to the left.” God, I never realized how many interesting things this map permitted me to see! Among them was the fact that one Iberia was on the top of the huge European peninsula and the other Iberia (i.e. Georgia) was at its bottom.

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