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Georgian

Georgian is the official and primary language of Georgia. It is spoken as a first language by over 86% of the population. It is a Kartvelian language whose spoken form has many dialects and written in its own writing system. As the new language of the national religion, Georgian replaced Aramaic.

According to Orthodox tradition, Christianity was first preached in Georgia by the Apostles Simon and Andrew in the 1st century. It became the state religion of Kartli (Iberia) in 319. The conversion of Kartli to Christianity is credited to a Greek lady called St. Nino of Cappadocia.

Georgians remained mostly Christian despite repeated invasions by Muslim powers, and long episodes of foreign domination. After Georgia was annexed by the Russian Empire, the Russian Orthodox Church took over the Georgian church in 1811. The Georgian church regained its autocephaly only when Russian rule ended in 1917.

Today, the largest part of the population in Georgia practices Orthodox Christianity, primarily in the Georgian Orthodox Church – up 82.4%. 1% belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, while about 3.9% of the population follow the Armenian Apostolic Church (Oriental Orthodoxy), almost all of which are ethnic Armenians.

While there was some danger a decade back during the Russo-Georgian War, Georgia is now a safe country to visit. In fact, the International Crime Index rated Georgia as the seventh safest country in the world in 2017!

Georgia is a safe, stable country with walk-able cities full of history and inexpensive, unique foods. Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, is fairly easy to fly to as most major carriers like Lufthansa have direct flights.

Every area has its fair share of crime and natural disasters, but some places are more dangerous than others. And unfortunately, Georgia is one of them, according to WalletHub’s 2017 safest states in America report.

On average, you can expect your trip to Georgia cost to be around €30-35 per person per day ($36 to $42 USD) if travelling on a mid-range budget. However, if you plan on visiting on a tight budget, you can spend closer to €20 per person per day ($24 USD) by staying in dorms or basic guesthouses and eating cheaps meals.

The best time to visit Georgia is May, June or September, especially in the lowlands around Tbilisi, as you’ll avoid the summer heat and humidity as well as the freezing winter. Autumn harvest time is well worth a mention, especially around the vineyards of Kakheti.

You should plan to spend around GEL70 ($22) per day on your vacation in Georgia, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, GEL19 ($6.00) on meals for one day and GEL12 ($3.97) on local transportation.