In the Republic of Georgia, on a steep hillside above the river Mtkvari, is Tbilisi’s a characterful old town.  In a warren of dead-end streets are grand and graceful houses built in the Art-Nouveau style.

These buildings are in a poor state of repair.  They are crumbling, teetering, and falling apart.  The ironwork, with loops and twists inspired by nature, is bent and rusting.  The ornate plasterwork is falling off of grand facades, and what remains has its paint peeling off.  The woodwork with its elaborate gingerbread flourishes is sagging and rotting away.  Weeds and shrubs grow out of cracks in the brickwork.  Even a small earthquake would take many of these buildings down.

These forlorn and neglected exteriors hint at the grandeur of a time gone by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo gallery: Old Tbilisi, Georgia