Anecdote from the region Samegrelo
Przychodzi Mingrel do parku zoologicznego i spogląda na drzewo, gdzie siedziała papuga. Ptak w swoim zwyczaju zaczyna powtarzać - Mingrel, Mingrel, Mingrel... Człowiek się zdziwił, skąd papuga może znać, że jestem Mingrelem? W tejże chwili podchodzi do niego pracownik Zoo i się go pyta, skąd papuga może wiedzieć, skąd pochodzę? Pracownik odpowiada krótko, że jest to papuga wszystko wiedząca. Na co Mingrel, że chciałby kupić tego ptaka. Pracownik jednak nie mógł mu sprzedać papugi, w zamian oferował mu jej jaja, z których wylęgną się młode papugi.
Po dwóch miesiącach czekania z jaj wykluły się różne ptaki (wrona, sikora, orzeł, kaczka i łabędź), ale wśród nich nie było papugi. Wściekły Mingrel wraca do Zoo z pretensjami, a znajoma papuga znowusz do niego: Mingrel, Mingrel, Mingrel... Na co on odrzekł: To że ja Mingrel, wie cała Gruzja. Ale to że ty jesteś ptakiem lekkich obyczajów nie wiedzą wszyscy, ale też się niebawem dowiedzą.
Samegrelo is located in the west part of Georgia and borders with the Black Sea and Svanetie. In the region is the sub tropical climate summers, mild winters, exotic fruit, spicy dishes and unforgettable hosts - is one of those places it can be hard to leave. Also known as Mingrelia or Mengrelia, this western region, warmed and watered by the Black Sea, is home to the Megrelians, a distinctive sub group of Georgians who have their own language. The region is divided into a low-lying wetland around the major seaport of Poti and a hilly northern section, guarding the approaches to Svaneti.
The humid streets of Zugdidi, Samegrelo’s main city, house some of the country’s best cooks. Megrelian food, much more spicy than in the rest of Georgia, includes dishes that almost taste like curry such as Bazhe and Satsivi. Along with sampling the local specialties, no visit to Zugdidi is complete without a trip to the Dadiani Palace Museum. Housed in an extraordinary neo-gothic pile, the museum displays the collection of the Dadiani family, the former Dukes of Samegrelo. Along with swords, guns, antiquarian books and a shawl museum contains one of only three copies of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask. The mask found its way to Georgia after Napoleon’s nephew married into
the Dadiani family.
The impressive ruins of Nokalakevi lie by the river Tekhuri, on the northern edge of the Colchian plain in Samegrelo. The fortress is located 15 km from the town of Senaki on the Martvili road. The site was known to the Byzantine historians as Archaeopolis, and to the neighboring Georgian chroniclers as Tsikhegoji, or the fortress of Kuji.
The Kolkheti National Park is just outside the town of Poti, and was established as a national park between 1998-99. Over half the park, 15,742 hectares, consists of wetlands. The Park was opened to tourists in 2007 and offers a wide range of tours from diving and bird watching to hiking and horse-riding.
The main atractions of the region are:
- palace museum Dadiani in Zugdidi,
- port city in Poti,
- ruins of fortress Nokalakevi,
- national park Kolkheti,
- river canyon Martvili,
- birdwatching on the seaside.
