Tour Guide is the theme for this week’s photo challenge (as usual, click on the link for other interpretations of the theme).

The challenge calls on participants to “share with us an image, or two, or three, (or more!) of where you live. For bonus points, tell us what it is about the photo(s) that you love.”

I live in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia (that is the country not the state, yes, I know it can be confusing!)

Georgia has many old churches, it was the second country to adopt Christianity as its national religion (Armenia was first). Here I’m using Kashveti Church as a backdrop for my Matchbox DeTomaso Pantera.

The Georgian flag adopted in 2004 is an old design. The first mention of the five-cross design dates back to the middle of the 14th century, when an unknown Franciscan monk wrote that the kingdom’s flag was “a white-coloured cloth with five red crosses.” In prior centuries, Georgian kings had marched into battle brandishing a simpler flag, similar to the English flag—a single red cross, on a white background.

Georgia wouldn’t be Georgia without St George, a relative of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th Century. St George’s column can be found in Freedom Square (Tavisuplebis Moedani), it replaces a column dedicated to Lenin when Freedom Square was Lenin Square back in the days of the USSR.