Another Cultural Evening

Thursday had a strange Georgian cultural evening.  Went out for supper - ordered pickles (which consisted of a sliced dill, 3 pickled banana peppers and what I swear was pickled mustard weed like what I used to cut out of the soybeans!), mixed olives (all where the same black olives)and Georgian bread selection (they selected one loaf).  I made sandwhich out of all of it together and liked it!  Not sure which part of this was the strangest.  We started at 5:30 and sudddenly realized it was 1 1/2 hours later - eating just takes forever.  But trying to hurry anyone to give you your bill just doesn't happen. 

Grabbed a taxi and showed him our theater tickets with the address in Georgian on it.  He had no idea where the street was (even I knew how to get there).  So had to find a second taxi - he thought he knew.  We thought we would be late by the time the driver stopped for the third time to ask for directions.  Ended up on this two lane street with 3 lanes of cars headed towards the theater and one car trying to leave.  At that point we got out and walked.  Therre were two amazing theaters on the next block; one with people standing around and one with no one.  Later I found out the large beautifully lit building was an empty shell they are just now starting to renovate.  The theater we were in was just finished this year and is amazing with marble pillars and floors, plaster murals and glass doors on the bathrooms!  The show was of Georgian folk singing; which started out with this lecture on the folk singing group of past fame.  Or so I think that was what was going on as everything was in Georgian and afterwards two elderly gentleman came forward to a lot of aplause and whistles.  (Must have been the Georgian answer to the Beatles.)  Then the different groups came out; very unique singing, something called polyphonic singing.  The last group, professionals that backup an international dance group, were amazing.  They had such volume and resonance their voices filled the hall.  But for me, the most enjoyable was the all women's band that played instruments I never seen before, string and wind, as well as drums, with fingers moving so fast I couldn't see them.  One instrument was played as a fiddle held in her lap which a bow that looked like a hacksaw but the 'fiddle' also had a neck that she blew in and played like a flute!  All done at the same time.  I need to ask one of my students what the instrument is called and what this type of combo is called.  Afterwards, as I waited for my group to meet at the door I once again noticed the strange phenomina: every woman was wearing black, including me!