Weekly Photo Challenge: Symbol

Symbol

Saint George links my past in England with my present in Georgia. The flag of England has one cross of St George, the flag of Georgia has five. St George is patron saint of both countries.

St George reflected

Georgian flags

The “real” George may have been born in Palestine in about 270 AD, to a Roman father and a mother from Cappadocia, in what is now eastern Turkey. He served the army of the pagan Emperor Diocletian until the order came to persecute fellow Christians. George would not deny his faith, so he was tortured, buried in the sand and finally beheaded, in the town of Lydda on 23 April 303. Historians disagree about many of the facts.

George is a man with a complex heritage, born as cultures and empires were colliding. George is a foreigner to both England and Georgia, although he lived considerably nearer to Georgia and his mother came from Cappadocia like the other major Georgian Saint: Nino, who is said to have brought Christianity to Georgia.

St George in Islamic Culture

Saint George is somewhat of an exception among saints and legends, in that he is known and respected by Muslims as well as by Christians, his  stature in the Middle East derives from the fact that his figure has become somewhat of a composite character mixing elements from Biblical, Quranic and folkloric sources, at times being partially identified with Al-Khidr, a righteous servant of Allah, who  possessed great wisdom or mystic knowledge.  He is said to have killed a dragon near the sea in Beirut and at the beginning of the 20th century, Muslim women used to visit his shrine in the area to pray for him.

Image of St George fighting the dragon.

“Advance our standards, set upon our foes Our ancient world of courage fair
St. George Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons….. “Richard III. act v, sc.3

St George atop his steed in Liberty Square

St George’s Day: Patriotism Yes, Nationalism No

St George’s Day celebrated in England on 23rd April and Georgia on 23rd November and 6th May. A link between my old country and my new.

Pirosmani’s Painting of a St George Feast in Bolnisi oil on cardboard

St George is usually portrayed as this bloke on a horse with a big lance killing a fire breathing dragon.

St George killing a dragon on top of his column in Liberty Square, formerly Lenin Square in Tbilisi.

How relevant is he to either 21st Century England or 21st Century Post Soviet Georgia?

The “Real” St George

The “real” George may have been born in Palestine in about 270 AD, to a Roman father and a mother from Cappadocia, in what is now eastern Turkey. He served the army of the pagan Emperor Diocletian until the order came to persecute fellow Christians. George would not deny his faith, so he was tortured, buried in the sand and finally beheaded, in the town of Lydda on 23 April 303. Historians disagree about many of the facts.

George is a man with a complex heritage, born as cultures and empires were colliding. George is a foreigner to both England and Georgia, although he lived considerably nearer to Georgia and his mother came from Cappadocia like the other major Georgian Saint: Nino, who is said to have brought Christianity to Georgia.

St George in Islamic Culture

Saint George is somewhat of an exception among saints and legends, in that he is known and respected by Muslims as well as by Christians, his  stature in the Middle East derives from the fact that his figure has become somewhat of a composite character mixing elements from Biblical, Quranic and folkloric sources, at times being partially identified with Al-Khidr, a righteous servant of Allah, who  possessed great wisdom or mystic knowledge.  He is said to have killed a dragon near the sea in Beirut and at the beginning of the 20th century, Muslim women used to visit his shrine in the area to pray for him.

St George and England

A good reason to celebrate St George’s Day in England is to keep him out of the grips of far right groups like the BNP, English Defence League and Britain First, who see him as some twisted symbol of nationalism.

Today (23 April) is also Shakespeare’s birthday, Shakespeare probably the most famous Englishman, who ever lived, mentions St George in Richard III.

“Advance our standards, set upon our foes Our ancient world of courage fair
St. George Inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons….. “Richard III. act v, sc.3

Traces of the cult of St George predate the Norman Conquest but it really took off when England’s French Speaking king Richard Coeur de Lion put the cross of St George on his shield to protect him during the Crusades in the 12th century. Saint Edmund and Edward the Confessors were rival contenders for England’s favourite saint. Cromwell suppressed St George celebrations because of their associations with idolatory. The Irish being predominantly Catholic have less issues celebrating Saint Patrick, who wasn’t Irish and may have been English or Welsh.

St George in the Catholic Church

In 1963, in the Roman Catholic Church, St George was demoted to a third class minor saint and removed from the Universal Calendar, with the proviso that he could be honoured in local calendars. Pope John Paul II restored St George to the calendar in 2000.

წმინდა გიორგი
Saint George

St George and Georgia

Saint George is a patron saint of Georgia, and it is claimed by Georgian author Enriko Gabisashvili that Saint George is the  most venerated here in Georgia. An 18th century Georgian geographer and historian Vakhushti Bagrationi wrote that there are 365 Orthodox churches in Georgia named after Saint George, according to the number of days in one year. Our local church, where my wife worships, is St George’s.

Image of ST George fighting the dragon.

Nationalism and Patriotism

George Orwell made the case for a progressive English patriotism, which he defined as a celebration of the good things in English culture and its well known contributions to the world.  Like for example four of the top ten universities in the world are English. He contrasted it with nationalism, which he saw as aggressive and generally concerned with elevating one country’s attributes and interests above those of others and often involving outright hostility towards rival countries or ethnicities. Orwell (or was it Clemenceau or Johnson?) said “a patriot is a man who loves his country, whereas a nationalist is a man who hates everyone else’s”

Ironically, one of the nice things about the English is that (with the exception of the idiots in the BNP and similar parties and Sun headline writers) they are pretty understated about their patriotism. It’s a strength, in the sense that crude nationalist parties have always had tiny followings in this country compared to many other European states and you don’t get the nauseating flag-worship you get in US politics either. It’s a weakness only really in that it’s sad when people feel they have nothing to celebrate about their culture and country.

There is plenty to celebrate from English culture for example: Shakespeare,  the Beatles , numerous Nobel Prize Laureates, Dizzee Rascal, the 1966 World Cup, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Notting Hill Carnival, a decent cup of tea, Balti, Fish and Chips, wonderful puddings, Monty Python, giving the world an International Language, Samuel Johnson, Emmeline Pankhurst, Elizabeth Fry, Jaguar, Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter….I’m sure you could add many more….

Football
When England play football, I want them to win. I want Chelsea to win the Champion’s league, this season (2013-2014), being a London team and the last English team competing, I would even want Liverpool or Manchester United to win if they were the last remaining English club in the competition. Usually I am very happy when Liverpool or United lose in domestic competitions, but in Europe I was happy to see Sheringham and Solskjær get the two last minute injury goals for United against Bayern Munich in 1999. I was also happy when Gerrard rallied Liverpool to a famous win against Milan in 2005.

In other sports I’m not so bothered if England and English teams lose.

At the last World Cup, England were the only team in the finals who didn’t have their own anthem played. They had to suffice with the British Anthem “God save the Queen” (and not the Sex Pistols version.)

Football Crazy? Not really.

Football…love it or loathe it? I find myself in between the two camps. My father loved all sports and would ardently watch sport on TV and go to football and cricket matches. I haven’t really inherited his passion. I like football but if my team lose I don’t spend the week depressed and if they win I’m not on cloud nine for the rest of the week. My team now is “Leyton Orient“ ( I have to write it on the board for my Georgian students, who haven’t heard of this team),an allegiance forged in the eighties when I was living in East London and many football fanzines were taking off. Before then my team was Tottenham Hotspur, chosen in my schooldays to be slightly different from my classmates who liked Leeds, Chelsea or Arsenal. I have only actually seen Leyton Orient play three times.

Now I am in Tbilisi, the local team is Dinamo Tbilisi, in 1979 they beat a good Liverpool side 3-0. Now, Dinamo are a shadow of their former selves. I’ve seen them play twice,  firstly, against my first football love, Tottenham. Tottenham were a class apart and thrashed Dinamo here in Tbilisi 5-0. The second time I saw them was in the Europa League Play Offs and they lost 0-3 against Greek side, PAOK Salonika. I’ve seen eight goals at Dinamo Stadium, none of which have been scored by Dinamo.

The first proper match, I ever saw was at Wembley, the Amateur Cup Final between Walton and Hersham and Slough Town, in April 1973. I went with my cub scout pack 3rd Slough. I don’t remember much about the game, I remember Wembley seemed enormous. Slough lost 1-0, in what was the last but one final. It was discontinued after the 1973-74 season, when the FA abolished their policy whereby all clubs were officially considered to be either professional or amateur in status.

I have only been to fourteen matches since:

1. QPR 3-1 Tottenham. 2 March 1974. Division one. I sat on my dad’s shoulders for a lot of the match, so I could see. Martin Chivers scored Tottenham’s goal.
2. Fulham 2-0 Sunderland. 7 Feb 1976. Division 2. Don’t know why we went to this game, my dad chose it.
3. Halifax Town 1-2 Grimsby. 26 August 1978. Division 4. The only match I ever saw up north. I remember groups of fans moving around menacingly but whether they were followers of Grimsby or Halifax, I’m not sure.
4. Reading 1-0 Halifax Town. 28 April 1979. Division 4. This makes more sense my dad’s team (Halifax) and our local team (Reading) …local to Slough.
5. England 1-1 Rumania. 11 September 1985. At Wembley. FIFA World Cup Group 3. The only time I saw England (or any national team). Glenn Hoddle scored for England. I  was supposed to meet my friend Andrew Okolotowicz, but we didn’t meet up. I wasn’t impressed by all the nationalistic chanting (nationalism is abhorrent to me…although I still want England to win whenever they play).
6. Leyton Orient 2-0 Blackpool. 14 October 1989. Division 3. At the time I was living in the East End of London. Football Fanzines were big news and supporting a lower division team had cred. Millwall were a scary proposition, I wasn’t ready for the notorious Den, so I opted to follow Leyton Orient.
7. Arsenal 4-3 Norwich. 4 November 1989. Division 1. This was a time when there were still stands. It cost just £5 to get in. We stood with the Norwich fans. It was an eventful game , lots of goals and a punch up on the pitch.
8. Maidstone United 2-0 Hereford 14 February 1990. Division 4. This is where I started to wonder about the sanity of watching live football. My friend Jeremy was from Maidstone, which was why we went. We were in Dartford (Maidstone were ground sharing at the time) on a cold night in February, with sleet falling on the pitch and us. The quality of football was dire and we’d paid £4 for the “privilege”. Very few Hereford fans had made the trip, not that I blame them.
9. Fulham 2-0 Rotherham 6 October 1990. Division 3. Leyton Orient maybe my team, but I have seen Fulham as many times.
10. Leyton Orient 1-0 Fulham 4 November 1990. Division 3. Now this might be a shock result, but  in 1990 it wasn’t, this was before Mohamed Al Fayed injected millions into Fulham, which like helium in a balloon enabled them to float up from the lower leagues.
11. Oxford United 0-0 Blackburn Rovers 6 April 1991.Division 2. The only football match, I’ve been to  on my own. A dull game.
12. Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 Leyton Orient. 16 September 2000. Division 3. The last match I saw with my dad.
13. Dinamo Tbilisi 0-5 Tottenham 22 August 2013. Europa League Play Off. Tottenham again, back where I began in a way but a long way from Loftus Road. Tottenham completely outplayed Dinamo Tbilisi, a pity, I didn’t mind Tottenham winning but I was hoping for a more entertaining competitive game.
14. Dinamo Tbilisi 0-3 PAOK Salonika. 18 August 2016. Europa League Play Off. Dinamo had most of the possession in the first half. PAOK had a couple of shots, but they scored with the first one. In the Second Half, PAOK were too strong and clinical.
    

    Dinamo Tbilisi in blue, PAOK Salonika in white

Not many games for a football fan, I find myself a little embarrassed talking to the true fans, who see their team every week and follow them around the country. I look out for Leyton Orient‘s results and this season (2013-14 season) they have started surprisingly well. They are top of League One (third division in England).

1	Leyton Orient	21	24	44
2	Wolves	21	19	44
3	Brentford	21	14	43
4	Peterborough	21	11	39
5	Preston	21	8	38
6	Rotherham	21	9	35

I collected and traded Soccer Stars in the 75/76 season…and almost filled up an album. I think I learnt more about economics and the laws of supply and demand than I did about football from this…a John Duncan is worth at least 10 Emlyn Hugheses… I also played a lot of Subbuteo with my mates (my teams: Tottenham/Derby, Sunderland/Stoke/Southampton and Blackpool/Holland playing their teams of England, Chelsea or Liverpool).

Up the Os!

April 2017 Update: Leyton Orient are now at the bottom of League Two and are looking imminently at non-league status.

Saint George’s Day

Today, 23 November is Saint George’s day in Georgia. Here it is a national holiday, many people go to church, like my wife did, to celebrate.

In England, too, there is Saint George’s Day but in England it falls on 23rd April, which despite also being the birthday of William Shakespeare (arguably the most famous Englishman ever) is not a national holiday. Saint George was a Roman, living in Palestine, who as a Christian was tortured and killed for his beliefs, the emperor Diocletian having issued an edict that Christian soldiers should be arrested and offer sacrifices to the Roman gods of the time. Saint George was adopted by the English as their  patron saint by Richard Coeur de Lion, our French speaking king, who painted the cross of St George onto his shield to protect him in the Crusades.

The slaying of dragons is the stuff of myth, but may have been popular with the English as the dragon was a symbol of Wales, England’s first colony.

We will celebrate by having a meal in a restaurant with Khato’s colleagues.

Saint George is also patron saint of Egypt, Portugal and Iraq …and Preston …and skin diseases.

Wanting to visit all of the countries of Europe…

I wanted to visit EVERY country of Europe by the time I’m 50…I hit 50 next September, so I don’t think I’ll make it, since moving to Georgia in 2009, the only new European country visited is Azerbaijan (briefly), I haven’t even ventured over the border into Armenia, yet.

My passion is travelling: seeing different countries, meeting different people…

I like to visit new places, it seems life is short and there are so many places still to see.

Around the turn of the millennium I had the idea that I would like to have visited every country of Europe by the time I m 50. Every country of the world would be nice but I am, alas, limited by money and time.

What qualifies as a European Country? The EU currently comprises 27 countries, but I chose as my qualification any country with a football team in the European Nations Competition. Thus the UK qualifies as 4 countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each having a separate team), but some countries like Monaco, Basque Country and Vatican City don’t qualify. Israel and Turkey also qualify as they play in European competitions.

At present by my reckoning there are 54 countries in Europe, the number greatly augmented by the break up of Yugoslavia and The Soviet Union. Of these I have visited 33 which leaves 21 to visit (a number which may change).

Countries visited (year first visited in brackets):

1. England (1964); I came into the world in 1964 in London, England. I have no great patriotism. I had no choice in where I was born, in some ways I was lucky to be born in a relatively free and prosperous country at peace, not somewhere riven by poverty or war or an oppressive dictatorship. With the exception of 1998 when I spent the whole year in Wales (the worst year of my life), I have been in or to England every year of my life. When I visited Australia I found Australians, who knew England better than me (and I knew Australia better than them), so on returning to England I made an effort to explore the country. You will probably find lots of interesting places near to where you live, you don t need to go half way across the world to find somewhere interesting. Lots of great places to see in England and events like Ludlow Mediaeval Christmas fayre. (Rating 4/5)

2. France (1971). My first venture outside England was a daytrip on the hovercraft to Calais, aged 6. I remember the hovercraft more than I remember Calais. I have since been to France many times. I lived in France for 6 years from 1991 to 1997. When I met Khato I told her I would like to take her to Paris,  this was achieved in April 2012. On Youtube you can type in “Khato cartwheeling” and you will see her performing cartwheels with the Eiffel Tower in the background. (Rating 3/5)

3. Wales (1972). My first holiday in Wales it rained all week. I later went to University in Wales (Aberystwyth), where it rained a lot, but not all the time. From 1982 to date I have been in Wales every year. I lived in Wales again 1997 to 1999, this was a really low period in my life. 1998 was spent entirely in Wales. I still regularly go to Wales for the beaches (Porthcawl, Barry Island and Ogmore are all less than three hours from Worcester) but I couldn t live there again. I take a lot of foreign students to Caerphilly Castle it ‘s big and much cheaper than Warwick castle. (Rating 2/5)

4. Scotland (1975). I ve been to Scotland 5 times. I picked raspberries by the Beauly Firth for two weeks (near Inverness). One of my best friends lives in Gourock on the Firth of the Clyde. I visited her in April (crashing my car on the way back). Edinburgh has the feel of a foreign city. Glasgow can be a bit scary. The Highlands are beautiful. (Rating 3/5)

5. Belgium (1975). I ve been to Belgium 9 times including my second honeymoon (Antwerp). Bruges is very pretty. I like the dunes on the coast by Blankenberge. (Rating (3/5)

6. The Netherlands (1978). Strangely, I’ve only been twice to the Netherlands, the first time aged 13, at the time of the 1978 World Cup which I remember watching on a black and white TV in a caravan somewhere near Utrecht. Highlight of the week in Netherlands was a canal trip around Amsterdam. Visited a second time in 2008, spending most of my time in the pretty city of Delft. (Rating 3/5)

7. Croatia (1981). It was Yugoslavia at the time, I was on a school cruise around the Mediterranean. We were supposed to start in Venice, but the Italian Air Traffic Controllers were on strike so we began in Split. Didn t really appreciate Split, seemed a poor substitution for Venice, remember the coffee being so strong it was undrinkable. (Rating 2/5)

8. Turkey (1981). I ve now been to Turkey six times. The first time was great, Ephesus was incredible. I returned in 2000 to visit my friend Emre and saw Pamukkale, another amazing place. Then a third visit in 2004 to Bodrum where I had fun windsurfing. I d really like to see more of Turkey as I ve only been to the Aegean Coast, and there is much more to see. Update: visited Trabzon on Black sea Coast and the amazing Sumela Monastery in January 2010. I have also twice visited Istanbul (2008 and 2010), a truly magnificent city. (Rating 4/5)

9. Greece (1981). I really liked Turkey but I love Greece. I ve been there 4 times. Best time was when I stayed with my friend Fenia in Thessaloniki (2002). I find the Greek people very friendly. Lots to see. Good food. Good weather. Amazing cultural heritage. Alphabet a bit tricky. (Rating 5/5)

10. Italy (1981). I’ve been to Italy twice. First time was at the end of the Cruise when we saw Pompeii ,after seeing ruins everywhere else Greece, Turkey, Egypt probably didn t appreciate Pompeii. Whenever I’ve travelled since I have tried to take in a variety of experiences. Even taking a few foreign students to South Wales for the day, I combine Caerphilly Castle with Cardiff and Barry Island. Variety is the spice of life. Second trip to Italy, visited Sicily, best food I d ever tasted until I went to Valencia. Etna is awesome and Agrigento is spectacular. (Rating 3/5).

11. Germany (1987). I ve been to Germany many times now (7). When I visited first it was a divided country. I visited DDR in the summer of 1989, my only real experience of an Iron Curtain country in Communist times…Yugoslavia being somewhat different. Berlin is my favourite city in Germany but I did have a very good time in Frankfurt on my first visit. (Rating 3/5)

12. Luxembourg (1989). Small but pretty. Been here 3 times. The City is very pretty and La Petite Suisse de Luxembourg is very scenic for walking. (Rating 4/5)

13. Austria (1989). This was the first country I visited just to “tick it off”, I took a train from Lindau to Bregenz crossing German-Austrian border, and spending about 15 minutes in Bregenz before taking train back to Lindau. I returned to Austria in 2004 to visit the capital, Vienna. Austria would be a difficult country for me to like, my first wife’s parents were Austrian Jews who fled the country in 1938. (Rating 1/5)

14. Denmark (1990). Very flat compared to other Scandinavian countries. Lots of cyclists.(Rating 2/5)

15. Sweden (1990). Lots of trees. Walked on a frozen lake near Harnosand which was interesting. I returned to Sweden at the end of July 2007, before tended to go through en route to Norway. (Rating 3/5)

16. Norway (1990). Very scenic. My first Honeymoon was to the Lofoten Islands, north of the Arctic Circle. Mountains, fjords, glaciers, midnight sun all amazing. On the negative side rain, rain and more rain. Also very high prices. (Rating 4/5)

17. Spain (1990) Amazing cities. I ve visited San Sebastian/Donostia, Santiago de Compostella, Sevilla, Madrid and Valencia. Valencia has the best food I ve ever tasted (Paella with Garlic Mayonnaise). Sevilla is probably my favourite European City, I was there at the time of the April Fair. Very colourful. (Rating 4/5)

18. Portugal (1990). First time I was interrailing. Covering a lot of miles (Paris – Narvik then Narvik down to the Algarve). Douro valley very pretty. Lisbon has trams going up steep inclines and lots of lovely fish restaurants. Cabo de rocha is most westerly point of Europe. (Rating 4/5)

19. Eire (1990). Been twice to the Irish Republic. To the South East (Kilkenny, Waterford) and to the north (Sligo, Donegal). Weather was good both times, surprisingly. (Rating 3/5)

20. Cyprus (1995). My second favourite Mediterranean Island. People are very friendly. Weather, sunny even in February. Good place for winter sun, they drive on the left which is convenient for Brits. Nice food. (Rating 4/5)

21. Hungary (2001). Been to Hungary 5 times now. I love Budapest and Pecs is interesting too. They really do play chess in the thermal baths in Budapest.(Rating 4/5)

22. Slovakia (2001). I have a lot of Slovakian friends. Only been to Bratislava (twice), small city compared to Budapest or Prague. (Rating 2/5)

23. Lithuania (2003). I went to a hotel in Palanga on the Baltic coast and found they didn t speak English or French, only Russian or Lithuanian! Very flat country like Denmark. Hill of Crosses at Siaulai is surreal. Birzai has a lovely artificial lake. This was the first state from the Former Soviet Union I visited. (Rating 3/5)

24. Czech Republic (2004). I ve only been to Prague (twice), another pretty city. I have some very good friends in Prague (Iveta, Andreia and Tereza). I prefer Budapest as a city.(Rating 3/5)

25. Poland (2004). I spent three days in Poland in 2004, arriving on the night train from Prague in Krakow. I visited Auschwitz (Oswieczim), a very sad place, its true that no birds sing there. I was also disappointed that the guide omitted the gypsy holocaust, not taking us to Block 13, where most Roma and Sinto were interred. Wieliska was interesting, a salt mine just outside Krakow, with a chapel underground carved into the salt. I was invited to a wedding in Poland on 22 September 2007 in Siedlce, Eliza, one of my students got married, there. (Rating 3/5)

26. Serbia (2005). I like Serbia. Very interesting and few other tourists. I ve been to Serbia twice now. The first time I visited Subotica and Palic in the Hungarian speaking part. Subotica has lots of pretty art nouveau buildings, and almost no tourists. My second visit was to Belgrade, cheap accommodation for a capital city and great nightlife. Unfortunately Underground was being refurbished when I was there, so I spent a few nights listening to music and live bands in the cellars of Akademija. (Rating 4/5)

27. Northern Ireland (2005). Last country of UK to be “ticked off” my list. The Antrim Coast, the Marble Arch caves, the Loughs of Fermanagh and the Giant’s Causeway are all worth seeing. The towns and cities are disappointing with all the same chain shops; Coleraine could be Peterborough. (Rating 3/5)

28. Switzerland (2006). Very scenic, possibly too pretty for my liking. I visited Luzern a city by a lake, lots of mediaeval buildings, overlooked by great mountains, Korean tourists taking lots of pictures, it all seemed a bit too much like a theme park. Basel was ok, felt like it was a city people lived in. Lots of Turks, I tried ordering tomato soup in Thun in Turkish, got a Tomato salad, obviously need to practise more. Very expensive, the weather was not good when I went. (Rating 3/5)

29. Liechtenstein (2006). The weather was bad, I stayed in a grotty hotel in Schaan. I wouldn t recommend Liechtenstein. (Rating 2/5)

30. Israel (2007). Not strictly in Europe, but qualifies here as they play football in Europe holding England to a draw recently and beating France in 1993. I stayed in Jerusalem, incredible city…one of those cities you must see before you die (like Rome and Istanbul, which I have yet to see). A lot of tension and soldiers. Staying in Jerusalem is like living in history, so much here. A holy city for three religions, no wonder there is tension. I preferred the quieter Armenian quarter. I ventured out of Jerusalem once, the bus station’s security was like an airport’s, took a bus to the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi National park. I didn t see any trouble. If a Palestinian offers to guide you around the city say no, I made that mistake and ended up £50 poorer. Lots of vendors keen to part you and your money like souks anywhere. (Rating 4/5)

31. Finland (2007). Trees and lakes. Visited Santa Claus village on the Arctic Circle…in August. Expensive country. (Rating 3/5)

32. Georgia (2008). Visiting Georgia changed my life. I met my wife Khato at a wedding in Tbilisi and moved out to teach English the following year. Georgia has a lot of Geography for a country the size of Ireland. The language is tricky not having a Roman or even Cyrillic alphabet. Some of the highest mountains in Europe are here, we visited Mount Kazbek in 2012, over 5000m it is higher than Mont Blanc . (Rating 4/5)

33. Azerbaijan (2011). It doesn t look like I’ll achieve my goal to visit every country in Europe by the time I’m 50. This is the first new European country I ve visited in the last 5 years and this was by accident not design. Visiting the Davit Gareja monastery complex in the South of Georgia, we crossed into Azerbaijan without any passport control. The only border guards we noticed were Georgian and they didn t ask us for any ID. The semi arid landscape was impressive but we didn t meet any Azeris to have a full view of the country. (Rating 3/5)

34. Vatican City (2016). The smallest country in the world. Completely surrounded by the city of Rome. We visited the Vatican Museum with the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. We also visited St Peter’s Basilica, the biggest cathedral in Europe. Very crowded with tourists, very opulent interiors. Doesn’t have a football team playing in the European Nations so doesn’t fit my suggested criterium for a European country. (Rating 3/5)

Ratings: 5/5 my favourite country (Greece)

4/5 I d highly recommend this country (10 countries)

3/5 good (15 countries)

2/5 in no hurry to return to this country (5 countries)

1/5 my least favourite country (Austria)

33 Down

19 to go:

Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Andorra, Malta, San Marino, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Albania, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Armenia, Kosovo, Montenegro

Of these countries currently Macedonia appeals the most, chatting with people in Serbia had lots recommending the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (the Greeks would argue its not the true Macedonia).

Outside Europe, I would love to see Argentina and Chile. China and Ethiopia also look interesting.

My favourite place? Corsica, the French Island in the Mediterranean, if I could live there I would (I tried but there is little work outside tourist season). Sea , mountains and the smell of wide sage. Interesting towns, very different from each other (Calvi, Corte, Bastia, Ajaccio, l’Ile Rousse). Interesting people, not as friendly as Greeks but warm and steeped in tradition.

Outside Europe I have visited Australia (1987), Egypt (1981), USA (2009) and Canada (2009)…37 countries in total.

The map below says 35 because it counts the UK as one country, not four. I also was only in transit in Malaysia, so I don’t really count landing in Kuala Lumpar en route to Australia as having visited Malaysia.

Jim Holroyd has been to: Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Egypt, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Slovakia, Turkey, United States.
Get your own travel map from Matador Network.