GEORGIA

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FLAG The flag of Georgia also known as the Five Cross Flag, was adopted in January 2004, and originates as the flag of the United National Movement, being widely used during the "Rose Revolution" of 2003. The Georgian flag's historical inspiration is the red-on-white Jerusalem cross shown as the flag of Tblisi in the 14th-century map by Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano. The current flag was used by the Georgian patriotic movement following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the late 1990s, the design had become widely known as 'the Georgian historical national flag' as vexillologists had pointed out the Tbilisi flag in the Pizzigano chart.

CURRENCY OF GEORGIA: Georgian lari 1.00 GEL = 33.1396 INR

GEORGIA TIME ZONES: North American Eastern Time Zone FOOD HABITS OF GEORGIA: Georgian cuisine and wine have evolved through the centuries, adapting traditions in each era. One of the most unusual traditions of dining is Supra, or Georgian table, which is also a way of socialising with friends and family. The head of Supra is known as Tamada. He also conducts the highly philosophical toasts, and makes sure that everyone is enjoying themselves. Various historical regions of Georgia are known for their particular dishes: for example, Khinkali (meat dumplings), from eastern mountainous Georgia, and Khachapuri, mainly from Imereti, Samegrelo and Adjara. In addition to traditional Georgian dishes, the foods of other countries have been brought to Georgia by immigrants from Russia, Greece, and recently China. RELIGIOUS PRACTICES OF GEORGIA: The early stages, it was mainly Protestant Christianity. Savannah was the first city in what became the colony of Georgia, and General James Oglethorpe set the place up as a colony for people trapped in the debtor's prisons of England. At any rate, when the colony was founded, Catholics were strictly not allowed, due to the fact that Georgia would, among other things, serve as a buffer colony between the Spanish (Catholics) in Florida and the English (Protestants) in Charleston, SC. Jews were also allowed into the colony against the will of Oglethorpe. The story goes that a ship of Jewish physicans and philosphers fleeing the Spanish Inquistion landed in Savannah about three years after the colony was founded. They couldn't go south to Florida since the Spanish were there, and Charleston had turned them away. On the way to Savannah, the ship was badly damaged, and Oglethorpe felt if

he turned them away they would die. So he allowed Jews into the colony as well. The Yamacraws who were living in coastal Georgia at the time maintained a mutual beneficial working relationship with early settlers, so they also were free to practice their own religious beliefs and traditions. IMPORTS OF GEORGIA:
Fuels Vehicles Machinery and parts Grain and other foods Pharmaceuticals EXPORTS OF GEORGIA: Vehicles ferro-alloys fertilizers nuts scrap metal gold copper ores