The Out of Eden Walk (OOEW) project staff recently convened in Tbilisi, Georgia — our first face-to-face gathering since the Walk began in January 2013. Journalist Paul Salopek is tracing on foot the path of human migration from Africa to South America, writing stories about the people and themes he encounters along the way using a methodology he terms slow journalism. Paul has walked from Ethiopia to Georgia so far and is parked in Tbilisi until the fall, when temperatures will be bearable to walk the next stage of the trip — through the remote Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan.
As this was a completely new part of the world to me, and as I am the Walk’s chief cartographer, I needed to orient myself to this place geographically: I created some general reference maps to explain the picture more clearly.
Map by Jeff Blossom
Georgia is a sovereign republic of 3.7 million people on the imaginary line that separates Europe from Asia. It straddles the same latitude as Massachusetts in the United States and covers some 26,900 square miles of land — much smaller than the U.S. state of Georgia, which occupies 59,400 square miles.
The power of cartography: Overlaying Georgia, the country, onto Georgia, the U.S. state.
Map by Jeff Blossom
Tbilisi is the capital of Georgia, with a population of about 1.5 million. It is pronounced tuh-buh-lee-see, but I also heard it pronounced buh-lee-see, and bee-lee-see (a more lyrical version that I prefer because it reminds me of one of my favorite insects, the bee). As is the case with many other things in Georgia, consensus and standardization are hard to come by.
The lowest part of Tbilisi is on the Mtkavi river at 1,280 feet, and surrounding mountains rise quickly to 2,500 feet. Streets are steep, and several canyons bisect their way into the city. Tbilisi and Georgia are framed by the towering Caucasus mountains to the north and south and pinched by the Black and Caspian Seas to the west and east.
Georgia and its environs, with topographic hill shading. Green signifies humid areas, and brown arid. Elevations are labeled relative to sea level.
Map by Jeff Blossom
The summit was attended by members of the core OOEW team and project leaders at the National Geographic Society, including Paul Salopek, Julia Payne, Patrick Wellever, Camille Bromley, Termeh Rassi, Miranda Mulligan, and myself. We were joined mid-week by Stephen Kahn, president of the Abundance Foundation and a key supporter of the Walk’s education mission. The official agenda included discussions and planning related to OOEW’s upcoming website relaunch, non-profit development, community-building among followers, maps and cartographic education, and partner outreach. The unofficial agenda included the equally important objectives of team building and camaraderie development, and determining how to continue the success the Walk has enjoyed so far — to grow the project in new directions under a revised financial and administrative structure.
The Out of Eden Walk is essentially a collection of carefully observed stories about individuals, strung along like bread crumbs on the trail of human migration, and in Tbilisi we had the opportunity to meet some of the characters who are part of this global story. At the Gabriadze Cafe we dined with the lively Huseyin Yilmaz, Paul’s friend (and talented photographer) from northeastern Turkey, who is helping in the archival effort of the Walk.
The next day we met Nodar, who runs a one-room café chock full of maps, globes, art, stories, and an eclectic group of global wanderers.
Wanderer Paul Salopek in the entrance to Nodar’s Newsroom Caffé.
Miranda Mulligan
In the Newsroom Caffé I slowed down and realized that my own footsteps were now part of the Walk — etched onto the map, so to speak. After two and a half years of mapping the journey and participating as a remote follower from the Harvard campus, this realization was monumental.
Another memorable individual we encountered who is integrally connected to the Walk was Dr. David Lordkipanidze, General Director of the Georgian National Museum, which features an OOEW exhibit in the lobby. Dr. Lordkipanidze is a renowned anthropologist, and he artfully delivered a lecture to us on the ongoing excavation of the Dmanisi fossil site, while showing us a set of 1.8 million year old jaw and skull hominin fossils. Standing two feet away from something so rare and ancient was an out of body experience for me and drove home the Walk’s goal of retracing the ghostly paths of our ancestors in a tangible, meaningful way.
For most of three days we met in Paul’s apartment over croissants and French-pressed coffee. Lack of an Internet connection added efficiency and depth to our conversations and brainstorming sessions. However, appointments to conference online with National Geographic headquarters in D.C. and OOEW board member Stephen Kahn on a layover in Munich led us on a search for a reliable Wi-Fi signal. First to McDonald’s, and eventually to the Rustaveli Hotel, where we made the connection and completed a three-continent conference call.
Wanderer Paul Salopek in the entrance to Nodar’s Newsroom Caffé.
Miranda Mulligan
In the Newsroom Caffé I slowed down and realized that my own footsteps were now part of the Walk — etched onto the map, so to speak. After two and a half years of mapping the journey and participating as a remote follower from the Harvard campus, this realization was monumental.
Another memorable individual we encountered who is integrally connected to the Walk was Dr. David Lordkipanidze, General Director of the Georgian National Museum, which features an OOEW exhibit in the lobby. Dr. Lordkipanidze is a renowned anthropologist, and he artfully delivered a lecture to us on the ongoing excavation of the Dmanisi fossil site, while showing us a set of 1.8 million year old jaw and skull hominin fossils. Standing two feet away from something so rare and ancient was an out of body experience for me and drove home the Walk’s goal of retracing the ghostly paths of our ancestors in a tangible, meaningful way.
For most of three days we met in Paul’s apartment over croissants and French-pressed coffee. Lack of an Internet connection added efficiency and depth to our conversations and brainstorming sessions. However, appointments to conference online with National Geographic headquarters in D.C. and OOEW board member Stephen Kahn on a layover in Munich led us on a search for a reliable Wi-Fi signal. First to McDonald’s, and eventually to the Rustaveli Hotel, where we made the connection and completed a three-continent conference call.
Searching for a wireless signal, the team decamps to a nearby McDonald’s.
Jeff Blossom
Speaking on the utility of the Tbilisi Summit for The Out of Eden Walk project, immediate effects are a deeper exposure to and understanding of project goals and details by all involved; and the formation of new, innovative ideas that would have been hard to come by without meeting in this intimate, retreat-like format. New friendships were made, old ones rekindled, and the participants of the 2015 Tbilisi Summit now share a bond and “sense of team” that will move the project forward boldly and confidently in the months and years to come.
Jeff Blossom is a Senior GIS Specialist at Harvard University’s Center for Geographic Analysis and Chief Cartographer for the Out of Eden Walk.