Shortest road to Mukhatgverdi
Mukhatgverdi cemetery lies beside the road to Mtskheta, on the north-western edge of the city, and Dighomi is the residential district closest to it. From the Dighomi estate the cemetery is ten to fifteen minutes away, from Didube twenty to twenty-five. That is more than a convenience - it brings the family several very practical advantages:
- A short procession: the bus with mourners and the private cars do not have to go through the centre, so the convoy does not get lost at junctions.
- Elderly mourners: a short drive means very old relatives can make it to the cemetery, which on a long route is often impossible.
- Days of remembrance: for the ormotsi (the gathering on the fortieth day), the anniversary or just an ordinary afternoon, visiting the grave from Dighomi is easy, even by public transport.
- The table close by: half an hour after the burial the guests are already at the wake, in the large hall or a local restaurant.
Four faces of the district and our approach
Old Didube
Along Tsereteli Avenue there are many old two- and three-storey houses with shared courtyards, narrow wooden or iron staircases and balconies. On a staircase like that a coffin often cannot be turned, so the crew prepares it in the courtyard and the deceased is brought out of the flat on a stretcher. If the farewell is held in a shared courtyard, we help the family agree the details with the people next door. We move especially carefully on the old wooden balconies and stairs: some of them are around a hundred years old and cannot take a heavy load.
The Dighomi estate
Soviet tower blocks with standard lifts that a coffin will not fit into lying flat. Here the crew comes with four to six people, depending on the floor, and works just as on the city's other estates: a stretcher down the stairs, the coffin waiting at the entrance.
New Dighomi
The large recent complexes on the Dighomi field, with security, underground car parks and goods lifts. The key here is to agree with security in advance so that the hearse is let onto the grounds and the crew is given the goods lift. Neighbours in new complexes know one another less well, so families often prefer a farewell in a hall, with only the closest circle gathering at home.
Dighomi village and the private houses
Private houses with large yards, where by tradition families say goodbye at home or in the yard and hold the wake there as well. A self-powered refrigerated coffin, a marquee and benches are often needed, and on some streets the hearse cannot reach the gate, so the coffin is carried by hand.
Our large hall in Didube
The funeral home has two halls in Didube: one with sixty seats for a family farewell, and one with two hundred seats - the most spacious funeral venue in the city. It is chosen by families who expect a great many people: well-known figures, doctors and teachers whom hundreds of former patients and pupils come to mourn, or large extended families from the regions.
- A refrigerated room for two: overnight the body is kept at the right temperature and returned to the hall in the morning.
- A wake room in the same building for two hundred guests: when people come back from the cemetery they sit straight down at the table, with no second journey.
- Its own entrance for the hearse, keeping the carrying of the coffin apart from the stream of mourners.
- An administrator who manages a large flow of people and lets the family slip away now and then to rest in a private room.
When relatives travel in from the regions
Didube bus station and the minibus stops around it are the city's main gateway for western and northern Georgia. When the brothers, sisters or cousins of the deceased travel from Kutaisi, Gori, Zugdidi or the mountain districts, this is where they arrive first. For that situation we offer several services:
- Pick-up at the bus station: our driver meets the guests and takes them straight to the house or the hall, so elderly relatives do not have to look for a taxi in an unfamiliar city.
- A coach for the funeral day: if a whole group is coming from a region, we send a bus to carry them from the station to the graveside and afterwards to the memorial table.
- The journey back: after the wake the bus returns the guests to the bus station in time for the last departure.
In these cases families often set the funeral date around the arrival of relatives from the regions, and thanks to embalming and refrigeration an extra day of waiting is no difficulty.
If a visiting relative dies in Tbilisi
Families in Didube and Dighomi often have parents, grandparents and other relatives from the regions living with them or staying for long periods: some come for medical treatment, others to spend the winter with their children. When such a person dies in Tbilisi, the family faces a hard choice: bury them in Tbilisi, or back home where their ancestors lie and where they themselves wished to rest.
Both paths are possible, and we arrange either one with the same care. If the family chooses the village, the death certificate is still issued in Tbilisi, since that is where the death occurred, and embalming is essential because of the long journey. The farewell is often divided in two: one day in Tbilisi, for city friends and colleagues, and a day or two in the village, in the family home. The hearse accompanies the family all the way to the village, and gravediggers are found locally with the help of the community or sent from Tbilisi.
When a family opts for a funeral in Tbilisi, the reason is usually that the children want to visit the grave regularly. Here the closeness of Mukhatgverdi to Dighomi is the strongest practical argument.
Weather at Mukhatgverdi: what to prepare for
The cemetery sits on an exposed ridge, and compared with the city districts the wind is stronger and winter temperatures run a few degrees colder. The ceremony at the graveside lasts half an hour or more, so it is worth advising older guests to dress warmly. On cold and rainy days we put up a windbreak awning by the grave, and for elderly family members we provide chairs and a bus that takes them right to the cemetery entrance, so they do not have to walk far along the path.
The Didube Pantheon: what a family should know
The district is home to the Didube Pantheon, where writers, scholars, artists and public figures are buried. Families sometimes ask whether a well-known or distinguished relative can be laid to rest there. The Pantheon is not an ordinary cemetery: burial there follows an official decision, which a family cannot obtain through an application of its own. If the relatives believe the deceased's achievements merit it, the petition is usually submitted by a creative union, a university or another organisation. In such cases we help the family prepare the documents and, in parallel, get a plot ready at Mukhatgverdi, so that the funeral is not delayed while a decision is awaited.
Prices in Didube and Dighomi
| Service | Price | Note for the district |
|---|---|---|
| Hearse for the whole funeral day | from 250 GEL | waiting time on the short run to Mukhatgverdi included |
| Small hall, sixty seats | 300 GEL per day | for a farewell among family |
| Large hall for 200 | 650 GEL per day | memorial dining room in the same building |
| Wake in the large hall | from 35 GEL per guest | up to two hundred people, no second journey |
| Meeting guests at Didube bus station | from 40 GEL | by car; a bus from 180 GEL |
| Grave preparation at Mukhatgverdi | from 400 GEL | cemetery fee separate, paid against a receipt |
Frequently asked questions
How quickly do you reach Didube or Dighomi?
Within thirty-five minutes at any hour. We arrange access with the security of the new complexes on the Dighomi field while the crew is still on the road, so there is no waiting at the gates.
How many minutes is it from Dighomi to Mukhatgverdi cemetery?
Ten to fifteen minutes from the Dighomi estate, twenty to twenty-five from Didube. It is the shortest route to that cemetery anywhere in the city, and the procession does not have to sit in central traffic.
Can farewell and memorial meal happen under one roof?
Yes. The large Didube hall also has a memorial dining room for two hundred guests. People come straight back here from the cemetery, so there is no separate restaurant to find and reserve.
Will you meet relatives travelling in from the regions?
Yes. A driver or a bus will meet them at Didube bus station and take them home, to the hall or directly to the cemetery. After the wake we take the guests back to the station.
Can someone be buried in the Didube Pantheon?
Burial in the Pantheon follows an official decision, and an application from the family alone is not enough. The petition is usually submitted by an organisation. We help prepare the documents and at the same time ready another plot, so the funeral does not have to be postponed.
Grandmother was staying with us and died here. Can she be buried in her village?
Yes. The death certificate is issued here in the capital, a doctor carries out the embalming, and the hearse takes the family to the village at the per-kilometre rate. Many families split the farewell in two: a day in the city, then at the family home, where her fellow villagers can say goodbye.
We have a private house in Dighomi village. Can the farewell be in the yard?
Yes. We will bring a self-powered refrigerated coffin, a marquee, benches and, if needed, everything for the wake. If the street is narrow and the hearse cannot reach the gate, the crew carries the coffin the last stretch by hand.
In Didube and Dighomi the whole funeral day can unfold calmly, over short distances and in the hands of a single team: hall, cemetery and table only minutes apart. Reaching us takes a single tap: +995 568 33 03 18; a crew follows within thirty-five minutes, we meet relatives from the regions at the bus station, and the family is left free to think only about saying goodbye.