Welcome to Tbilisi, the capital and largest city of Georgia, spread along the banks of the Kura River. It was founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang the First of Iberia and has served as the capital of many Georgian kingdoms and republics since. Lying at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, close to the old Silk Road, the city was long contested by great powers. You can read that history in its buildings, a mix of medieval, neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Stalinist and modern architecture. Almost one third of Georgia's people live here. Let us begin high above the river, at the old fortress.
Narikala
Photo: Alexxx1979 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAbove the old town and the Kura River rise the walls of Narikala, an ancient fortress on a steep hill between the sulphur baths and the botanical gardens. Legend says King Vakhtang Gorgasali built it, though the earliest written accounts describe a fortress here in the 4th century. Within the lower court stands the Church of Saint Nicholas, built in 1996 and 1997 to replace a 13th-century church destroyed by fire. Step inside to see frescoes showing scenes from the Bible and from Georgian history.
Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi
Rising above the city is Sameba, the Holy Trinity Cathedral, the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church. It was built between 1995 and 2004 and is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the world. The idea was born in 1989, a crucial year for Georgia's national awakening, to mark 1,500 years of the church's independence and 2,000 years since the birth of Jesus. More than a hundred designs were entered in the first round of the competition, yet no winner was chosen. The final building blends traditional Georgian church styles with Byzantine touches.
Bridge of Peace
Photo: ako-aleko · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia CommonsNow cross the Kura on the Bridge of Peace, a bow-shaped footbridge of steel and glass lit by countless LEDs. It opened on 6 May 2010, linking Rike Park with the old town, and it quickly became one of the capital's best-known landmarks. The bridge was designed by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi and stretches 150 metres. Pause in the middle: on one side you see the Metekhi Church, the statue of the city's founder Vakhtang Gorgasali and the Narikala Fortress.
Abanotubani
Photo: Marcin Konsek · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAt the foot of Narikala lies Abanotubani, whose name simply means bath district. This ancient quarter is known for its sulphur baths, fed by hot springs. According to legend, this is where King Vakhtang Gorgasali's falcon fell, leading to the discovery of the hot springs and, in turn, to the founding of a new capital. By the end of the 13th century, 65 baths were recorded in Tbilisi. Breathe in, and you may catch the faint scent of sulphur.
Rustaveli Avenue
Photo: George Kvizhinadze from Tbilisi, Georgia · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStroll along Rustaveli Avenue, the central avenue of Tbilisi, named after the medieval Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli and once known as Golovin Street. It begins at Freedom Square and runs for about 1.5 kilometres. Along its length you pass the Parliament of Georgia, the National Opera Theatre, the Rustaveli Theatre, the Academy of Sciences and the Museum of Georgia, among many others. With so many public and cultural buildings lining its pavements, it is often considered the city's main thoroughfare.
Mtskheta
Photo: Jelger Groeneveld · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAbout 20 kilometres north of Tbilisi, where the Kura and Aragvi rivers meet, lies Mtskheta, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. For nearly a thousand years, until the 5th century, it was a large fortified city and a centre of the Kingdom of Iberia. Today it is a small town, but a very special one: as the birthplace of Christianity in Georgia, it was declared the Holy City by the Georgian Orthodox Church in 2014. Its historic churches and monuments became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Lomakuume
