Tbilisi

Overview

Tbilisi is the capital city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura (Mtkvari) river. The city covers an area of 350 km² (135 square miles) and has more than 1.345 million inhabitants. Tbilisi lies in the centre of eastern Georgia, in the foothills of the Trialeti mountain range. According to Georgian legends it was founded in the 5th century by King Vakhtang Gorgasali who while hunting shot a pheasant which fell into a warm spring and was either boiled or healed, depending on which version you hear. Either way, the king was inspired to found a city on the site, and the name of the city derives from the Georgian word tbili meaning warm. Although the city has been destroyed and rebuilt some 29 times, the layout of the Old Town is largely intact with narrow alleys and big crooked houses built around courtyards.

History