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Capital of Georgia - Tbilisi is 1500 years old.
From the top of the mount Mtatsminda your sight will command
sparkling pictures queness of the city panorama, lying majestically
on the river Mtkvari, bearing the traces of its past and present
harmonized. Tbilisi was first entioned in the chronicles in
the IV century and was charted, in the same century, by Roman
geographer Castorisus.
There exists a beautiful legend, why Tbilisi was substituted
as capital for Mtskheta. Once king of Kartli, Vakhtang Gorgasali
went hunting with his retinue. His trained hawk, while hunting
his prey - a pheasant, overtook it and then by chance both fell
into hot sulphur springlet where they were found scalded.
The king ordered to build a town on this spot and
called it Tbilisi, because of its hot sulphur springs. In Georgian
"tbili" means warm.
It wasn't by chance, that king Vakhtang Gorgasali
decided to found the capital of Georgia in Tbilisi. Being in
high prosperity, Christian Georgia (Iberia) was waging fierce
wars against outer invasions. Especially South-East part of
the country often turned to be a battlefield of fierce fights.
Owing to its advantageous strategic location, Tbilisi became
the fore post to defend inner regions of Georgia. Tbilisi has
convenient natural environment from military point of view;
high cliffs rising on both banks of the river Mtkvari, steely
rocks overhanging from the East, the Trialeti range branching
from the West and the citadel built on both sides of the river
Mtkvari gave strength to this naturally closed gorge.
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From the ancient times the town was an important
trading and military centre. The transit caravan road crossed
the town going from East to West and from South to North.
Wealth and might of the state made the capital a target of
numerous invasions, by close and far neighboring countries
alike for centuries. During the existence the town was forty
times brought to ruins, sacked, set to fire but like fabulous
Phoenix rose from its ashes. All the above said, is a brief
review of the town's remote past. Thanks to God old traditions
and customs are still existent. Despite the fact, that the
town has grown enormously and medieval residential houses
gave way to European houses and the population amounts to
a million and half, to our great satisfaction, it still preserves
unique appearance of the old town.
When one would pass Maidan Square, he would come
to trade shops, lined on both sides of crooked street. Besides
goldsmiths, one could meet fitters, turners, smiths, bakers,
gunsmiths and others. The street to the left led to the king's
palace, with a marble bath and a beautiful fountain in the
middle of it. The water to the fountain was supplied from
the mountain rivers coming through the clay pipes. Within
the reach, right in the centre of the maidan a picturesque
bazaar would attract your attention, crowded with all sorts
of people of different nationalities: Turkish and Iranian
tradesmen, Greek handicraftsmen, Jew tradesmen, Indian fakirs
and others. One could find everything on earth on sale: silk
and brocade, wine and fruit, eastern cakes and spices, etc.
From this place you could see Metekhi church,
Avlabar Bridge,Abo's niche, Seidabad Palace
(present botanical gardens), sulphurbaths, so well known in
Orient, and Narikala Fortress.
UTC/GMT Offset Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +4
hours. Daylight saving time-adjustment: +1 hour. Current time
zone offset: UTC/GMT +5 hours. Daylight Saving Time DST started
on Sunday, March 30, 2003, at Midnight local standard time
DST ends on Sunday, October 26, 2003, at Midnight local daylight
time. Sun Sunrise at 7:40 AM. Sunset at 8:29 PM. Find sunrise
and sunset-times for other dates. Dialing codes International
country code: + 995 (Georgia) Area code: 32. Coordinates Latitude:
41° 43' North. Longitude: 44° 48' East.
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