Tbilisi

Tbilisi (Georgian: [tbilisi]),[3] formerlyknown as Tiis, is the capital and the largest cityof Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mtkvari Riverwith a population of roughly 1.5 million inhabitants.Founded in the 5th century by the monarch of Geor-gias ancient precursor Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi hassince served, with intermissions, as the Georgian capi-tal. Formerly, the city had also served as the seat ofthe Imperial administration of the Caucasus during theRussian rule from 1801 to 1917, the capital of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in1918, of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918to 1921, of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from1921 to 1991, and the Transcaucasian Socialist Federa-tive Soviet Republic from 1922 to 1936.Located on the southeastern edge of Europe, Tbilisisproximity to lucrative east-west trade routes often madethe city a point of contention between various rival em-pires throughout history and the citys location to this dayensures its position as an important transit route for globalenergy and trade projects. Tbilisis varied history is re-ected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval,classical, and Soviet structures.Historically, Tbilisi has been home to people of diversecultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it isoverwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian. Notabletourist destinations include cathedrals like Sameba andSioni, classical Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue,medieval Narikala Fortress, pseudo-Moorish Opera The-ater, and the Georgian National Museum.

1 HistoryMain articles: History of Tbilisi and Timeline of Tbilisi

1.1 Early history

According to an old legend, the present-day territory ofTbilisi was covered by forests as late as 458. One widelyaccepted variant of the legend of Tbilisis founding statesthat King Vakhtang I Gorgasali of Georgia went huntingin the heavily wooded region with a falcon (sometimes thefalcon is replaced with either a hawk or other small birdsof prey in the legend). The Kings falcon allegedly caughtor injured a pheasant during the hunt, after which bothbirds fell into a nearby hot spring and died from burns.

King Vakhtang became so impressed with the hot springsthat he decided to cut down the forest and build a city onthe location. The name Tbilisi derives from the Old Geor-gian word Tbili (), meaning warm. The name'Tbili' or 'Tbilisi' ('warm location') was therefore givento the city because of the areas numerous sulphuric hotsprings that came out of the ground. Archaeological stud-ies of the region have indicated human settlement in theterritory of Tbilisi as early as the 4th millennium BCE.King Dachi I Ujarmeli, who was the successor ofVakhtang I Gorgasali, moved the capital from Mtskhetato Tbilisi according to the will left by his father. Tbilisiwas not the capital of a unied Georgian state at that timeand did not include the territory of Colchis. It was, how-ever, the capital city of Eastern Georgia/Iberia. Duringhis reign, King Dachi I oversaw the construction of thefortress wall that lined the citys new boundaries. Fromthe 6th century, Tbilisi grew at a steady pace due to the re-gions favourable and strategic location which placed thecity along important trade and travel routes between Eu-rope and Asia.

1.2 Foreign domination

Tbilisis favourable and strategic location did not nec-essarily bode well for its existence as Eastern Geor-gias/Iberias capital. Located strategically in the heart ofthe Caucasus between Europe and Asia, Tbilisi becamean object of rivalry between the regions various pow-ers such as the Roman Empire, Parthia, Sassanid Persia,Arabs, Byzantine Empire, and the Seljuk Turks. The cul-tural development of the city was somewhat dependent onwho ruled the city at various times, although Tbilisi (andGeorgia in general) was able to maintain a considerableautonomy from its conquerorsFrom 570580, the Persians took over Tbilisi and ruledit for about a decade. In the year 627, Tbilisi was sackedby the Byzantine/Khazar armies and later, in 736738,Arab armies entered the town under Marwan II Ibn-Muhammad. After this point, the Arabs established anemirate centered in Tbilisi. In 764, Tbilisi, still underArab control was once again sacked by the Khazars. In853, the armies of Arab leader Bugha Al-Turki (Bughathe Turk) invaded Tbilisi in order to enforce its return toAbbasid allegiance. The Arab domination of Tbilisi con-tinued until about 1050. In 1068, the city was once againsacked, only this time by the Seljuk Turks under SultanAlp Arslan.

1

2 1 HISTORY

Detail from the Nautical chart by Angelino Dulcert, depictingGeorgian Black Sea coast and Tiis, 1339.

1.3 Capital of a unied Georgian stateIn 1122, after heavy ghting with the Seljuks that in-volved at least 60,000 Georgians and up to 300,000Turks, the troops of the King of Georgia David theBuilder entered Tbilisi. After the battles for Tbilisi con-cluded, David moved his residence from Kutaisi (West-ern Georgia) to Tbilisi, making it the capital of a uni-ed Georgian State and thus inaugurating the GeorgianGolden Age. From 1213th centuries, Tbilisi becamea dominant regional power with a thriving economy(with well-developed trade and skilled labour) and awell-established social system/structure. By the end ofthe 12th century, the population of Tbilisi had reached100,000. The city also became an important literary anda cultural center not only for Georgia but for the EasternOrthodox world of the time. During Queen Tamar'sreign, Shota Rustaveli worked in Tbilisi while writing hislegendary epic poem, The Knight in the Panthers Skin.This period is often referred to as Georgias GoldenAge[4] or the Georgian Renaissance.[5]

1.4 Mongol domination and the followingperiod of instability

Tbilisis Golden Age did not last for more than acentury. In 1226 Tbilisi was captured by the refugeeKhwarezmian Empire Shah Mingburnu and its defencesseverely devastated and prone toMongol armies. In 1236,after suering crushing defeats to the Mongols, Georgiacame under Mongol domination. The nation itself main-tained a form of semi-independence and did not lose itsstatehood, but Tbilisi was strongly inuenced by theMon-gols for the next century both politically and culturally.In the 1320s, the Mongols were forcefully expelled fromGeorgia and Tbilisi became the capital of an independentGeorgian state once again. An outbreak of the plaguestruck the city in 1366.From the late 14th until the end of the 18th century, Tbil-isi came under the rule of various foreign invaders onceagain and on several occasions was completely burnt to

View of Tbilisi by French traveler Jean Chardin, 1671.

the ground. In 1386, Tbilisi was invaded by the armiesof Tamerlane (Timur). In 1444, the city was invaded anddestroyed by Jahan Shah (the Shah of the town of Tabrizin Persia). From 1477 to 1478 the city was held by theAk Koyunlu tribesmen of Uzun Hassan.

1.5 Iranian controlSee also: Capture of Tbilisi and Gke war and Battle ofKrtsanisiIn 1503, Tblisi came alongside wider Kartli and Kakheti

The capture of Tbilisi by Agha Mohammad Khan. A Qajar-eraminiature from the British Library.

under Safavid Iranian vassalship.[6] In 1522, Tbilisi camefor the rst time under nominal Iranian control but waslater freed in 1524 byKing David X of Georgia.[7] Duringthis period, many parts of Tbilisi were reconstructed andrebuilt. Beginning with the 1555 Treaty of Amasya, and

1.7 Independence 3

more rmly from 1614 to 1747, with brief intermissions,Tbilisi was garrisoned by the Iranian forces and func-tioned as a seat of the Iranian vassal kings of Kartli, whomthe shah conferred with the title of wali.[8] Under thelater rules of Teimuraz II and Erekle II, Tbilisi becamea vibrant political and cultural center free of foreign rule,but the city was captured and devastated in 1795 by theIranian Qajar ruler Agha Mohammad Khan, who soughtto reassert Iranian suzerainty over Georgia.[9][10] At thispoint, sensing that Georgia could not hold up against Iranalone, Erekle sought the help of Russia.

1.6 Russian control

See also: Georgia within the Russian EmpireIn 1801, after the Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti

Mikhail Lermontov, Tiis, 1837.

of which Tbilisi was the capital was annexed by theRussian Empire, Iran ocially lost control over the cityand the wider Georgian lands it had been ruling forcenturies.[11] Under Russian rule, the city subsequentlybecame the center of the Tbilisi Governorate (Guber-nia). In the course of the 19th century, the largestethnic group of Tbilisi were Armenians, who, at somepoint, formed 74.3% of the population.[12] From thebeginning of the 19th century Tbilisi started to groweconomically and politically. New buildings mainlyof European style were erected throughout the town.New roads and railroads were built to connect Tbilisito other important cities in Russia and other parts ofthe Transcaucasus (locally) such as Batumi, Poti, Baku,and Yerevan. By the 1850s Tbilisi once again emergedas a major trade and a cultural center. The likes ofIlia Chavchavadze, Iakob Gogebashvili, Aleksandr Gri-boyedov, Mirza Fatali Akhundzade, Nar-Dos, PertchProshian, Ra, Gabriel Sundukyan, Hovhannes Tu-manyan, Akaki Tsereteli, Simon Zavarian and manyother statesmen, poets, and artists all found their homein Tbilisi.Tbilisi was visited on numerous occasions by and was

the object of aection of Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tol-stoy, Mikhail Lermontov, the Romanov Family and oth-ers. The Romanov Family established their residence(in Transcaucasia) on Golovin Street (Present-day Rus-taveli Avenue). Throughout the century, the political,economic and cultural role of Tbilisi with its ethnic, con-fessional and cultural diversity was signicant not only forGeorgia but for the whole Caucasus. Hence, Tbilisi tookon a dierent look. It acquired dierent architecturalmonuments and the attributes of an international city, aswell as its own urban folklore and language, and the spe-cic Tbilisuri (literally, belonging to Tbilisi) culture.

1.7 IndependenceAfter the Russian Revolution of 1917, the city servedas a location of the Transcaucasus interim governmentwhich established, in the spring of 1918, the short-livedindependent Transcaucasian Federation with the capitalin Tbilisi. At this time, Tbilisi had roughly the samenumber of Armenians as Georgians, with Russians beingthe third largest ethnic group.[13] It was here, in the for-mer Caucasus Vice royal Palace, where the independenceof three Transcaucasus nations Georgia, Armenia andAzerbaijan was declared on 26 to 28 May 1918. Afterthis, Tbilisi functioned as the capital of the DemocraticRepublic of Georgia until 25 February 1921. From 1918to 1919 the city was also consecutively home to a Germanand British military headquarters.Under the national government, Tbilisi turned into therst Caucasian University City after the Tbilisi State Uni-versity was founded in 1918, a long-time dream of theGeorgians banned by the Imperial Russian authorities forseveral decades.[14] On 25 February 1921, the BolshevistRussian 11th Red Army invaded [15][16] Tbilisi after bit-ter ghting at the outskirts of the city and declared Sovietrule.

1.8 Communist government

The Red Army entered Tbilisi on 25 February 1921.

In 1921, the Democratic Republic of Georgia was

4 2 POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION

occupied by the Soviet Bolshevik forces from Russia,and until 1936 Tbilisi functioned rst as the capital cityof the Transcaucasian SFSR (which included Armenia,Azerbaijan, and Georgia), and afterwards until 1991 asthe capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.During the Soviet rule, Tbilisis population grew signif-icantly, the city became more industrialised and cameto be an important political, social, and cultural centreof the Soviet Union. In 1980 the city housed the rststate-sanctioned rock festival in the USSR. In the 1970sand the 1980s the old part of the city was considerablyreconstructed.[17]

Tbilisi witnessed mass anti-Russian demonstrations dur-ing 1956 in the 9 March Massacre, in protest againstthe anti-Stalin policies of Nikita Khrushchev. Peacefulprotests occurred in 1978, and in 1989 the April 9 tragedywas a peaceful protest that turned violent.

1.9 After the break-up of the Soviet UnionSince the break-up of the Soviet Union, Tbilisi has ex-perienced periods of signicant instability and turmoil.After a brief civil war, which the city endured for twoweeks from December 1991 to January 1992 (when pro-Gamsakhurdia and Opposition forces clashed with eachother), Tbilisi became the scene of frequent armed con-frontations between various maa clans and illegal busi-ness entrepreneurs. Even during the Shevardnadze Era(19932003), crime and corruption became rampant atmost levels of society. Many segments of society becameimpoverished because of unemployment caused by thecrumbling economy. Average citizens of Tbilisi started tobecome increasingly disillusioned with the existing qual-ity of life in the city (and in the nation in general). Massprotests took place in November 2003 after falsied par-liamentary elections forced more than 100,000 peopleinto the streets and concluded with the Rose Revolution.Since 2003, Tbilisi has experienced considerably morestability with decreasing crime rates, an improved econ-omy and a real estate boom.[18] During the 2008 SouthOssetia war the Tbilisi area was hit by multiple Russianair attacks.After the war, several large-scale projects were started,including a streetcar system,[19] a railway bypass anda relocation of the central station[20] and new urbanhighways.[21] In June 2015, a ood killed at least twelvepeople and caused animals from the citys zoo to be re-leased into the streets.[22]

2 Politics and administrationSee also: List of mayors of Tbilisi

The status of Tbilisi, as the nations capital, is denedby the Article 10 in the Constitution of Georgia (1995)

City Council of Tbilisi

and the Law on Georgias Capital Tbilisi (20 February1998).[23]

Tbilisi is governed by the Tbilisi City Assembly (Sakre-bulo) and the Tbilisi City Hall (Meria). The City Assem-bly is elected once every four years. The mayor is electedonce every four years by direct elections. The Mayor ofTbilisi is David (Davit) Narmania and the Chairman ofthe Tbilisi city Assembly is Giorgi Alibegashvili.Administratively, the city is divided into raions (districts),which have their own units of central and local govern-ment with jurisdiction over a limited scope of aairs.This subdivision was established under Soviet rule in the1930s, following the general subdivision of the SovietUnion. Since Georgia regained independence, the raionsystem was modied and reshued. According to thelatest revision, Tbilisi raions include:

Old Tbilisi ( ) Vake-Saburtalo (-) Didube-Chugureti (-) Gldani-Nadzaladevi (-) Isani-Samgori (-) Didgori ()

Most of the raions are named after respective histori-cal neighbourhoods of the city. The citizens of Tbilisiwidely recognise a system of the smaller non-formal his-torical neighbourhoods. Such neighbourhoods are sev-eral, however, constituting a kind of hierarchy, becausemost of them have lost their distinctive topographic lim-its. The natural rst level of subdivision of the city is intothe Right Bank and the Left Bank of the Mt'k'vari. Thenames of the oldest neighbourhoods go back to the earlyMiddle Ages and sometimes pose a great linguistic in-terest. The newest whole-built developments bear chieyresidential marketing names.In pre-Revolution Tiis, the Georgian quarter was con-ned to the southeastern part of the city; Baedeker de-scribes the layout succinctly:

5In the north part of the town, on the leftbank of the Kur and to the south of therailway station, stretches the clean GermanQuarter, formerly occupied by German im-migrants from Wrttemberg (1818). To thesouth is the Gruzinian or Georgian Quarter(Avlabr). On the right bank of the Kur is theRussian Quarter, the seat of the ocials andof the larger business rms. This is adjoinedon the south by the Armenian and PersianBazaars.Karl Baedeker, Russia: A Handbook forTravelers[24]

Avlabari is considered the integral component of the so-called 'old Tbilisi'" and is currently the object of planningand cultural heritage preservation.[25]

3 Geography

3.1 LocationTbilisi is located in the South Caucasus at 41 43' NorthLatitude and 44 47' East Longitude. The city lies inEastern Georgia on both banks of the Mt'k'vari River.The elevation of the city ranges from 380770 metresabove sea level (1,2502,530 ft) and has the shape ofan amphitheatre surrounded by mountains on three sides.To the north, Tbilisi is bounded by the Saguramo Range,to the east and south-east by the Iori Plain, to the southand west by various endings (sub-ranges) of the TrialetiRange.The relief of Tbilisi is complex. The part of the citywhich lies on the left bank of the Mt'k'vari (Kura) Riverextends for more than 30 km (19 mi) from the AvchalaDistrict to River Lochini. The part of the city which lieson the right side of the Mt'k'vari River on the other handis built along the foothills of the Trialeti Range, the slopesof which in many cases descend all the way to the edgesof the riverMt'k'vari. Themountains, therefore, are a sig-nicant barrier to urban development on the right bankof the Mt'k'vari River. This type of a geographic envi-ronment creates pockets of very densely developed areaswhile other parts of the city are left undeveloped due tothe complex topographic relief.To the north of the city, there is a large reservoir (com-monly known as the Tbilisi Sea) fed by irrigation canals.

3.2 ClimateTbilisi has a humid subtropical climate (Kppen climateclassication Cfa) with warm to hot summers and coldwinters. The city receives enough rainfall to avoid thesemi-arid classication. The citys climate is inuenced

Turtle Lake (Kus Tba) in January.

both by dry (Central Asian/Siberian) air masses from theeast and oceanic (Atlantic/Black Sea) air masses from thewest. Because the city is bounded onmost sides bymoun-tain ranges, the close proximity to large bodies of water(Black and Caspian Seas) and the fact that the GreaterCaucasus Mountains Range (further to the north) blocksthe intrusion of cold air masses from Russia, Tbilisi hasa relatively mild microclimate compared to other citiesthat possess a similar continental climate along the samelatitudes.The average annual temperature in Tbilisi is 12.7 C(54.9 F). January is the coldest month with an averagetemperature of 0.9 C (33.6 F). July is the hottestmonth with an average temperature of 24.4 C (75.9F). The absolute minimum recorded temperature is24 C (11 F) and the absolute maximum is 40 C(104 F). Average annual precipitation is 568 mm (22.4in). May and June are the wettest months (averaging 84mm (3.3 in) of precipitation each) while January is thedriest (averaging 20 mm (0.8 in) of precipitation). Snowfalls on average 1525 days per year. The surroundingmountains often trap the clouds within and around thecity, mainly during the Spring and Autumn months,resulting in prolonged rainy and/or cloudy weather.Northwesterly winds dominate in most parts of Tbilisithroughout the year. Southeasterly winds are common aswell.

4 People and cultureSee also: Tbilisoba

4.1 DemographicsAs a multicultural city, Tbilisi is home to more than 100ethnic groups. Around 89% of the population consistsof ethnic Georgians, with signicant populations of other

6 4 PEOPLE AND CULTURE

ethnic groups such as Armenians, Russians, and Azeris.Along with the above-mentioned groups, Tbilisi is hometo other ethnic groups including Ossetians, Abkhazians,Ukrainians, Greeks, Germans, Jews, Estonians, Kurds,Assyrians, and others.

4.2 Religion

Photo of a mosque in Tbilisi from the early 20th century.

Sameba Cathedral

More than 95% of the residents of Tbilisi practise formsof Christianity (the most predominant of which is theGeorgian Orthodox Church). The Russian OrthodoxChurch, which is in Full communion with the Georgian,and the Armenian Apostolic Church have signicant fol-lowing within the city as well. A large minority of thepopulation (around 4%) practises Islam (mainly Shia Is-lam). About 2% of Tbilisis population practises Judaism,there is also Roman Catholic church.Tbilisi has been historically known for religious tolerance.This is especially evident in the citys Old Town, where amosque, synagogue, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxchurches can be found less than 500 metres (1,600 ft)from each other.

4.3 SportsTbilisi has a fairly rich sports history. Like many othertowns of the Near East with strong Asian cultural inu-ences, Tbilisi historically had a special area of town thatwas designated for sports competitions. The present-daydistricts of Saburtalo and Didube were the most commonareas where such competitions were held. Up until thebeginning of the 19th century, sports such as horse-riding(polo in particular), wrestling, boxing, andmarksmanshipwere themost popular city sports. As Tbilisi started to de-velop socially and economically and integrate more withthe West, new sports from Europe were introduced.The Soviet period brought an increased popularization ofsports that were common in Europe and to a certain ex-tent, the United States. At the same time, Tbilisi devel-oped the necessary sports infrastructure for professionalsports. By 1978, the city had around 250 large and smallsports facilities, including among others, four indoor andsix outdoor Olympic sized pools, 185 basketball courtsand halls, 192 volleyball facilities, 82 handball arenas, 19tennis courts, 31 football elds, and ve stadiums. Thelargest stadium in Tbilisi is the Dinamo Arena (55,000seats) and the second largest is the Mikheil Meskhi Sta-dium (24,680 seats). The Sports Palace which usuallyhosts basketball games with high attendance and tennistournaments can seat approximately 11,000 people.Vere Basketball Hall is a smaller indoor sports arena witha 2,500 seating capacity.The most popular sports in Tbilisi today are football,rugby union, basketball, and wrestling. Also popularsports include tennis, swimming and water polo. Thereare several professional football and rugby teams as wellas wrestling clubs. U.S. National Basketball Associationplayers Zaza Pachulia and Nikoloz Tskitishvili are Tbil-isi natives. Outside of professional sports, the city has anumber of inter-collegiate and amateur sports teams andclubs.Tbilisis signature football team, Dinamo Tbilisi, has notwon a major European championship since 1981, whenit won the European Cup Winners Cup and became theeasternmost team in Europe to achieve the feat. The bas-ketball club Dinamo Tbilisi won the Euroleague in 1962but also never repeated any such feat.

4.4 MediaThe large majority of Georgias media companies (in-cluding television, newspaper and radio) are headquar-tered in Tbilisi. The city is home to the popular Rustavi2 television channel which gained considerable fame afterits coverage of the Rose Revolution. In addition to Rus-tavi 2, the remaining three out of the four major publictelevision channels of Georgia (including Imedi TV Mzeand the Public Broadcasting Channel) are based in thecity. Tbilisis television market has experienced notable

4.5 Architecture 7

Mikheil Meskhi Stadium

changes since the second half of 2005 when Rustavi 2successfully bought out the Mze TV company and RupertMurdoch's News Corporation became a shareholder ofImedi Media Holding at the beginning of 2006. By tak-ing over the Imedi Media Holding Group, News Corpo-ration entered the Post-Soviet media market for the rsttime in the companys history.Tbilisi has a number of newspaper publishing houses.Some of the most noteworthy newspapers include thedaily 24 Saati (24 Hours), Rezonansi (Resonance),Alia, the English-language daily The Messenger, weeklyFINANCIAL, Georgia Today, and the English-languageweekly The Georgian Times. Out of the citys radio sta-tions Imedi Radio (105.9 FM), Fortuna, and Radio 105are some of the more inuential competitors with largenational audiences.Radio stations in Tbilisi include 5 Lines Radio (93.8 FM),Europe +Tbilisi (99.6 FM), and Georgian Patriarchy Ra-dio (105.4 FM).[33]

4.5 Architecture

Rustaveli Theatre

The architecture in the city is a mixture of local(Georgian), with strong inuences of Byzantine, Euro-

pean/Russian (neo-classical), and Middle Eastern styles.The oldest parts of town, including the Abanot-Ubani,Avlabari, and to a certain extent the Sololaki districtsclearly have a traditional Georgian architectural lookwith Middle Eastern inuences. The areas of Tbilisiwhich were built up mainly in the 19th century (Rus-taveli Avenue, Vera district, etc.) have a contrasting Eu-ropean/Russian (neoclassical) look.The start of the 20th century was marked with an ar-chitectural revival, notably, with an art nouveau style.With the establishment of the communist governmentthis style was decreed as bourgeois and largely neglected.An example of Stalinist architecture in Georgia was the1938 Institute of Marx, Engels, Lenin (-- ) building, also referred toby the abbreviation IMELI () in Georgian.

1938 Institute of Marx Engels Lenin Building on RustaveliBoulavard

. Following privatization, this building was supposed tobe converted from 2006 to 2009 into a ve-star luxuryKempinski hotel by the UAE-based Dhabi Group.[34] Asof 2013, no refurbishment had been achieved.Architecture of the later 20th century can mainly be iden-tied with the building style that was common during theSoviet era throughout the Soviet Union and the countriesunder Soviet occupation.This included building large, concrete apartment blocksas well as social, cultural, and oce facilities, like forexample the Tbilisi Roads Ministry Building. Sincethe break-up of the Soviet Union, Tbilisi has beenthe site of uncontrolled/unsanctioned building projects.Since 2004, the city government has taken new ini-tiatives to curb uncontrolled construction projects withmixed success. In the near future, Tbilisi will havethree skyscraper complexes. The Axis Towers, RedixChavchavadze 64, and the new Ajara Hotel/BusinessComplex, which is currently under construction will bethe tallest buildings/skyscrapers in the Caucasus.

8 5 TRANSPORT

4.6 Main sights

Tbilisi has important landmarks and sightseeing loca-tions. The Parliament and the government (State Chan-cellery) buildings of Georgia, as well as the SupremeCourt of Georgia, are in Tbilisi. The city has impor-tant cultural landmarks such as the Georgian NationalMuseum, Tbilisi State Conservatoire, Tbilisi Opera andBallet Theatre, Shota Rustaveli State Academic The-atre, Marjanishvili State Academic Theatre, the SamebaCathedral, the Vorontsov's Palace (also known as theChildrens Palace today), many state museums, theNational Public Library of the Parliament of Georgia, theNational Bank of Georgia, Tbilisi Circus, and other im-portant institutions. During the Soviet times, Tbilisi con-tinuously ranked in the top four cities in the Soviet Unionfor the number of museums.Out of the citys historic landmarks, the most notableare the Narikala fortress (4th17th century), AnchiskhatiChurch (6th century, built up in the 16th century), SioniCathedral (8th century, later rebuilt), Church of Metekhi(13th century), etc.

5 Transport

Tbilisi International Airport

5.1 Airport

Main article: Tbilisi Airport

Tbilisi airport, (Georgian: , Tbilisis saertasoriso aeroporti) located 17kilometres (11 miles) southeast of the city. Direct trainscover the route between Tbilisi central station and the air-port in 35 minutes. Tbilisi Airport trac increased 29%in 2011, reaching 1.1 million passengers[35] (the capac-ity of the new terminal building is 2.8 million passen-gers per year).[36] Georgian Airways has its head ocein Tbilisi.[37]

5.2 MetroMain article: Tbilisi MetroThe Tbilisi Metro serves the city with rapid transit sub-

Tbilisi Metro, known for its underground depth, transports nearly9 million commuters per month

way services. It was the Soviet Unions fourth metro sys-tem. Construction began in 1952, and was nished in1966. The system operates two lines, the Akhmeteli-Varketili Line and the Saburtalo Line. It has 22 stationsand 186 metro cars. Most stations, like those on otherSoviet-built metro systems, are extravagantly decorated.Trains run from 6:00 am to midnight. Due to the unevenground, the rail lines run above ground level in some ar-eas. Two of the stations are above ground.The Tbilisi Metro underwent a campaign of modern-ization. Stations were reconstructed, and trains and fa-cilities were modernized. In 2005, President MikheilSaakashvili charged Director General Zurab Kikalishviliwith bringing the station up to European standards by2007. In 2006, the citys budget allocated 16 million Larifor the project. A third line is being planned, which willencompass the Vake District. The three lines will form atriangle, and intersect in the city center.

5.3 TramTbilisi had a tram network, since 1883 starting fromhorse driven trams and from 25 December 1904 electrictramway. When the Soviet Union disintegrated, electrictransport went to a degradation state within the years andnally the only tram line left was closed on 4 Decem-ber 2006 together with two trolleybus lines which wereleft.[38][39] There are plans to construct a modern tramnetwork.[40][41]

5.4 MinibusThe most dominant form of transportation is themarshrutka. An elaborate marshrutka system has grownin Tbilisi over the recent years. In addition to the city,several lines also serve the surrounding countryside of

9Aerial tramway with Presidential Palace in background

Tbilisi. Throughout the city a xed price is paid regard-less of the distance (80 tetri in 2014). For longer tripsoutside the city, higher fares are common. There are nopredened stops for the marshrutka lines, they are hailedfrom the streets like taxis and each passenger can exitwhenever he likes.

5.5 Aerial lift

Since 2012, Tbilisi has a modern, high capacity ca-ble car[42] which operates between Europe Square andNarikala. Historically, the city had another aerial liftbut, due to mismanagement at the hands of Soviet au-thorities, it experienced a major malfunction, causing the1990 Tbilisi Cable car accident and remaining closed eversince.[43]

6 Education

Tbilisi State University

Tbilisi is home to several major institutions of higher ed-ucation: The biggest Georgian university is Tbilisi StateUniversity which was established on 8 February 1918.TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus re-gion. Over 35,000 students are enrolled and the num-

ber of faculty and sta (collaborators) is approximately5,000. Tbilisi is also home to the largest medical uni-versity in Caucasus region Tbilisi State Medical Uni-versity, which was founded as Tbilisi Medical Institutein 1918 and became the Faculty of Medicine within theTbilisi State University (TSU) in 1930. Tbilisi StateMedical Institute was renamed to Medical University in1992. Since that university operates as an independenteducational institution, TSMU became one of the high-ranking state-supported institutions of higher educationin the Caucasus region. Currently there are almost 5000undergraduate and 203 postgraduate students at the uni-versity of whom 10% come from foreign countries.Georgias main and largest technical university, GeorgianTechnical University, is in Tbilisi. Georgian TechnicalUniversity was founded in 1922 as a polytechnic fac-ulty of the Tbilisi State University. The rst lecture wasread by the world famous Georgian mathematician Pro-fessor Andria Razmadze. It achieved University statusby 1990. The three most popular private higher educa-tional institution in Georgia The University of Geor-gia (Tbilisi), Caucasus University and Free University ofTbilisi are in Tbilisi. The University of Georgia (Tbil-isi) is the largest private University in Georgia, with morethan 3500 international and local students. It was estab-lished in 2005 and soon became a market leader withinGeorgian educational sector. In 2010, the UG receivednancing from OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Cor-poration)for development of the Universitys infrastruc-ture and technical equipment. The University of Geor-gia has various undergraduate and graduate programs andits the rst company in Georgia which oers interna-tional certicate programs of the Oracle Corporation,Microsoft,Zend technologies and Cisco Academy. Cau-casus University was established in 2004 as an expan-sion of the Caucasus School of Business (CSB) (estab-lished in 1998) by a consortium consisting of Tbilisi StateUniversity and Georgian Technical University in part-nership with Georgia State University (Atlanta, USA).Free University of Tbilisi was established in 2007 throughthe merger of two higher education schools: EuropeanSchool of Management (ESM-Tbilisi) and Tbilisi Insti-tute of Asia and Africa (TIAA). Today Free Universitycomprises three schools Business School (ESM), In-stitute of Asia and Africa and Law School deliveringacademic programs at undergraduate, graduate and doc-torate levels. In addition, Free University conducts a widearray of short-term courses and runs several research cen-ters and summer school programs.Higher educational institutions in Tbilisi:

Tbilisi State University The University of Georgia (Tbilisi) Georgian Technical University Ilia Chavchavadze State University

10 10 REFERENCES

Tbilisi State Conservatory Tbilisi State Medical University Caucasus University Free University of Tbilisi Grigol Robakidze University Alma Mater Georgian American University International Black Sea University Georgian Institute of Public Aairs Georgian Agrarian University International School of Economics (ISET)

7 International relations

Tbilisi Platz in Saarbrcken, Germany

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Georgia

7.1 Twin towns and sister cities

Tbilisi is twinned with:[44]

7.2 Partnerships

8 See also Abo Tbileli, the patron saint of Tbilisi Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline List of Tbilisians National Botanical Garden of Georgia Tbilisi TV Broadcasting Tower Tbilisi Zoo

9 Bibliography Georgian State (Soviet) Encyclopedia. 1983. Book4. pp. 595604.

Minorsky, V., Tiis in Encyclopaedia of Islam ICOMOS Heritage at Risk 2001/2002: Georgia,Tbilisi Historic District

10 References

10.1 Notations Giorgi Lomsadze (13 June 2008). In Tbilisi, aBattle Over Buildings Fires Investment Debate.Eurasianet.org.

Tara Bahrampour (29 July 2008). Push to RebuildBrings Protest in Georgias Capital. The Washing-ton Post.

10.2 Footnotes[1] Tbilisis newMayor: David Narmania. agenda.ge. 14 July

2014

[2] Preliminary Results of 2014 General Population Censusof Georgia (PDF). NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICEOF GEORGIA. Retrieved 30 April 2015.

[3] http://pt.forvo.com/word/tbilisi/

[4] The Golden Age Of Georgia. Dictionary of GeorgianNational Biography. Retrieved 2 February 2008.

[5] Country Overview. Invest in Georgia. Archived fromthe original on 1 January 2008. Retrieved 2 February2008. This early Georgian renaissance ... preceded itsEuropean analogue by several hundred years

[6] Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Retrieved 15December 2014.

[7] Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Retrieved 22December 2014.

[8] Soudavar-Farmanfarmian article Georgia and Iran Part2. Retrieved 22 December 2014.

[9] Suny, pp. 5859

[10] Relations between Tehran and Moscow, 1797-2014.Retrieved 15 December 2014.

[11] Russia and Britain in Persia: Imperial Ambitions in QajarIran. Retrieved 16 December 2014.

[12] Ronald Grigor Suny (1994). The making of the Georgiannation. Indiana University Press. pp. 116. ISBN 978-0-253-20915-3. Retrieved 16 November 2011.

[13] (Russian) Ethno-Caucasus, , ,

10.2 Footnotes 11

[14] Marshall, David (1962). History of Modern Georgia. p.211.

[15] Jones, Stephen F. (2005). Socialism in Georgian Colors.London.

[16] Marshall, David (1962). History of Modern Georgia.

[17] , (October 1983). ... - . Vokrug Sveta (in Russian) 1983 (10 (2517)).Retrieved 19 August 2012.

[18] Rukhadze, Vasili; TobiasMoerschen (2007). Analysis ofTbilisis Real Estate Boom (PDF). Retrieved 22 Novem-ber 2009.

[19] Rustavi 2. Rustavi 2. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[20] Sergey Gevenov. Tbilisi railway project to start : Storyby Nino Edilashvili : Georgia Today on the Web. Geor-giatoday.ge. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[21] Issue 1, 2010 Tbilisi 2010. Investor.ge. Retrieved 3June 2011.

[22] Georgia ood: Tbilisi residents warned over zoo animalsafter devastating ood. BBC News. 14 June 2015. Re-trieved 15 June 2015.

[23] (Georgian) . The Parliament of Georgia. Retrieved 22 May2007.

[24] Karl Baedeker, Russia: A Handbook for Travelers (ArnoPress, 1971, reprint of 1914 ed.), p. 467.

[25] JSC IBERIA Realty Architectural Competition.

[26] " ". Pogoda.ru.net. Retrieved 19 De-cember 2012.

[27] Climatological Information for Tbilisi, Georgia HongKong Observatory

[28] Tbilisi, Georgia Travel Weather Averages. Weath-erbase. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

[29] (Russian) // - .St. Petersburg, 1885, p.133 (Note: this is a 'one-day census of unknown scopeand methodology).

[30] Ronald Grigor Suny (1994). The making of the Georgiannation. Indiana University Press. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-253-20915-3. Retrieved 29 December 2011. (one-daycensus of Tiis)

[31] (Russian) 1897 .. . . . : . St. Pe-tersburg, 1905, pp. 7475.(Note: The census did notcontain a question on ethnicity, which was deduced fromdata on mother tongue, social estate and occupation)

[32] Ethnic groups by major administrative-territorial units(PDF). Web.archive.org. 14 November 2009. Archivedfrom the original (PDF) on 14 November 2009. Retrieved19 December 2012.

[33] Tbilisi Municipal Portal Radio

[34] Kempinski to Manage Hotel in Tbilisi. Civil Georgia,Tbilisi, 9 December 2006

[35] Georgia Airport Prole. tbilisiairport.com

[36] tbilisiairport.com Terminal features

[37] "Head oce. (direct image link) Georgian Airways. Re-trieved 6 October 2010.

[38] Subways and Trams In Georgia: Tbilisi. 24 December2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.

[39] georgiandaily.com Nostalgic Tbilisi residents wanttheir tramway back. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 24December 2010. -

[40] Railway Gazette: Tbilisi tram design contract signed.24 December 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2010.

[41] Trams to return? : by Salome Kobalava : Georgia Todayon the Web. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 24 Decem-ber 2010.

[42] Tbilisi Ropeways. Civil Georgia. Retrieved 17 March2013.

[43] Major worldwide cable car accidents since 1976. CNN.Retrieved 19 December 2012.

[44] Tbilisi Sister Cities. Tbilisi City Hall. Tbilisi Munici-pal Portal. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013.Retrieved 5 August 2013.

[45] Medmestno in mednarodno sodelovanje. Mestna obinaLjubljana (Ljubljana City) (in Slovenian). Retrieved 27July 2013.

[46] Bristol City Town twinning. 2009 Bristol City Coun-cil. Retrieved 17 July 2009.

[47] Yerevan Twin Towns & Sister Cities. Yerevan Munic-ipality Ocial Website. 20052013 www.yerevan.am.Retrieved 4 November 2013.

[48] [Yerevan expanding its international relations](in Armenian). . Archived from the original on 12 May2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.

[49] Orae nfrite (Twin cities of Minsk) [via Wayback-Machine.com]" (in Romanian). Primria MunicipiuluiChiinu. Archived from the original on 3 November2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013.

[50] Tbilisi-Tehran direct ights will start next month.Agenda.ge. Retrieved 20 May 2015.

[51] Krakw Miasta Partnerskie [Krakw -PartnershipCities]. Miejska Platforma Internetowa Magiczny Krakw(in Polish). Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.Retrieved 10 August 2013.

[52] Partnersk msta HMP [Prague Twin Cities HMP].Portl Zahranin vztahy [Portal Foreign Aairs"] (inCzech). 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 25June 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.

12 11 EXTERNAL LINKS

11 External links Ocial website of the City of Tbilisi

13

12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses12.1 Text

Tbilisi Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tbilisi?oldid=668212693 Contributors: Damian Yerrick, AxelBoldt, The Cunctator, BrionVIBBER, Vicki Rosenzweig, Jeronimo, XJaM, Christian List, Enchanter, SimonP, Zoe, Olivier, Ahoerstemeier, Angela, Nikai, Andres,Vanished user 5zariu3jisj0j4irj, RickK, Lfh, N-true, WhisperToMe, Radiojon, Tpbradbury, Grendelkhan, Jose Ramos, Joy, Adam Carr,Carbuncle, AlexPlank, Robbot, Moncrief, Altenmann, Psychonaut, Postdlf, Nach0king, Gidonb, Brw12, Levzur, Mushroom, Marc Venot,Smjg, DocWatson42, RScheiber, DO'Neil, Guanaco, Avala, Wmahan, R. end, Knutux, Quadell, Antandrus, Lesgles, Gene s, Balcer,Picapica, The stuart, RevRagnarok, Nika~enwiki, D6, Rich Farmbrough, Guanabot, Vsmith, Mani1, Bender235, Mashford, JoeSmack,*drew, Sfahey, El C, Kwamikagami, Art LaPella, Army1987, John Vandenberg, Cmdrjameson, .:Ajvol:., Malafaya, Nesnad, Red WingedDuck, Alansohn, Mick Knapton, Alfanje~enwiki, Arthena, Ricky81682, Leoadec, Anthony Ivano, Kober, Danthemankhan, Ghirlan-dajo, TShilo12, Bobrayner, SQFreak, WadeSimMiser, Je3000, Tabletop, Damicatz, Maartenvdbent, Sam916, Graham87, BD2412, Kb-dank71, Behemoth, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Missmarple, EatAlbertaBeef, Peripatetic, Matty J 87, The wub, Olessi, Yamamoto Ichiro, FlaBot,VKokielov, Ground Zero, Kmorozov, Hottentot, Atitarev, Chobot, Hmonroe, Gdrbot, 334a, WriterHound, Tone, Roboto de Ajvol, Daduzi,The Rambling Man, YurikBot, Noclador, Sceptre, Levanrami, RussBot, John Quincy Adding Machine, Chris Capoccia, Lord Volde-mort, Shell Kinney, Gaius Cornelius, Alex Bakharev, Shanel, Phil Bastian, Nick, Melly42, Zwobot, Bota47, ColinFine, Wknight94,System Halted, AjaxSmack, Deville, Maphisto86, Imperial avis, ChrisGriswold, Chanheigeorge, Mlle, Nixer, Thomas Blomberg, At-tilios, Myrabella, SmackBot, Kuban kazak, David Kernow, Bjelleklang, Unyoyega, KocjoBot~enwiki, Morieli68, Aivazovsky, Alsan-dro, Giandrea, Commander Keane bot, Gilliam, Ohnoitsjamie, Hmains, Squiddy, Wookipedian, Chris the speller, TimBentley, TDS,D.Papuashvili, MalafayaBot, Moshe Constantine Hassan Al-Silverburg, Breadandcheese, Fromgermany, Colonies Chris, Oatmeal bat-man, A. 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12.2 Images File:03_Chardin_Tblisi_1671.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/03_Chardin_Tblisi_1671.jpg

License: Public domain Contributors: From Jean Chardins Voyages du Chevalier Chardin en Perse, et autres lieux de l'orient, enrichis d'ungrand nombre de belles gures en taille-douce, reprsentant les antiquits et les choses remarquables du pays. Nouvelle edition, Le Normant,Paris 1811.

The rst version found in ceroi.net

Original artist: Jean Chardin File:1938-InstituteMarxEngelsLenin_Building.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/

1938-InstituteMarxEngelsLenin_Building.jpg License: CC0 Contributors: Communist Party of Georgian SSR Original artist:Communist Party of Georgian SSR

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HistoryEarly historyForeign dominationCapital of a unified Georgian stateMongol domination and the following period of instabilityIranian controlRussian controlIndependenceCommunist governmentAfter the break-up of the Soviet Union

Politics and administrationGeographyLocationClimate

People and cultureDemographicsReligionSportsMediaArchitectureMain sights

TransportAirportMetroTramMinibusAerial lift

EducationInternational relationsTwin towns and sister citiesPartnerships

See alsoBibliographyReferencesNotationsFootnotes

External linksText and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license