Tbilisi - Wikivoyage, the free collaborative travel and tourism guide - Tbilissi — Wikivoyage, le guide de voyage et de tourisme collaboratif gratuit

Tbilisi
Liberty Square
Information
Country	Georgia (country)
Region	Kartli
Watercourse	Koura
Altitude	Between 575 and m
Area	726 km²
Population	1 093 000 hab. (2006)
Density	1 505,51 inhab./km²
Postal code	0100–0199
Telephone prefix	995 32
Spindle	UTC 04:00
Location
41 ° 42 ′ 36 ″ N 44 ° 47 ′ 33 ″ E
Official site
edit

Tbilisi is the capital of the Republic of GeorgiaThe city is located on the banks of the Koura River. The city covers an area of 726 km² and has a population of approximately 1,000,000 inhabitants.

Understand

Geography

Tbilisi is located in the center of eastern Georgia, in the foothills of the Trialeti mountain range between the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus, where the two chains are only separated by the narrow valley of the Koura River. The rugged terrain slows the expansion of the city. The city, located in a seismic zone, is sometimes struck by earthquakes.

Weather

The climate of Tbilisi is a climate of transition between a humid subtropical climate and a temperate continental climate. The city's climate is subject to the dual influence of dry air masses fromCentral Asia and humid subtropical air masses from the Black Sea.

Tbilisi experiences mild winters with an average temperature of 1.5 ° C in January and hot summers with an average temperature of 24.5 ° C in July. The mild temperatures in winter are explained by the proximity of two large bodies of water (the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) and by the fact that the mountain range of the Greater Caucasus prevents the intrusion of cold air masses. from Russia. The snow holds on the ground on average only 13 days per year (average height of 2 cm in February with a maximum of 44 cm).

Story

The beginnings

Legend of the founding of the city Legend has it that the territory of present-day Tbilisi was once completely covered by a forest in which the Court of Mtskheta sometimes went hunting. According to the tradition, Vakhtang Ier Gorgassali, king of Iberia, hunted with the falcon in this wooded country (sometimes, the falcon is replaced in the legend by a small bird), when this one caught a pheasant. But the two birds fell into a nearby hot spring, and died. King Vakhtang was so amazed by the discovery of water sources that he decided to found a city there. He named the city Tpili, which means hot in Georgian. Thus, Tpili, or Tbilisi (hot place), got its name because of its many hot springs.

Archaeological studies of the region have revealed that the territory of Tbilisi was occupied by human beings no earlier than the 4th millennium BC. The oldest source mentioning this place dates from the second half of the 4th century, during the reign of Varaz-Bakour I, when he built a fortress in the said forest. Towards the end of the same century, the fortress fell into the hands of the Persians, before returning to the hands of the Georgians under the reign of Vakhtang I. The latter would therefore not be the founder of Tbilisi, but only the author of the expansion of the fortress to make it a city. The territories that the king had built seem to overlap with the current ancient Tbilisi.

King Vatché II of Iberia (king from 522 to 534), son and successor of Vakhtang Gorgassali, moves the capital of his kingdom from Mtskheta to Tbilisi, according to his father's wishes2. During his reign, King Vatche II also completed the construction of the fortress surrounding the city, and thus established the first limits of Tbilisi. The new capital soon becomes an important city in the region, given its strategic and favorable position, at the crossroads of the merchants' paths of the West and the East.

Foreign domination

However, Tbilisi's geographical position is not that favorable for the Kingdom of Iberia. Strategically located in the heart of the Caucasus, between Europe and Asia, it becomes the main object of rivalries between the various neighboring powers such as the Byzantine Empire, Persia, Arabia and Seljuk Turkey. The cultural development of the city thus depends on the different empires dominating it from the VI^e to X^e century. However, Tbilisi, like the rest of eastern Georgia, succeeded in preserving a notable autonomy vis-à-vis its conquerors.

From 570/580, the Persians took Tbilisi and reigned there for about a decade. In 627, it was taken and sacked by the Byzantine and Khazar armies. Around 737, the Arabs entered the city under the command of Marwan al-J`adîy al-Himâr and established an emirate in the region with Tbilisi as its capital. In 764, the city was again taken by the Khazars but remained under Arab domination. In 853, the armies of the Arab general Boughba the Turk invaded Tbilisi with the aim of establishing Abbasid rule in the Caucasus. Arab domination over Tbilisi thus continued until the 1050s, the Georgians residing there unable to revolt. In 1068, the city was sacked once again, this time by the Seljuks under Sultan Alp Arslan.

Tbilisi, capital of Georgia in the Golden Age

In 1122, after heavy fighting against the Seljuk Turks who faced at least 60,000 Georgians and 300,000 Turks, the troops of King of Georgia David IV the Reconstructor entered Tiflis. When clashes against Muslims in the region ended, the king moved his capital from Kutaisi (in Western Georgia) to Tbilisi, which marked the beginning of the city's role as a symbol of Georgian unification. From the XII^e century, Tbilisi thus became a city in which the dominant power of the region could benefit from a good economic situation (with a well-developed trade and skilled jobs), and a well-established social structure. At the end of the century, the city grew and acquired a population of 80,000 inhabitants. The city also became an important cultural and literary center, not only for Georgians themselves, but also for many authors from Europe or living in the Middle East. During the reign of Queen Tamar, the poet Chota Roustaveli worked in Tbilisi and wrote there his legendary epic poem, The Knight in the Panther Skin. This period is known today as the “Georgian Golden Age” or “Georgian Renaissance”.

Mongol rule and period of chaos

However, Tbilisi's Golden Age did not last more than a century. In 1236, after suffering crushing defeats to the Mongols, Georgia found itself subject to Genghis Khan. The nation itself preserved itself, kept a form of semi-independence and hardly lost its government; but Tbilisi was heavily influenced by the Mongols for at least a century, both politically and culturally. In the 1320s the Mongols were driven out of Georgia and Tbilisi once again became the capital of an independent Georgia. But weakened by previous events, the city was also the victim of calamities: thus, the Great Plague struck Tbilisi in 1366.

From the second half of the XIV^e century until the end of XVIII^e century, Tbilisi was again the target of several invaders and was completely burned several times. In 1386, Tbilisi was invaded by the armies of Tamerlan (Timour Lang). In 1444, the city was taken and destroyed by Jahan Shah (leader of the Turkmen Qara Qoyunlu). Then between 1477 and 1478, Tbilisi was added to the empire of Uzun Hasan, the enemy of the previous invader and leader of the Aq Qoyunlu. In 1522, the Persians took the city which was liberated two years later by King David X of Karthli. During this period, some districts of Tbilisi were rebuilt, but from the XVII^e century, it again became the scene of terrible invasions for the country. This time, Tbilisi was more an object of conflict between two empires than the target of bloodthirsty invaders, as the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Persians clashed for control of the city. Later, King Heraclius II of Georgia (Iraki II) tried several times (but without success) to liberate Tbilisi from Persian rule, but only the burning of the ancient capital of the Caucasus in 1795 resulted. , by Agha Mohammad Shah. At that moment, feeling that Georgia could no longer resist alone against its enemies, the king decided to appeal to Russia.

Tbilisi was also a stopover on one of the Silk Road routes, hence the presence of many caravanserais, some of which still remain: that of Téklés Karvasla, rebuilt after being destroyed by the Persians in 1795, in the style " European-Moorish ”, hard hit by the 2002 earthquake, has since been rehabilitated.

Tbilisi in the Russian era

In 1801, after the kingdom of eastern Georgia Karthl-Kakheti was annexed by the Russian Empire contrary to the agreements of the Guiorguievsk Treaty of 1783, Tbilisi, now known by its old Arabic name of Tiflis, became the center of the vice Caucasian royalty. From the start of XIX^e century, Tiflis began to improve economically and develop politically. New European-style buildings were erected in the city and new roads were constructed to connect the city with other important cities of Transcaucasia, such as Batumi, Poti, Baku and Yerevan. In the 1850s, Tiflis was again the center of the renewal of Caucasian cultural life in general and Georgian in particular. Poets and authors Ilia Tchavtchavadze, Akaki Tsereteli, Jacob Gogebashvili, Alexander Griboedov, who was diplomatic secretary to the Governor General of the Caucasus, and others settled in Tiflis.

The city became the object of affection of Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Mikhail Lermontov, the imperial family and many others. The imperial family even established its Transcaucasian residence in Rue Golvine (today Avenue Roustaveli).

In the 19th century, the political, cultural and economic role of Tiflis with its ethnic, religious and cultural diversity was important not only for Georgia, but also for the whole of the Caucasus. So Tiflis took on a different face. Monuments were built there that gave it the attributes of a cosmopolitan city, while its urban folklore, its language and also its popular culture called Tbilisouri (literally, belonging to Tbilisi) gave it a special charm.

First independence and Soviet Georgia

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Tiflis served as the headquarters of the Transcaucasian interim government which established, in the spring of 1918, the ephemeral Federative Democratic Republic of Transcaucasia. The capital took its name from Tbilisi. It was in this new capital that the three Transcaucasian nations (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) declared their independence on the 26 and May 28, 1918. Tbilisi then served as the capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia until February 25, 1921. From 1918 to 1919, the city had also served as a HQ for British and German troops.

Under the national government, Tbilisi became the first university city in the Caucasus after Tbilisi State University was founded in 1918. It was finally the realization of a dream of Georgian society that Russian governors general or vice-versa. -three of the Caucasus had never allowed to realize.

After the February and October 1917 revolutions in Petrograd, Georgia tried to restore its independence: the May 26, 1918 Noah Jordania proclaims the birth of the 1st Republic of Georgia, but Soviet Russia invades the country, forcing the Georgian Parliament to vote for the exile of the rulers. It is the beginning of a period of Soviet domination in the Caucasus.

The Soviets then created the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, with Tbilisi as its capital. In 1936, Joseph Stalin dissolved the Soviet Federation of Transcaucasia and Tbilisi thus found itself capital of the only Soviet Socialist Republic in Georgia.

Throughout the Soviet period, the city's population increased sharply; the city industrialized and became one of the most important political, social and cultural centers of the Soviet Union, along with Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad.

After Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet authorities adopted Nikita Khrushchev's doctrine of de-Stalinization, and Georgians attached to the figure of the grandfather of peoples repeatedly showed their contempt for the Moscow government. Thus, anti-Soviet demonstrations took place in Tbilisi in 1956.

Later in 1978 (demonstration in defense of the Georgian language) and in 1989 demonstrations were severely repressed by the Soviet power.

Since 1991

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Tbilisi suffered severe periods of instability and turmoil, especially during the dictatorial government of Zviad Gamsakhourdia. After a brief civil war which took place in the city for two weeks from December 1991 to January 1992 (a war between the government forces and those of the opposition), the Georgian capital became the scene of frequent confrontations between different clans. Even during the Shevardnadze era (1993 - 2003), crime and corruption became so important that they affected the highest levels of Tbilisi society. Unemployment and impoverishment of the people of Tbilisi were disastrous.

In November 2003, following falsified legislative elections, mass protests took place and nearly 100,000 Georgians demonstrated against the government. This led to the Rose Revolution which, the 23 November 2003, overthrew President Edouard Shevardnadze. The new president is elected with an anti-corruption mandate. For that, he summons Kakha Avtandilovich Bendukidze, a former Russian biologist who became a magnate of industry and finance, whom he appointed Minister and then Head of the Chancellery (after having acquired Georgian nationality). Kakha Bendukidze affirms to initiate and apply a broad strategy of fight against corruption and a certain improvement of the economy (with regard to the criteria of the World Bank and a resumption of tourism ensue, allowing the capital to find a level that it had not known for a long time, but at the cost of a sharp drop in social protection and serial privatizations carried out within the framework of an ultraliberal, even libertarian, policy by K. Bendukidze.

To go

By plane

• 41.66916744.9547221 Shota-Rustaveli International Airport (IATA : TBS, ICAO: UGTB, თბილისის შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის საერთაშორისო აეროპორტი) (To 17 km south-east of downtown.) – A new terminal was inaugurated on February 7, 2007. (last update March 2019)

Bus n ° 37 leaves the airport every 15-30 min, 8 h - 20 h, then every hour until 23 h downtown. Its stop is located to the right of the finish area. It passes through Avlabari, Liberty Square, Rustaveli, Republic Square and Tamar Bridge and ends at the main train station (Vagzal). The trip may take more than 50 min. The price is 0.50 GEL.

Taxis between the airport and town cost around 20-30 GEL (~7,2 € - course of 04/27/2021) (~ 7.96 Fr. - price of 04/27/2021) (~ C $ 10.78 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ $ 8.7 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ 4,721.88 F CFA - price on 04/27/2021). Standard prices are listed on a board at the taxi rank to your right as you exit the airport.

Trains from the airport to the central station cost 2 GEL and are fast. The train only runs 6 or 7 times a day, but the trips are mostly synchronized with the flight arrivals so it is good to look at the timetables. Schedules change from time to time, trains currently run between 3 h 15 and 18 h 05 from the central station.

If you are traveling to / from Mestia, there are flights available 5 days a week for 75 GEL (~18,01 € - course of 04/27/2021) (~ 19.9 Fr. - price of 04/27/2021) (~ C $ 26.96 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ $ 21.74 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ 11,804.69 F CFA - price of 04/27/2021). You can book your tickets in the Mariott courtyard on the Place de la Liberté in 9 h - 13 h in the office of the airline Pegasus. Note that flights to and from Mestia are regularly canceled due to the weather in the mountains. It is therefore not recommended to travel to Mestia shortly before an international departure.

Note that Kutaisi has an international airport with Wizz Air flights to many cities in Europe. The company Georgian Bus offers connections between this airport and Tbilisi.

By train

Domestic trains run between Tbilisi and Batumi, Gori, Kutaisi, Akhaltsikhe, Marneouli, Poti and Zugdidi.

International trains run to and from Baku and Yerevan. The night train from Yerevan runs every day. Tickets can be purchased at Yerevan station, cash only 5600AMD (December 2011). The train from Baku to Tbilisi is not very comfortable and quite hot. Crossing the border takes a long time.

By bus

• 41.74955744.7789292 Didoubé bus station (Didoubé metro station (დიდუბე)) – This is where minibuses depart and arrive for destinations in the north and east: Mtskheta, Gori, Stepantsminda, Kutaisi, Bordjomi, Batumi, Vladikavkaz... You will also find a market there and taxi drivers who call out to tourists, mainly to suggest that they go to Mtskheta Where Stepantsminda. (last update June 2019)

Since theArmenia, it is possible to make the trip Yerevan - Tbilisi by road in Marchroutka, collective minibuses present throughout the former USSR. This type of means of transport has the advantage of being much less expensive than the train or the plane, and it also makes it possible to meet and discuss with the local population.

Departures are from Yerevan Central Bus Station, located in the southeast of the city. Marchrutkas leave approximately every two hours.

In January 2018, due to the closure of the main road axis between Georgia and Armenia via the center of the country, the journey was made through the region of Tavush, border ofAzerbaijan and classified red by the MAEDI. However the journey is worth the adventure, because of the beauty of the mountainous landscapes crossed with the highlight of the path along the Lake Sevan.

By car

Circulate

By Metro

Tbilisi has a two-line metro system [1], which operates from 6 h at midnight.

All indications inside the metro are in Georgian and English. The names of the stations are also announced in both languages. There are rarely network maps in the cars themselves. You are unlikely to find English speakers or French speakers in the metro, and more luck with Russian which is widely spoken. Take a bilingual card with you if you are not proficient with the alphabet and local pronunciation.

A trip with the Tbilisi metro costs 0.50 GEL. You have to buy a card (2 GEL) at the counter. It is rechargeable with the desired amount, and works in the metro and public buses.

In the fall of 2012, Tbilisi introduced the free transfer system between metro and buses for an hour and a half. It applies to the entire metro to metro and bus to bus network, as well as a combination of the two systems.

One card can be used for several people, however, the second person pays 0.50 GEL each score.

By bus

City buses are yellow and vary in size. The number of buses and a description of the route are usually displayed on signs on the windows of the buses, but only in Georgian. The city has just installed electronic arrival boards with fairly accurate estimated arrival times at bus stops on major roads. The signs are in English and Georgian and display the bus number, the number of minutes to arrival and to the destination.

Go up through any door in general the double doors in the middle are the easiest. A trip costs 0.50 GEL and exact change is required if you do not have a contact card (which can be purchased at metro stations). Touch Card allows free transfers, and can be recharged at several ATMs throughout the city in addition to metro stations. Keep the ticket you receive on the bus, you will need to show it to ticket inspectors who can be identified by their yellow shirts.

There are marchroutkas, vans that serve the small streets of the city, owned by independent owners. As with buses, the route is displayed on the front window (often only in Georgian), but marchroutkas use a different route numbering system and route descriptions are often more general than for buses (e.g. "Vake" rather than a particular street in the Vake district). To cry out "gatcheret »When you want to get off and give the driver change at the exit. The price is (on average) 0.80 GEL. In the new yellow Ford Transit vans you can also pay with the electronic card you need for the metro. When paying with a card, each trip after the first of the day is at the reduced fare of 0.65 GEL.

To see

Do

To learn

To work

To buy

Eat

You absolutely have to taste:

• khinkali (ravioli which can be stuffed with different ingredients but traditionally with meat)
• khachapuri (kind of pizza, bread dough stuffed with cow's milk cheese. There are many variations, each equally good)
• kubdari (bread dough stuffed with traditionally spiced meat)
• chakapuli
• gomi
• churchkhela (dessert made from grape juice and nuts)
• kozinakhi (dessert made with honey and nuts)

Cheap

Average price

Luxury

Have a drink / Go out

• Konka Station 8 Sioni St. – free. Friendly bar with free wifi. Cocktails and milkshakes. Pancakes and some Georgian specialties. Live music in the evening. (last update Feb. 2018)

Housing

Cheap

• 41.6888544.80891 Envoy Hostel 45 Betlemi Street,   995 322 920111, e-mail : [email protected] 28 GEL / person. – free. Enjoying a large terrace with a view of the city. Their staff speak excellent English and are very knowledgeable and helpful. Newly renovated and clean, there is a high rate of bathrooms per bed. Free breakfast is offered daily as well as tea or coffee available throughout the day. Free WiFi, laundry service, airport pick-up and air conditioning / central heating in the rooms are just some of the amenities offered. They also offer tours to Georgia as well as Armenia (including a weekly tour that takes you from Tbilisi to Yerevan with tour on the road and a barbecue lunch). They also have a youth hostel in Yerevan. (last update March 2018)
• 41.68885344.8075352 Walker Hostel 19 Gomi Street,   995 322 14 65 75, 995 555 55 66 65, e-mail : [email protected]  10 € (~ 11.05 Fr. - price of 04/27/2021) (~ C $ 14.97 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ $ 12.07 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ 6,556.06 F CFA - price of 04/27/2021). – free. Comfortable rooms, large living room, kitchen and balcony with incredible views. Reception 24 h/ 24, fan, transfers to the airport (11 € (~ 12.16 Fr. - course of 04/27/2021) (~ C $ 16.47 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ $ 13.28 - class on 04/27/2021) (~ 7,211.67 F CFA - price of 04/27/2021)), a barbecue area, bicycle parking, cable TV, free parking, free wifi, linen, sheets and towels included, lockers, luggage storage, travel agency. (last update March 2018)
• 41.7001944.795863 Boombully Rooms & Hostel Av. Rustaveli 24,   995 551 100172, 995 322 931638, e-mail : [email protected] – Located in the historic center, close to many attractions of the city and the Old Town district. The property is located in a historic building with many eco-friendly, eco-friendly and sustainable features, such as reused furniture. The sign on the front of the Boombully building is not the most visible, so be careful. (last update Feb. 2018)

Average price

Luxury

Communicate

Manage the day-to-day

Diplomatic representations

• Belgium (Honorary Consulate) Avenue Kazbegi, 24, 13th floor 0177 Tbilisi,   995 32 237 22 20, e-mail : [email protected] – Belgium does not have an embassy in Georgia. The competent embassy for Georgia is located at Baku. (last update Feb. 2018)

• 41.67065644.8113061 France 49 Krtsanissi Street 0114 Tbilisi,   995 32 2 72 14 90 – Embassy (last update Feb. 2018)

• Swiss (Embassy) Krtsanisi 11 0114 Tbilisi,   995 322 75 30 01, e-mail : [email protected] (last update Feb. 2018)

Security

Around

• 41.8544.7161 Mtskheta (town located approximately 20 km north of Tbilisi) – Mtskheta was the capital ofIberia, the former kingdom of eastern Georgia, between the III^e century BC and the V^e century AD. It is of great importance to the Georgian people. It was from this city that Georgia adopted Christianity in AD 334 and it remains the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Mtskheta is of great interest to anyone interested in Georgian Orthodox history or Christianity. It’s almost a must (last update May 2018)
• 41.447345.37652 David Garedja Monastery  – A Christian monastery founded in the 6th^e century, partly rock, located on the border between Azerbaijan and Georgia. The company Stationji Line organizes excursions at 30 laris: departure at 11:00 from Place de la Liberté, return around 20:00. (last update jul. 2019)
• 41.98106144.1101113 Gori (city ​​in central georgia) – Gori is famous for being the birthplace of Stalin, but besides a museum dedicated to him, there is also a fortress and, nearby, the archaeological site of Ouplistsikhé. It is possible to take a day trip from Tbilisi. (last update jul. 2019)
• 42.65222244.6458334 Stepantsminda (Kazbegui) (small town located north of Tbilisi, near Russia) – It is possible to take a day trip from Tbilisi to visit the famous Trinity Church of Gerguéti, although it is worth staying there for several days to hike the area. (last update jul. 2019)