Welcome To Batumi – The Gem of Georgia

Batumi Black Sea Resort and port city, The Capital of the Georgian Republic of Adjara. Batumi Boulevard a waterfront promenade with a park and beach. The 130m-high Alphabetic Tower, adorned with Georgian script and seaside observation deck. The old town district is lined with renovated 19th-century buildings. North of the city, the vast Batumi Botanical Garden showcases flora from around the world.

History Of Batumi

The History of Batumi is inextricably bound with that of Adjara. Founded on the site of the Hellenic colony of Bathys, it was a small fortified town in the medieval kingdom of Georgia. In the 17th century, Batumi was conquered by the Ottoman Empire which relinquished its control of the town to the Russian Empire in 1878. It was under the Russian rule that Batumi became a major port city on the crossroads of Eurasia.

After the successive Ottoman and British occupations at the end of World War I, Batumi and its region passed to the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920. After the Sovietization of Georgia in 1921, Adjara was granted the status of an autonomous republic and Batumi became its capital. Along with Poti, Batumi is one of Georgia’s most important ports. It is also an important cultural and political center.

Early History

Batumi is purported to be located on the site of one of The Greek Colonies on The Coast of Colchis. Its environs ‘The Ancient Greeks Named’ Bathus Limen or Bathys Limen (deep harbor, a description rightfully applicable to the gulf on which Batumi itself stands), whence the city’s modern name. This Bathys is sometimes identified with Portus Altus, possibly a Latin rendition of the locale’s Greek name of The Tabula Peutingeriana, a road map from the Roman period.

The earliest archaeologically confirmed settlement on the territory of present-day Batumi dates to the 8th-7th century BC. It is located along the Karolitskhali River and centered on a hillock which is now popularly referred to as Tamar’s Fortress after the medieval Georgian queen Tamar (r. 1184-1213). A number of unearthed imported items, fragments of amphorae among them, testify to the Greek influence there. The locale was a home to a Roman military fort during the reign of Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD), but was deserted for the fortress of Petra constructed under Justinian I (r. 527-565) on the site of the present-day Tsikhis-Dziri to the north of Batumi.

Medival Batumi

The Medieval History of Batumi, or Batomi as Georgians called it down to the early 20th century, is unremarkable and the town is scarcely mentioned in the contemporary sources. However, it reemerges in both Georgian and European accounts in the 15th century. The Venetian diplomats, Giosafat Barbaro and Ambrogio Contarini, call Batumi Vati or Vathi. Barbaro reports it being one of the two ports of the lord “Bendian” (the other being Sebastopolis, i.e., modern-day Sukhumi). While Contarini describes it as a maritime town centered on a fortress.

The “Bendian” of Barbaro is apparently a corruption of Bediani, the title of the Dadiani princes who governed several western Georgian provinces under the increasingly nominal authority of the kings of Georgia.A curious incident occurred in 1444 when the Burgundian flotilla, after a failed crusade against the Ottoman Empire, penetrated the Black Sea and engaged in piracy along its eastern coastline until the Burgundians under the knight Geoffroy de Thoisy were ambushed during their landing raid at Vati/Batumi. De Thoisy was taken captive and released through the mediation of the emperor John IV of Trebizond.

Culture Of Batumi

Georgian culture is unique and vibrant. Georgians treat their culture very seriously. It is not considered something just for museums and tourists but a vital part of their every day identity. It is not just something valued by older generations but young people too. Georgian culture has evolved over thousands of years and has also absorbed influences from many invaders through the millennia, yet making them their own. Their folklore is rich, their dance both beautiful and powerful, their singing is sublime. Literature, fine arts, theatre and music all also have long and strong traditions. If you do nothing else, try and witness some authentic Georgian dancing and listen to a polyphonic choir. You will be moved.

Places To Visit In Batumi – Most Popular Destinations

1) Batumi Boulevard
2) Dolphinarium
3) Batumi Botanical Gardens
4) Agro Cable Car
5) Piazza Square
6) Europe Square
7) Monument Ali And Nino
8) Alphabetical Tower
9) Astronomical Club
10) 6 May park
11) Fountain Of Neptun
12) Batumi Sea Port
13) Holy Mother Virgins Nativity Cathedral
14) Miracle Park

Night Clubs In Batumi

1) Mandarin
2) XS Galaxy Night Club
3) Casino Campione
4) Guest House Zorbeg
5) Raddison Blu Hotel
6) Piazza Hotel
7) Cinema Apollo