Tbilisi is the capital of 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. 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.
Sameba Cathedral/Holy Trinity Cathedral Church. Constructed in 2002, the largest church in Georgia and one of the most grandiose orthodox churches. 101 meters high.
Old Tbilisi. Perhaps one of the most distinctive pleasures of walking through the Old City, with its old-style balconies, ancient churches, winding streets, and charming shops. Sub-neighborhoods include Sololaki, with its elegant restaurants and art nouveau architecture, Old Tbilisi proper - with sites ranging from churches to mosques to sulfur baths, Betelmi - housing two of the city's oldest churches and the stunning vistas of the Narikala Fortress - and Mtsasminda, just up the mountain from Rustaveli Avenues, a more sedate, "livable" district filled with charming old houses and families.
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