Tbilisi, Georgia

Just one more card for today. I thought this was sort of appropriate for today - a snowy view since we have snow here in England at the moment as well. Well, in this area at least - Matt's younger sister came over from London today and said there's no snow in London. No fair! :P

Anyway, this card is from a swap with Sini in Finland. Alas, it was sent from Finland but it's still precious to me, my first Georgian postcard. Apparently Tbilisi and Georgia are rather fascinating places to visit and yeah, it would be nice to go there and see it for myself.



Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River. The city covers an area of 726 km2 and has 1,480,000 inhabitants.

Founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the monarch of Georgia's precursor Kingdom of Iberia, Tbilisi has served, with various intervals, as Georgia's capital for nearly 1500 years and represents a significant industrial, social, and cultural center of the country. Located on the southeastern edge of Europe, Tbilisi's proximity to lucrative east-west trade routes often made the city a point of contention between various rival empires throughout history and the city's location to this day ensures its position as an important transit route for global energy and trade projects. Tbilisi's varied history is reflected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval, classical, and Soviet structures.

Historically, Tbilisi has been home to peoples of diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it is now overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian. Notable tourist destinations include cathedrals like Sameba and Sioni, classical Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue, medieval Narikala Fortress, pseudo-Moorish Opera Theater, and the Georgian National Museum.