Georgia6 Tbilisi A walking tour1

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http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2575926-georgia6-tbilisi/

Tbilisi (literally “Warm Spring”) is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt’k’vari River

Founded in the 5th century by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the Georgian King of Iberia, and made into a capital in the 6th century, Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social and cultural centre

The Metekhi

 cliff

The statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali (founder of Tbilisi), a 1967 monument by the sculptor Elguja Amashukeli (1928 – 2002) tops the Metekhi cliff

A legend has it that when King Vakhtang was in the forest, his falcon chased a pheasant. The bird fell into a hot water spring and the king and his servants saw the steam come out of the water. Surprised by the abundance of hot water, Vakhtang gave orders to build a city on this site and named it "Tbilisi", that is, "the site of warm springs"

Vakhtang was officially included in the Georgian Orthodox calendar—and a church built in his honor in the city of Rustavi—early in the 1990s, but he had presumably been considered a saint long before that.

Metechi church

Metekhi (Metechi is a historic neighborhood of Tbilisi, located on the elevated cliff that overlooks the Mtkvari river. King Vakhtang I Gorgasali erected here a church and a fort which served also as a king’s residence; hence comes the name Metekhi which dates back to the 12th century and literally means “the area around the palace”. 

The extant Metekhi Church of Assumption,

resting upon the top of the hill, was

built by the Georgian king St Demetrius II

circa 1278–1284

The 13th century Church of the Virgin sits on a crag over the Mtkvari River with the equestrian statue of Vakhtang Gorgasali, the founder of Tbilisi

The 13th century Church of the Virgin

Metekhi Church and the equestrian statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali

Hotel Kopala is located in Old Tbilisi

Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral

Funicular

Presidential Palace

Funicular cable car (Aerial Tramway)

The restaurant upon the hill is situated more than 700 meters high

Funicular cable car (Aerial Tramway) and Mother of the Georgians monument

Mother Georgia standing tall over the capital city of Tbilisi, who holds a sword in one hand and a glass of wine in the other

Kartlis Deda - Mother of the Georgians monument (Elguja Amashukeli, 1958)

The “Mushrooms” Public Service Hall-by Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana FuksasThe Rike Park Concert Hall and Exhibition Center in Tbilisi (Massimiliano Fuksas)

Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral

The Public Service Hall-by Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas

Sameba Holy Trinity

Hotel Kopala

Metekhi Church

These public service halls brings people all the legal services they need under one roof. The public service halls provides all the major services to the public such as passports, identity cards, licenses, business registration, land document registrations and so forth. Each public service hall does the functions of different government offices in a single building. 

The “Mushrooms” Public Service Hall-by Italian architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas

The “Mushrooms” Public Service Hall

The Rike Park Concert Hall and Exhibition Center)Presidential Palace

Peace Bridge (Michele De Lucchi 2010)

Presidential Palace

Concert Hall and Exhibition Center

Built on the initiative of President Micheil Saakashvili and also known as the Avlabari Residence, the Presidential Palace sits on a overlooking the river on the opposite bank to the Narikala Fortress

Several architects were involved in the project but Italian Michele De Lucchi is credited with its final appearance. It was officially opened in the summer of 2009. Michele De Lucchi was also the architect of the glass bridge across the river Mtkvari, entitled the “Peace Bridge”. 

Façade of the Presidential Office appears in mosaic authored by Georgian sculptor Nata Amirejibi with an aphorism from the medieval Georgian poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin: "Good hath overcome ill; the essence of is lasting"

Tours around the Palace are available upon request, seven  workdays in advance

A new concert hall/exhibition center is being

built in Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River

in Tbilisi.

Its designer is Massimiliano Fuksas, whose other works include the nearby Tbilisi Public Service Hall. The President's Palace in the background on the hill

Tbilisi aerial tramway connecting Rike Park with Narikala Fortress

Opened in 2012, a cable car connects Rike Park on

the left bank of the Mtkvari river

with Narikala Fortress

Aerial Tramway terminal in Rike Park

Rike Park and the Bridge of Peace

with modern Tbilisi in the background

Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River in Tbilisi

The gardens in Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River in Tbilisi, near the Aerial Tramway terminal

The gardens in Rike Park on the left bank of the Mtkvari River in Tbilisi, near the Aerial Tramway terminal

Mtkvari River

Mtkvari River and Rike Park

Cable car to Narikala heights - Fun and cheap way to get up the very steep hill to Narikala Fort and the heights above old Tbilisi. Runs continuously from early morning to late at night 

Mother Georgia

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors.

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasandahttp://www.authorstream.com/michaelasanda/

Sound: Mdzlevari ensemble - Mkhedruli