Take Me to Tbilisi

According to legend, Tbilisi (the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia) was founded in the fifth century on thermal springs, and its cobbled streets are still scented by sulfur, though only a handful of the traditional bathhouses remain in the ancient neighborhood of Old Town. The city is a fanciful, often romantic hodgepodge of architectural influences that offers a brick-by-brick timeline of occupiers: Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Russians and Soviets. A medieval fortress looks out over Art Nouveau mansions, Brutalist monuments and the modern villas of billionaires, some floating above the city like U.F.O.s.

From “Georgia on My Mind” by Gisela Williams for the New York Times Magazine; Photo of the Bridge of Peace by Ivane Goliadze

#georgia #russia #soviet #travel #tourism #bridgeofpeace #peace #bridge #photooftheday #picoftheday #architecture #tbilisi