Tbilisi Walks: Abanotubani

Abanotubani is a renowned historic district in Tbilisi, famous for its baths built on sulfuric springs. The name directly translates to 'the district of baths.' This area is steeped in the legend of Tbilisi's foundation, where King Vakhtang Gorgasali hunted with a falcon and released it to catch a passing pheasant. When the king found the falcon, it turned out the captured pheasant had fallen into a hot spring and boiled. The king ordered the construction of baths around the spring, giving rise to an entire bath quarter and, later, a whole city. The name 'Tbilisi' itself is derived from the word 'tbili' (თბილი), meaning 'warm' in translation.

Baths have existed here since ancient times, with archaeological findings revealing remnants of baths from the 1st and 2nd centuries. The modern bath complex consists of structures, some of which were erected as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries. Local baths were visited by literary figures such as Alexander Pushkin and Alexandre Dumas.

During this stroll, we'll witness the baths themselves, the monument depicting the founding of Tbilisi featuring the falcon and the caught pheasant, and take a walk along the Leghvtakhevi Gorge ('fig gorge'), where a small mountain river, Tsavkisistskali, flows. The gorge culminates in a beautiful waterfall, unfortunately, inaccessible to us as the passage was currently closed due to safety concerns regarding rockfalls.

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