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Tbilisi

Capital of GeorgiaTbilisi stretches along both banks of the Kura River, called the Mtkvari locally, in eastern Georgia in the South Caucasus, between about 380 and 770 m above sea level.

Why it's the capital

King Vakhtang I of Iberia founded the city in the 5th century. His successor, King Dachi, who ruled from 522 to 534, moved the capital of Iberia here from Mtskheta and began building the city's fortress wall.

Fun facts

  1. Legend says King Vakhtang's falcon caught a pheasant during a hunt and both birds fell into a hot spring; the king liked the springs so much that he built a city there.
  2. The name comes from a Georgian word for "warm" and means "the place of warmth", because of the many sulphur hot springs.
  3. Until 1936, English and most other languages called the city Tiflis, after the Persian pronunciation.

Finding it on the globe

Georgia lies between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea; aim at its eastern half, on the Kura River, almost straight north of Yerevan.

Sources: Wikipedia: Tbilisi