The city of Batumi is a port, commercial centre and coastal resort on the Black Sea. It is the capital city of Adjara, an autonomous republic in the southwest of the Republic of Georgia. The population of the city is 150,000 and with a subtropical climate, it attracts 1000's of tourists annually.
Batumi viewed from outside the Central Railway Station
The whole notion of visiting a Black Sea resort in a former Soviet state may conjure up images of concrete carbuncles and an all round depressing experience. Batumi could not be any further from this vision though and as seen in the photos below, it is a thriving modern destination with a plethora of modern buildings springing up around existing renovated old town constructions of fanciful and varying styles. The city's history goes back to the times of the Ancient Greek civilisation and varying occupations have included the Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, Russians and, of course the Georgians. Today, its attractions include Seaside Park (known locally as the 'Boulevard', established in 1881 and stretching for 7km along the coast), the Adjara State Museum, the dolphinarium, a number of fountains (including 'dancing fountains' at night), sculptures and novel buildings of architectural interest, more of which are detailed further down this page. The city contains an array of religious buildings, including Batumi Cathedral of the Mother of God which is shown in photo 30 of the first set of photos below. Batumi also attracts visitors for its vibrant nightlife. 9km north of the city lies Batumi Botanic Garden at Mtsvane Kontskhi - Green Cape (here, time did not permit a visit to this very popular site). To look at the city from high up, the Argo Cable Car takes sightseers up a mountainside for panoramic views (although it was cloudy on my particular visit). Additionally, for views of the city, a trip on the ferris wheel offers a shorter, and inexpensive alternative. Describing all of the many attractions is beyond the scope of this webpage and so for further reading, one option is 'Batumi - In Your Pocket', from the popular series of free guides (available for download Here). The thumbnail gallery below shows several of the sights Batumi has to offer.
As mentioned above, Batumi has many buildings of architectural interest. In photos 37-44 above, can be seen Piazza Square, a complex in the form of an Italian style Piazza which contains a hotel and various places to eat and drink. The slides below take a closer and more extensive look at some of the modern buildings in the city. Descriptions of a selection of them follow:
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Photo(s) |
Description |
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4 |
Building which appears as a face on the frontage |
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9, 13 |
Sheraton Hotel in the style of the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria |
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25 |
Building in the form of a Parthenon |
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34 |
Building in the form of the Colosseum in Rome |
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36 |
Restaurant in the form of an upside down White House - The entrance is complete with an upside down foyer incorporating a staircase and the Christmas Tree all pointing down from the ceiling |
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44 |
The new $8m central railway station |
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e.g. 46 |
The Alphabet Tower - A 145m structure celebrating the unique Georgian script and writing with each letter shown on the outside of the building |
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e.g. 43 |
Batumi Technical University Tower - The first skyscraper in the world with an integrated Ferris Wheel. The Ferris Wheel contains eight air conditioned cabins that will hold up to 40 people at a time |
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